With Penei Sewell moving to left tackle for the Detroit Lions this season, some see Chicago Bears offensive tackle Darnell Wright as the newly anointed best right tackle in the NFL. And if he's not there yet for those who don't see him as that, the track to that label is visible.
By any measure, as both a run and pass blocker, Wright had an excellent 2025 campaign on his way to a Second Team All-Pro nod. He has proven himself worthy of a lucrative second contract, and the Bears' front office will gladly give it to him, likely sooner rather than later.
Counting the playoffs, according to Pro Football Focus, Wright allowed just three sacks over 740 passing blocking snaps last season. Narrowing to the regular season, with dismal grades earned in the two playoff games, he had the sixth-best run blocking grade among 89 qualifying offensive tackles (85.6).
Overall, during the regular season, Wright was PFF's 14th-highest-graded offensive tackle in 2025.
Darnell Wright gets a lazy ranking among his peers heading into the 2026 season
Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick of PFF have ranked the top-32 offensive tackles in the NFL heading into the 2026 season. Preseason rankings will usually be about what is or has been proven over what could be, but Wright surely should be higher than No. 15 overall and the third-highest-ranked right tackle.
"Wright has become one of the NFL’s best and most durable right tackles during his first three years in Chicago. He clearly took a liking to Ben Johnson’s offense, as he placed 11th among qualified tackles with an 82.7 PFF run-blocking grade last season. Wright also allowed a career-low three sacks across 18 appearances, postseason included. "
So why isn't Wright higher than 15th in this ranking?
"One of the few flaws in his profile is the fact that he has committed 31 penalties in his three NFL seasons, including 12 in 2026."
Penalties are definitely a sneaky issue Wright needs to clean up, and he seemed to clean it up some over the course of last season. After committing six penalties over the first three games, he committed six over his last 15 games, including the playoffs.
All things considered, even with the overall penalty issue he has had over his first three seasons, Wright would be regarded as at least a top-12 offensive tackle in the league right now for most analysts. Some might even put him top-10.
Read more: Player deemed most critical to Bears' success in 2026 is really no surprise
If Wright pays attention to such things and needs any bulletin board material, PFF just gave him some, as his eyes confirm he belongs among the best offensive tackles in the NFL.
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