Darnell Wright gave up an ugly sack to Dallas Turner during the Chicago Bears' loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Monday, leaving some to speculate if the Bears made a mistake with their 2023 first-round draft pick.
Wright has always been a pick who has been under the microscope because of who they passed on and because he was not always viewed as a top-ten pick in the draft process.
Should Chicago Bears fans be disappointed in Darnell Wright?
There are two ways to look at Wright.
First, he is a good player and should continue to be a good player. It is hard to see him being viewed as a miss by any stretch. However, because he went in the top ten, a lot of fans are expecting an All-Pro caliber player, and he is simply not that.
When he was drafted, he was known as a powerful mover who had strong hands and a lot of strength. Wright never had the quickest feet, and speed pass rushers were always his weakness. That has essentially been the exact player that he is now.
Wright has allowed six sacks on 534 pass-blocking attempts after allowing seven on 646 last season. This looks like an issue because most of his sacks come in the same form.
However, his pressures allowed have dropped from 51 last season to 23 this year, so he is playing much more consistently, but when he does struggle, it leads to a sack at a much higher rate.
The Bears could have drafted Jalen Carter, but Christian Gonzalez and Jaxon Smith-Njigba are other players who the Bears considered, and they look to have higher ceilings than Wright.
Still, while they all have higher ceilings, the play that Wright has given shows a very high floor, and he appears to be a safe pick at a premium position. If the Bears selected Wright 15th overall, most fans would not worry about any of his issues. However, because he has the label of a top-ten pick, fans are expecting an All-Pro.
If those are your expectations, the disappointment is understandable, still, Wright is a solid starter and should be moving forward.