When the Chicago Bears saw Paris Johnson Jr. get selected well before the team had a chance at pick nine the question quickly became whether the team was interested in Broderick Jones or Darnell Wright. Wright was the choice, and four picks later Broderick Jones went.
It feels like because the Pittsburgh Steelers went with Broderick Jones, it makes the comparison between the extra juicy. The Steelers are the team who took George Pickens when so many Bears fans wanted him, and now they get Jones after the Bears turned him down. Then, the Chase Claypool trade came as a ripple effect of the Steelers having Pickens and the Bears passing on him. Is this history repeating itself or did the Chicago Bears really get the better player?
3. Darnell Wright fits the Chicago Bears as a right tackle
This one is pretty simple and makes plenty of sense. It is also the debate that has been raging all draft season for this team. Do you draft the left tackle, and then have to move Braxton Jones to the right side, or do you draft the right tackle, and then you let Jones continue his development?
Part of the question had to be that easy between Jones and Wright. Darnell Wright has 1,752 snaps at right tackle and 934 on the left side. Wright also struggled on the left side, and most indications are that he definitely will play right tackle.
Meanwhile, Broderick Jones has just 25 snaps on the right side and 1,358 on the left. To be fair, Wright has more experience on both sides, and that may also have played into the decision. Still, while the Bears definitely wanted to take the best lineman regardless of size, if things were very close, did they lean to the right side because of Braxton Jones?
The thought is that if you have Wright and Broderick Jones graded the same why would you risk making Braxton Jones worse? They would have had to have Broderick Jones as the clear best choice, and that just was not the case.