The Chicago Bears surprised some when they added right tackle Darnell Wright with the 10th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. It was a bit of a surprise from the mock draft crowd, but it was a scenario discussed, and it is clear that the Chicago Bears had a serious interest.
For the fans who only knew bits and pieces about Wright before this night, what should they learn today?
3. Darnell Wright brings four years of starting experience to the Chicago Bears
Darnell Wright was a five-star recruit when he went to college, and he got on the field immediately. He started seven games as a freshman, with five starts at right tackle, and two starts at right guard as he was named all-freshman in his conference.
He won the right tackle job heading into his sophomore season and put in ten more starts. Darnell Wright moved to the left side in 2021, and while he started at 13 games, the switch actually hurt his draft stock. The Volunteers moved Wright back to right tackle in 2022, and that is when he became a first-round lock.
Overall, Wright has 42 career starts with 27 at right tackle, 13 at left tackle, and two at right guard. That amounted to 1,752 snaps at right tackle, 934 at left tackle, and 56 at right guard. Over that time the Volunteers ran a zone scheme 49% of the time, and a gap scheme 43%. However, last season he had 54% of his snaps in a power scheme with 37% in a zone scheme.
What that shows us is that he has a lot of experience, and while he is projected to stick at right tackle, he at least could work at left tackle, or even inside at guard. Paris Johnson has 26 starts and Broderick Jones has 19 starts, so the experience was obviously a factor for the team. Beyond that, he plays right tackle, and the Chicago Bears do not have to move Braxton Jones to a new position now. When you add that up, it is a lot easier to see why the Bears took him at ten.
2. Darnell Wright was elite last season, and got better every year
Darnell Wright gets a lot of praise for his performance against Will Anderson last season. However, it went beyond that, he was downright excellent last season. For his career, he allowed 10 sacks, and seven of those came in his first two seasons.. He allowed 55 pressures, and 30 of them came in those first two seasons, per PFF.
In 2021, at left tackle, he allowed 3 sacks and 17 pressures. Last season, that dropped to 8 pressures, and not a single sack. Even more impressive, he went from 10 penalties at left tackle to three. On true block sets, Darnell Wright was the second-highest-graded pass blocker behind Peter Skoronski. When you realize that the Chicago Bears probably had Skoronski as a guard, then you could make the case that Wright was the highest graded pass blocker last season.
So, it was not just a game against Will Anderson. He was ascending as a sophomore, he changed to left tackle, and it did not go well, but back at right tackle he proved that he should go top ten.
From his great season, he was great at the Senior Bowl, and had a big time week in front of the Chicago Bears coachig staff and front office. Then, he finished it up at the NFL Combine. At some point you have to admit that Darnell Wright checked all of the boxes for the team. It makes sense that they would take the ascneding right tackle.
1. Chicago Bears got a talented athlete
When you look at Darnell Wright, he is a massive human being. According to the NFL combine he weighed over 330 pounds, and his frame looks thick and broad. That, combined with Tennessee running more gap and power last season had people thinking that he was not quick-footed enough for a top-ten pick. However, we learned at the NFL Combine that this was not the case.
Darnell Wright was drafted with pick 10 of round 1 in the 2023 draft class. He scored a 9.68 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 43 out of 1294 OT from 1987 to 2023. https://t.co/zYB5mGENMd pic.twitter.com/uMqsjdi6ud
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 28, 2023
The 40-yard dash is in the 93rd percentile for tackle prospects. The weight is 92nd percentile. When you combine running that elite of a 40 at that weight, it is something. Most tackles in his tier of speed weighted a few pounds less. Beyond that, he was elite in the broad, and at least above average in the vertical and shuttle drills.
Some of the best athletic comparisons for Wright include Jason Peters, Chad Clifton, Austin Jackson, Brandon Shell, Greg Robinson, and Christian Darrisaw. Some are hits, some are missed, but all of them are big-time athletes. So, do not let the weight, and the look of broad shoulders and a thick chest make you think this is just a lumbering player.
He has the quick feet to pass protect, and he has the speed to get out and run more zone concepts with the Chicago Bears than he did at Tennessee.