Darnell Wright: 3 things to know about Chicago Bears No. 10 pick in 2023 NFL Draft
The Chicago Bears selected Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright with the No. 10 overall pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Here are three things to know about Wright.
He chose Tennessee over several perennial powerhouses
Coming out of high school in Huntington, West Virginia as a five-star recruit, Wright had offers from Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Ohio State, and Penn State. He was a dominant player on both sides of the ball as an offensive tackle and defensive end who also lettered in basketball and track. He said no to them all and went to Tennessee.
“It was really just the culture of football there,’ Wright said. “They weren’t the best program at the time, but the history of the program spoke for itself. It’s a culture of football, and everybody, the whole town, everybody loves Tennessee.”
He was a slow developer at the college level
Wright started five games as a true freshman in 2019 and nine in 2020 at right tackle, but his results were not great. He then moved to left tackle and started 13 games in 2021 before switching back to right tackle in 2022 and that’s when it all came together.
He started 13 games, earned first-team All-SEC honors and played key role in an explosive pass-happy Tennessee offense led by quarterback Hendon Hooker. He didn’t allow a sack in 2022 on 507 pass block snaps against big-time competition, and committed only two penalties.
Wright saved his best for the best
Among his best performances in 2022 were his complete neutralization of Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson who is a likely top five pick in this draft. He allowed Anderson just one pressure in Tennessee’s upset victory. And then against a Georgia defense filled with players who will be drafted, he allowed no sacks or pressures.
He said of his preparation for those games, and really all of his games, “By the time we get to the game I just know I’m more prepared and I know I’m better than the player I’m going to go against.”
Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which will come out every Friday during the offseason, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Darnell Wright: Meet the Chicago Bears 2023 NFL Draft pick
