Darnell Wright arrived as the 10th overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. It was a bit of a surprise to some. Many felt the Tennessee standout would go in the middle or second half of the round. GM Ryan Poles sent a clear signal that he was a big believer in what Wright brought to the table. Not only was he big, physical, and athletic for his size, but he also had a relentless work ethic. That was proven when he accidentally did the wide receiver workouts for the pre-training camp conditioning test instead of the offensive linemen.

He then proceeded to have a quality season as the Bears’ starting right tackle. His 62.9 pass-blocking grade in one-on-one situations was good enough to crack the top 25 of all tackles in the league. He was one of only 18 tackles to play at least 80% of his total snaps. Wright ranked best among all rookie offensive linemen as well. Still, one would imagine he wouldn’t get much attention from the wider NFL as one of the top tackles in the league. However, when Jeremy Fowler of ESPN polled several personnel people and coaches, he found more than a few cast votes for the Bears starter.

Also receiving votes: Spencer Brown (Buffalo Bills), Darnell Wright (Chicago Bears), Orlando Brown Jr. (Cincinnati Bengals), Jake Matthews (Atlanta Falcons), Paris Johnson Jr. (Arizona Cardinals), Ryan Ramczyk (New Orleans Saints), Tytus Howard (Houston Texans), Taylor Moton (Carolina Panthers), Garett Bolles (Denver Broncos), Bernhard Raimann (Indianapolis Colts)

Darnell Wright is out to prove something in 2024.

For one, he wants to show everybody how he looks when healthy. People tend to forget he played much of last season with an injured shoulder. He wasn’t 100% a lot. Another factor is getting to protect a new quarterback who (hopefully) doesn’t hold the ball as often as Justin Fields did. Caleb Williams is the #1 overall pick in the draft. Attention will be on him from the outset of this season. If he plays well, eyes will immediately shift to Wright and the offensive line as instruments of that success.

Since last year, lots of credible NFL people have said that Darnell Wright is legit. He’s the first top-10 offensive tackle drafted by the Bears since Jimbo Covert in 1983. Poles himself is a former offensive lineman. One has to believe he has a sharp eye for the good ones. Last year was an encouraging first taste that even proven evaluators were impressed by. It will be educational to see how his game has evolved in the time spent this off-season. One can imagine he’s applied many lessons to it.