With Justin Fields emerging as the Bears’ franchise quarterback this past season, that took one position of need off the board for Chicago. The Bears decided to address a major issue at offensive tackle with the selection of Darnell Wright.
Not a lot of people probably expected this pick by the Bears, but Wright fills a massive need because Fields was running for his life all season in 2022.
How do you show that you’re invested in your franchise quarterback? You get him some elite protection up front and the massive offensive tackle in Wright was the right choice. It’s not the sexiest pick out there, but he was able to control some big-time players over his college career and he was a unanimous All-SEC selection this past season.
Hendon Hooker loved having Wright protect him last season and you can bet Fields is going to thrive now that he has some offensive tackle help.
Grading the Bears’ selection of Darnell Wright
I’ll admit, right when I heard this pick, I was a little shocked and I was ready to knock it. And then I watched the highlights of him handling some of college football’s biggest names and those guys saying that Wright was the toughest linemen they faced. Plus, the Bears absolutely needed a lineman in the first round.
Is Wright going to be an All-Pro right away? Maybe not, but I expect he’s going to have a long NFL career and become one of the better tackles in the league before it’s all said and done.
This dude is a perfect immediate-impact guy on the line for Chicago.
Grade: B+