Former Tennessee Vols player is one of the highest graded players from 2023 NFL Draft and it's proof that Josh Heupel can develop talent
A former Tennessee Vols standout was pointed out by Pro Football Focus this week as one of the highest graded players from the 2023 NFL Draft. Two years ago, the Chicago Bears selected former Vols offensive tackle Darnell Wright with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. According to PFF, Wright is […]
A former Tennessee Vols standout was pointed out by Pro Football Focus this week as one of the highest graded players from the 2023 NFL Draft.
Two years ago, the Chicago Bears selected former Vols offensive tackle Darnell Wright with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
According to PFF, Wright is the highest graded offensive lineman from the 2023 NFL Draft.
From PFF: Wright was the second offensive tackle off the board in 2023, landing with the Chicago Bears to help them fix a shaky offensive line. The former Tennessee tackle struggled with penalties and pressures in his rookie season, earning a 62.4 PFF overall grade, but rebounded in 2024, posting a 79.3 mark while allowing 21 fewer pressures and six fewer penalties than in his rookie season.
Only six tackles recorded a higher PFF run-blocking grade than Wright in 2024, and his ability to maul defenders in space with his 6-foot-5 frame means he’ll likely be a big scheme fit in Ben Johnson’s incoming offense.
Wright, a former five-star recruit, signed with Tennessee during the 2019 recruiting cycle. He spent the first two seasons of his career playing under Jeremy Pruitt.
The West Virginia native admitted in 2023 that he contemplated giving up football before Tennessee hired Josh Heupel to replace Jeremy Pruitt.
“Just my first experience, thinking I’m going to be in college and I’m going to have this good career and then we start out with all of that, I’m like (a teenager) at the time,” said Wright to The Chicago Tribune. “It was at that point I was thinking maybe football is probably not the thing. Just because things weren’t going that well. I wasn’t playing great and also with what was going on with the team.”
Heupel and Vols offensive line coach Glen Elarbee, however, helped Wright regain his confidence and eventually become a first round draft pick.
“I feel like I gained a little bit of my confidence back, or at least a little bit of, ‘Yeah, this is my thing,’” said Wright. “Just getting that fresh start, a little reset my junior year. And then somewhere around my senior year was when Coach Heupel sat me down and was telling me, ‘Yeah, you could probably play at a high level. You just have to stay consistent and get better.’”
Wright wasn't a "Heupel recruit", but it's safe to say that he probably wouldn't have been a first round draft pick if not for Heupel's arrival on Rocky Top.
