Bears GM on former Tennessee OL Darnell Wright: "it gave me goosebumps"
The Chicago Bears were one of the teams most talked about as the 2023 NFL offseason began. Trailing the Houston Texans by a half a game for the #1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, they needed to lose and have the Texans beat the Colts on the road in the season's final week […]
The Chicago Bears were one of the teams most talked about as the 2023 NFL offseason began. Trailing the Houston Texans by a half a game for the #1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, they needed to lose and have the Texans beat the Colts on the road in the season's final week to secure the top overall pick.
Well, it happened, as the Bears fell to the Vikings 29-13 and the Texans upset the Colts with a late comeback 32-31. As such, the Bears held the #1 overall pick, and GM Ryan Poles effectively controlled the top of the draft.
Poles traded down with the Panthers from the top spot, as quarterback-hungry teams fought to get inside the top five to draft one of several intriguing QB prospects. But Poles had his guy in Justin Fields, and he had one plan in mind: protecting his young franchise quarterback.
As such, he had one particular player in mind when the draft arrived: Tennessee's Darnell Wright.
Poles joined former NFL GM Scott Pioli on the NFL Network on Tuesday and explained that Wright's play at Tennessee matched what they were looking for in Chicago.
"He had a level of toughness, a level of grit," Poles said. "He showed his ability to wear people down over the course of a game. We've been really happy with the way he's started training camp. This is a totally different level of play, so there's going to be ups and downs, but we love the mentality. The pieces are there for him to be a really good player."
Poles also noted that he and Bears offensive line coach Chris Morgan worked out Wright before the draft by throwing him into "deep water", but that he responded how they'd hoped. That workout in Knoxville involved intense physical work and demanded quick mental processing.
"That was our mentality. We knew your offensive line has to have resilience, toughness, mental toughness. Be able to think while you're tired. We brought him out to deep water to see if he could swim. We had one of the harder workouts. At the very end, he told us 'I'll never quit on you.' There [were] a few more [colorful] words with that. But it gave me goosebumps. It gives me goosebumps now. He's got it in him. Again, it's about being a professional and seeing if we can get him to reach his ceiling."
The Bears have always been a team that's been more of a ground-and-pound team, having never had a quarterback in the franchise's history throw for 4000 yards in a season. And Wright's toughness and physicality will help him serve as a nasty, tough blocker on the right side, which he's already begun to show in training camp.
But Chicago might be ready to give Fields an opportunity to break that elusive passing mark this fall, having acquired potential #1 WR DJ Moore to match with Cole Kmet, Darnell Mooney, and intriguing rookie Tyler Scott as pass catchers.
As one of the best pass-blocking tackle prospects in the draft, holding Alabama's Will Anderson, Jr. and Florida's Brenton Cox, Jr. in check in their 2022 matchups, Wright should help Fields potentially achieve that mark.
If that happens, Bears fans might also be getting goosebumps this fall from Fields, Wright, and a rejuvenated Chicago offense.
Former Vols OL Darnell Wright has already dropped the quote of the offseason in Chicago
It didn’t take Tennessee Vols offensive lineman Darnell Wright long to drop the quote of the offseason in Chicago
Featured image via Jamar Coach / USA TODAY NETWORK
