Darnell Marquies Wright (born August 10, 2001) is an American professional football offensive tackle for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers and was selected by the Bears tenth overall in the 2023 NFL draft.
No. 58 – Chicago Bears | |||||||
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Position: | Offensive tackle | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Huntington, West Virginia, U.S. | August 10, 2001||||||
Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 333 lb (151 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Huntington (Huntington) | ||||||
College: | Tennessee (2019–2022) | ||||||
NFL draft: | 2023 / round: 1 / pick: 10 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of Week 11, 2024 | |||||||
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Early life
editWright was born on August 10, 2001, in Huntington, West Virginia. In his first years of football, Wright played in the Beverly Hills Youth Football League.[1] He attended Huntington High School where he participated in track & field, football, and basketball.[2] Wright won the 2017 Class AAA State Basketball Championship playing for Huntington High,[3] and won the state title for shot-put in 2018.[4] He was selected his sophomore year for the 2016 Class AAA Football All-State Second Offensive Team,[5] and selected for the 2017 and 2018 Class AAA Football All-State First Offensive Teams.[6][7] He was named to the roster for the 2019 Under Armour All-America Game.[8] A five-star recruit, Wright committed to play college football at the University of Tennessee.[9][10]
College career
editAs a freshman in 2019, Wright played in 11 games and recorded seven starts.[11] He was named to the 2019 Southeastern Conference (SEC) All-Freshman Team as a result.[12] Wright made nine starts in 2020 and 13 in 2021.[13] Entering the 2022 season, Wright was projected as a top prospect in the 2023 NFL draft.[14] He was named first-team All-SEC for his performance in the 2022 season.[15] Wright played 2,746 offensive snaps in 47 games (42 starts) - 27 at right tackle, two at right guard and 13 at left tackle for the Volunteers.[16][17] He participated in the 2023 Reese's Senior Bowl game representing the American Team under Chicago Bears' Offensive Coordinator, Luke Getsy.[18]
Professional career
editHeight | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | |||
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6 ft 5+3⁄8 in (1.97 m) |
333 lb (151 kg) |
33+3⁄4 in (0.86 m) |
9 in (0.23 m) |
5.01 s | 1.81 s | 2.90 s | 4.72 s | 29.0 in (0.74 m) |
9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) | |||
Sources:[19][20] |
Wright was selected by the Chicago Bears in the first round as the tenth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.[21] As a rookie, Wright started in all 17 games.[22] He had 1,133 snaps played, 7 penalties, 7 sacks allowed, 3 hits, 41 hurries, 51 pressures and was named in the Top 5 Most Impactful Bears of 2023 by USA Today Sports.[23] Wright was additionally selected for the 2023 NFL All-Rookie Team.[24]
Statistics
editLegend | |
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Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | Games | Offense | |||||||
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GP | GS | Snaps | Holding | False Start | Illegal Shift | |||||
2023 | CHI | 17 | 17 | 1133 | 6 | 5 | 0 | |||
2024 | CHI | 11 | 11 | 722 | 2 | 4 | 1 | |||
Career | 28 | 28 | 1,855 | 8 | 9 | 1 |
References
edit- ^ Payton, Joseph (May 3, 2023). "Darnell Wright's dominance began in Beverly Hills Youth Football League". WSAZ. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
- ^ Treacy, Jim (April 28, 2023). "An historic night for Huntington High alum". WSAZ.com. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ^ "SENATE RESOLUTION 73 (By Senators Woelfel, Plymale, Stollings, Unger and Beach) [Introduced April 6, 2017]". West Virginia Legislature. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ Fishbain, Kevin (April 28, 2023). "Bears OT Darnell Wright's high school coach: 'Whatever this man wants to do, he can do it'". The Athletic. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ MetroNews (December 11, 2016). "2016 Class AAA high school football all-state teams". WV MetroNews. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ "2017 Class AAA high school football all-state teams". WV MetroNews. December 10, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ "Class AAA All-State Football Team". WV MetroNews. December 9, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ "2019 Under Armour All-America Game rosters revealed". USA TODAY High School Sports. December 30, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
- ^ Clay, Jarrod (February 6, 2019). "Huntington's Darnell Wright signs with Tennessee". WCHS. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
- ^ Carey, Greg (February 6, 2019). "Huntington's Darnell Wright opts for Tennessee over West Virginia". WV MetroNews. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
- ^ Rill, Jake (August 16, 2021). "Darnell Wright shares why he never considered transferring from Tennessee". Saturday Down South. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
- ^ "2019 SEC All-Freshman Football Team announced". SEC Sports. December 12, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
- ^ Wilson, Mike (August 5, 2022). "Why Darnell Wright moved back to right tackle for Tennessee football". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
- ^ Harralson, Dan (May 10, 2022). "Darnell Wright projected as a 2023 first-round draft pick". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
- ^ Lay, Ken (December 6, 2022). "Darnell Wright named First-Team All-SEC". Vols Wire. USA Today. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ^ "Darnell Wright - Football". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ "Darnell Wright (OL): Bio, News, Stats & more". ChicagoBears.com. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ Callihan, Schuyler (February 1, 2023). "2023 Reese's Senior Bowl Rosters". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ "Darnell Wright Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout Darnell Wright College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ^ Mayer, Larry (April 27, 2023). "Bears trade down, draft Tennessee OT Darnell Wright at No. 10". ChicagoBears.com. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ^ "Darnell Wright 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
- ^ Barbieri, Alyssa; Sugrue, Brendan (January 25, 2024). "15 Most Impactful Bears of 2023: No. 5 Darnell Wright". Bears Wire. USA Today. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ Brooks, Bucky (January 18, 2024). "2023 NFL All-Rookie Team: Lions, Rams each boast four selections; Texans clearly nailed top-three picks". NFL.com. Retrieved January 30, 2024.