Bears Rookie Report Card: Evaluating Darnell Wright's first season in Chicago

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles had a solid 2023 class in his second draft as the team's general manager, but over the next few days, we will be taking a more in depth look at each of rookie seasons from each draft pick.

First up, we will be starting with the Bears first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, offensive tackle Darnell Wright.

The Bears traded back twice to eventually land Wright after trading the first overall pick to the Carolina Panthers prior to the draft and allowing the Philadelphia Eagles to move up one spot to land defensive tackle Jalen Carter on the night of the draft. The Bears ended up with their guy with the 10th overall pick but how did he perform during his rookie campaign?

Darnell Wright 2023 Season Overview

Wright was thrusted into an important position for the Bears' offense from Day 1 after being penciled in as the team's starting right tackle. It's a big role to play and he was able to step up to the challenge in a major way but still dealt with his fair share of growing pains at the position, which was to be expected.

All in all, Wright ended the season as the only member of the Bears entire offensive line who started all 17 games at the same position. That kind of consistency up-front was a major boost for the Bears entire offense as a whole while starting two different quarterbacks throughout the season.

During his rookie season, Wright showed off his ability to handle some of the league's top pass rushers with flashes of success but at times was beat at the point of attack. However, even the best offensive linemen in the league can't win every snap.

2023 Snap Counts and Stats

Wright played 100 percent of the offensive snaps in every game except Week 7 against the Las Vegas Raiders where he played 93 percent of the snaps after entering the game with a shoulder injury. He also ended the season playing an average of 13.3 percent of the team's special teams snaps.

According to Pro Football Focus, Wright allowed seven sacks, 51 pressures, 41 hurries, and three QB hits. Grade-wise, he finished the season with a 62.4 overall grade, a 61.3 pass blocking grade, and a 66.0 run blocking grade. He also had 11 penalties.

His worst game came against the Raiders in Week 7 where he was lined up against defensive end and 2023 Defensive Player of the Year finalist Maxx Crosby for the majority of the game. Wright allowed one sack and four pressures in that game with a 29.8 pass blocking grade.

His best game came against the Detroit Lions in Week 14 where he got his revenge against Lions' defensive end and 2023 Pro Bowler Aidan Hutchinson. Wright allowed 0 sacks and only one pressure the entire game with a 75.3 pass blocking grade.

Notable Plays

Wright put together some solid plays on the tape to build off of both in pass protection and as a run blocker. In this play, Wright steamrolled fellow 2023 first round pick and Washington Commanders' cornerback Emmanuel Forbes leading to a big gain on the ground by quarterback Justin Fields.