One of the best stories of the Chicago Bears draft was GM Ryan Poles revealed how hard offensive line coach Chris Morgan worked out Darnell Wright when the team hosted him for a private visit. Wright said it was by far the toughest workout he went through. He would’ve been furious if the Bears didn’t take him after that. Thankfully they did at 10th overall. Poles and Morgan saw exactly what they needed to see. The reasoning behind the challenging workout was because the Bears loved Wright, but they needed to know if he had the mental and physical toughness to survive in the NFL.
Some might not realize this, but there were legitimate questions from several sources about Wright’s true commitment to football. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN mentioned it during his most recent column discussing draft notes.
“Wright thrived in pre-draft workouts, including a stellar combine performance, and was perhaps the most gifted tackle in the class, though some teams had maturity concerns. The Bears were good with Wright’s character, believing he worked his way through a bumpy early college career.”
Where did these concerns originate from?
Research reveals the origin point started early in 2020. Tennessee players had a three-month lull from the program due to COVID. When they finally returned, Wright didn’t exactly show up ready to go, according to Ryan Schumpert of Rocky Top Insider.
“What Wright has going for him is his first full offseason. Wright enrolled in the summer before his freshman season and COVID-19 sent the entire team away from campus for three months.
When Tennessee players reported back to campus last June, Wright came back overweight. The then-sophomore weighed 360 pounds before losing 20 pounds and playing the 2020 season at 340 pounds.”
Darnell Wright knew he had to change by 2021.
Nothing can torpedo the draft stock of a prospect faster than work ethic concerns. Ballooning 20 lbs in only three weeks is a bad look. It led to the constant whispers about how much he loves football and whether he is willing to put in the time to be great. It seems Wright caught wind of those comments by 2021 and changed his approach. He played better that year and never had any weight issues. Then last year, he had a dominant season for the Volunteers, shutting out the SEC’s best pass rushers.
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When he showed up at the scouting combine weighing a sleek 333 lbs, it was confirmed he was doing the necessary work. The Bears already liked him. Their private workout was one last test. When Darnell Wright didn’t break, that sealed the deal. They were going to make sure he was their 1st round pick. The talent is undeniable. Very few athletes of that size can move like he does. If he cleans up any remaining technique issues, this guy will block for the Bears for several years.
Based on his production in the SEC he had a pretty high floor, especially at Right Tackle. I think the question Poles wanted to have answered was if he fit their culture, and how high was his potential ceiiling.
I’d say if you didn’t question what you were doing with your life after lockdown, you are a seriously rigid and fucked up person.
Well Tonkaman look at it this way. Sure it’s a liile annoying, but if you ever get one of those fantasy gigs and for some inexplicable reason feel compelled to tell everyone about it – your alter ego on this 🐻 site has you covered!!
These dumb people are using our Screen Names now. It’s funny. Now maybe I can tell myself to go F yourself. 😉😄
“Ballooning 20 lbs in only three weeks is a bad look.”
That is a bad look, but made worse by your mis-quote. It was 20 pounds in 3 months not 3 weeks.