When people talk about NFL players with lots of swagger, they tend to cluster around key positions like wide receiver, cornerback, edge rusher, and quarterback. They never really grasp that offensive linemen have the same level of arrogance as anybody else. It’s only recently, as many of them started finding microphones, that fans have become aware. Barely a week since hearing his name called in the 1st round, new Chicago Bears right tackle Darnell Wright is proving every bit as self-assured.
While draft evaluators were up and down on the Tennessee product, he never lost faith that he would be one of the top picks. It came from a place of having proven himself time and time again against college football’s best competition in the SEC. Now that he’s in the NFL, one would think he’d be humbled somewhat. Nope. Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Chicago asked him about his career expectations. Wright made quite a bold declaration.
“I don’t even know. I’m first-ballot Hall-of-Fame, automatic,” Wright told NBC Sports Chicago when asked where he sees his career going in 10-15 years alongside Morgan and Fields. “I’ll be up here on these [Halas Hall walls].
“I’m just ready. I want to take this suit off,” Wright said. “I’m ready to roll.”
If ever there was a way to silence the haters, that would be the best way to do it. Chicago would love nothing better, that’s for sure.
Darnell Wright is 100% all-in.
It’d be one thing if he were ready to play in the NFL. Every prospect thinks they. Wright wants to work. That is what separates him from other young players. He seems to get almost a perverse pleasure from torturing himself through hard work. It comes from knowing that the harder he pushes himself, the better he will get. That is how he performed so well last year for Tennessee. It is also why he knew Chicago was the place for him when offensive line coach Chris Morgan put him through a merciless workout.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
If any team could get the best out of him, it would be the Bears. His athletic ceiling provides optimism he can reach his goal too. He’s already big and powerful. What sets him apart is how athletic he is for somebody 330 lbs. His 40 time and broad jump at the combine were two of the best marks the NFL has seen from somebody of that size in the past two decades. If he takes another step forward in his development and stays healthy, he has a chance to be one of the best tackles this franchise has ever produced.
