Ryan Poles went against popular opinion with his first-ever 1st round pick. When the Chicago Bears were on the clock at 9th overall, many felt he’d go for Jalen Carter, the Georgia defensive tackle. Rumors had persisted for weeks the Bears were ready to do so. If not, there was also local standout offensive lineman Peter Skoronski from Northwestern or uber-athletic cornerback Christian Gonzalez. Poles bypassed all of them, trading down one spot with Philadelphia before selecting big Tennessee right tackle Darnell Wright.
Some were skeptical of the pick. While Wright had loads of potential, given his size, length, and athleticism, they worried about his fit in the Bears’ offensive system and his rumored maturity issues in college. Poles stated the team did their homework on him for months. They loved his tape and felt his work ethic had improved dramatically from his early years at Tennessee. This time Poles sat down with Cynthia Frelund of NFL Network to break down exactly why Wright is precisely what the Bears needed.
Ryan Poles understood one vital fact about Wright.
He is the type of talent that doesn’t need to be perfect every time to still block people. “He’s right, even when he’s wrong.” That is the line he keeps using. Wright’s massive frame is almost impossible to beat with power. If an edge rusher beats him outside, he still has those long arms to drive them outside the pocket arc. Poles knows that if Wright can polish his technique in the next year or two, he has a legitimate chance to become one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL.
More than anything, it’s nice to see Ryan Poles break the Bears’ long streak of not taking offensive linemen in the 1st round. The last time it happened was with Kyle Long in 2013. That is way too large of a gap if you intend to maintain a top offensive line in this league. The bigger hope is that Wright is good. Chicago has a rough track record drafting offensive tackles that high. The four most recent examples are Gabe Carimi, Chris Williams, Marc Colombo, and Stan Thomas. Hopefully, Poles got it right this time.
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Right (Wright) even when he’s wrong. I love it.
Dar’!!! WRight!! (coining his NICK name, now)
I actually order his Jersey last week.
@Lynn btw, check out Youtube. there’s a guy named “Swift” he does some in depth break downs. They are VERY VERY insightful. I’m not sure of his cred’s but he spends alot of time and effort on is full evaluations. Check him out…. his breakdowns of Wright and Dexter have me excited and full of hope for OUR team this year.
Bear! DOWN!
I did
Tell us how you really feel Lynn. 😄
I’m excited to watch this guy get to work. He seems to have the right pieces in place and he seems to have a little bit of that prick side that Ryan Poles looks for.
Video interview was insightful, written article was garbage