Darnell Wright is the NFL's highest-graded offensive tackle entering Week 5, by Pro Football Network's OL Impact metric. PFN's rankings, posted Tuesday, put the Chicago Bears right tackle at 97.1 and Denver's Garett Bolles second at 88.4.
The Bears are 3-1 and have won with three different quarterbacks while Caleb Williams has missed the last two games.
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Darnell Wright's 97.1 Grade Has Fans Calling It a Coronation
Pro Football Network's post ranked its highest-graded NFL offensive tackles entering Week 5 with Arizona's Paris Johnson Jr., Philadelphia's Jordan Mailata, Detroit's Penei Sewell and the Los Angeles Rams' Alaric Jackson rounding out the top six behind Wright and Bolles.
That 97.1 is Wright's season grade through Week 4, and it makes him the top-ranked offensive lineman of 147 PFN has graded, not only the top tackle.
SEE THE TOP LINEMEN: PFN's NFL Player OL Impact Rankings
One fan quoting Pro Football Network's post focused on the gap between first and second. "That's not a ranking, that's a coronation."
PFN graded Wright at 85 for the full 2025 season, when he made second-team All-Pro in his first season under coach Ben Johnson. Ahead of the 2026 season, Chicago agreed with him on a four-year, $116 million contract extension, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported. The Bears later announced the extension.
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Jacob Infante, PFN Analyst, measured this season against that standard. "Darnell Wright had a high bar to reach to surpass his 2025 season." He added that Wright is clearing it so far and that the Bears are lucky to have him.
Wright and right guard Jonah Jackson helped seal off a hole on Kyle Monangai's 5-yard touchdown run as the Bears beat the New York Jets 23-12 on Sunday with 232 rushing yards. "We've got a group capable of handling our business no matter who's playing and no matter what the circumstances may be," Wright said after the game.
DaWindyCity Productions, a Bears YouTube channel, looked ahead to awards season, writing in a quote post that the "Bears might have back to back Protectors of the Year" with Wright.
Joe Thuney won the inaugural Protector of the Year award for 2025 as the Bears' left guard at NFL Honors on Feb. 5, chosen by a selection committee of NFL Legends.
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Darnell Wright Ranking Revives Debate Over Bears Passing on Jalen Carter
Wright's arrival in Chicago began with a trade. In the 2023 draft, the Bears moved down one spot with the Philadelphia Eagles, from No. 9 to No. 10, and added a 2024 fourth-round pick. The Eagles took Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter at No. 9, and the Bears took Wright.
When the Carter question came up that night, Bears general manager Ryan Poles kept the focus on his pick. "What I'd rather do with that is stick with talking about Darnell. We felt comfortable that that was the guy we wanted."
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One fan saw Wright's grade as an answer to the trade's critics. "Remember when everyone said how dumb the Bears were for passing on Carter for Wright?"
The Eagles extended Carter through 2031, and he has one sack through Week 4, tied for 70th in the NFL. NFL.com's Kevin Patra wrote that Carter helped spearhead the Eagles' Super Bowl run in 2024.
Another fan pushed back by pointing to the Super Bowl. "I'm sure you'd rather have a solid PFN grade through Week 4 over a Super Bowl!"
Wright's next test comes Sunday against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Ben Johnson said Monday on ESPN Chicago that Tyson Bagent "will be the guy" for the Week 5 rivalry game.
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