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Darnell Wright picked by Chicago Bears in 2023 NFL Draft: What to know about Tennessee OT
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- Darnell Wright picked by Chicago Bears in 2023 NFL Draft: What to know about Tennessee OT
Former Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright was selected by the Chicago Bears at 10th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Wright was selected in the first round on Thursday night after a successful four-season career with the Vols. He ended his college football career without allowing a sack in 19 consecutive games.
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The Huntington, West Virginia native took over the Tennessee offensive line and earned several honors and recognition from the Associated Press and was a Rotary Lombari Award Semifinalist in 2022.
Here's everything to know about the offensive tackle.
Darnell Wright became a leader with Tennessee football
Wright quickly established himself with Tennessee and was named to the All-SEC Team as a freshman in 2019.
He started 10 games in 2020 and saw action in 569 total snaps his sophomore season. He also helped defend a Tennessee offense that set program records for points scored (511) and total offense (6,174 yards) during his junior season.
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In his final season with the Vols, Wright earned a unanimous first-team All-SEC honors as selected by the Associated Press and coaches and is one of just 14 FBS offensive linemen with more than 850 snaps played in 2022 with no sacks allowed and an efficiency of 99.0 or better according to PFF.
Darnell Wright's NFL Scouting Combine stats
Wright checked in at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine at 6-foot-5 and 333 pounds.
Here's his official numbers from the Combine in early March:
40-yard dash:5.04 seconds 10-yard split:1.81 seconds vertical jump:29 inches broad jump:9 feet, 6 inches
A recent mock draft from USA Today's Nate Davis projected the Tennessee offensive tackle would end up with the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 17overall.
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Darnell Wright got into a Twitter spat with a Cincinnati Bengals reporter
Mock draft rumors and projections got intense in early April, and Wright had a heated Twitter interaction Cincinnati Bengals reporter Willie Lutz.
Wright shared a series of direct messages between him and Lutz, featuring profanities and an apology from the Tennessee OT.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Chicago Bears pick Darnell Wright in 2023 NFL Draft: What to know
