The Bears now have their top 2023 draft choice under contract. Darnell Wright agreed to terms on his four-year rookie deal Monday. This locks the Tennessee prospect down through at least 2026.
Wright’s contract comes with the fifth-year option, which has existed in first-rounders’ contracts since 2011, allowing the Bears to keep the No. 10 overall pick tied to his rookie deal through 2027. Wright will be expected to carve out a starting role immediately.
Although the Bears were believed to have signed off on drafting Jalen Carter, that may have been one of this draft’s smokescreens. Chicago traded down from No. 9 to No. 10, marking its second trade-down maneuver of the first round, and let Philadelphia take a chance on the high-risk defensive tackle. The Bears then made Wright this draft’s second offensive lineman drafted.
Scouts Inc. slotted Wright as this draft’s fourth-best tackle prospect, but the Bears went with the Tennessee alum over local product Peter Skoronski and Georgia’s Broderick Jones. Wright brings plenty of experience to Chicago, having started 40 games at tackle. He brings more experience on the right side (27 starts) compared to the left side (13), something that is not the norm for first-round tackles. The 333-pound blocker served as the Volunteers’ primary right tackle starter in 2020 and 2022, lining up on the left side in 2021. He also made five starts at right tackle as a freshman in 2019.
Wright more than held his own against No. 3 overall pick Will Anderson Jr. in Tennessee’s shootout win over Alabama last season. The first-team All-SEC lineman will be expected to start at right tackle this season for the Bears, who are planning to keep promising 2022 fifth-rounder Braxton Jones at left tackle. The Bears added both Wright and Nate Davis to their O-line this offseason; they will be the favorites to start on the right side of Chicago’s front. Chicago pursued Mike McGlinchey in free agency but bowed out, allowing Denver to sign the five-year San Francisco right tackle. The Bears will now put their trust in Jones, the team’s first Round 1 tackle pick since Gabe Carimi in 2011.
The Bears also signed third-round defensive tackle Zacch Pickens (South Carolina) and fourth-round wide receiver Tyler Scott (Cincinnati) to their respective rookie deals Monday as well.