Darnell Wright, OT (Tennessee)
OT1
In a year with a top-heavy tackle class, Darnell Wright's talent and potential make him the top dog. While it's worth noting that this is with an asterisk, as my evaluation of Peter Skoronski led me to believe he is best suited for the guard position, meaning I will be grouping him with the interior offensive linemen rather than the tackles in this class. At 6'5" and 333 pounds, Wright possesses raw strength and size that are ideal for a dominant tackle in the NFL. His versatility to play both right and left tackle, as well as the potential to kick inside to guard, adds to his value. The recent hype surrounding Wright is well-deserved, as he has the potential to become one of the best tackles in the league for years to come.
COLLEGE CAREER OVERVIEW
Darnell Wright, a highly touted prospect from Huntington High School, received a 5-star rating from ESPN and a 5-star grade from 247 Sports. Despite receiving offers from top football programs such as Alabama, Georgia, and LSU, he ultimately decided to join Tennessee.
During his freshman year in 2019, Wright participated in 11 games and played a total of 360 snaps for the Volunteers. He primarily played at right tackle and allowed 6 QB hurries, 3 QB hits, and 2 sacks, which was a solid performance.
During his sophomore year in 2020, he played in 10 games and saw a total of 569 snaps. He continued to play mostly at right tackle and conceded 9 QB hurries, 5 QB hits, and 5 sacks.
During his junior year in 2021, Wright played in 13 games and totaled 922 snaps while transitioning to left tackle. He gave up 13 QB hurries, one QB hit, and 3 sacks throughout the season.
In his senior year in 2022, Wright played in 12 games and saw a total of 829 snaps while playing primarily at right tackle. He allowed only 5 QB hurries, 2 QB hits, and no sacks, demonstrating his improvement and effectiveness as an athlete.
STRENGTHS
Darnell Wright is a highly effective offensive tackle thanks to his incredible strength, which comes from his massive upper body. His arms, torso, and core all possess significant power, giving him borderline elite play strength that allows him to create displacement in the run game. His grip strength and hand power are also impressive, allowing him to maintain a solid anchor in pass protection and stun opponents with his punches. Additionally, Wright is capable of changing up his hand movements and pass sets, which can catch defenders off guard. He is a competitive blocker who approaches the game with an ideal temperament, remaining confident and rarely getting overeager in pass protection.
Despite his size, Wright is surprisingly athletic, as evidenced by his high Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.78. He logged an impressive 40-yard dash time of 5.01, 20-yard split time of 2.9, and 10-yard split time of 1.75, all of which are considered elite by offensive tackle standards. While not the most nimble lineman, he is capable of pulling and getting out into space as a wide-zone blocker, where he can arrive at defenders with impact. Additionally, he shows flashes of firing into his drops quickly as a pass blocker, which, if done consistently, could make him an incredibly dangerous player.
While he can be a little top-heavy at times, Wright is comfortable leaning and playing beyond his center of gravity. He is able to create controlled leverage to channel force into blocks and has good knee bend capacity, allowing him to naturally lower himself and manage leverage. His hip flexibility is also impressive, enabling him to adjust his initial angle of engagement and redirect defenders in space with little delay.
WEAKNESSES
Despite displaying impressive mobility for his size, Darnell Wright falls short of being considered elite in this area. He faces challenges in recovering his feet quickly after blocking in space and struggles with maintaining an optimal pad level, due to his natural tendency to play too tall given his stature. As a result, he can have difficulty sustaining blocks and is vulnerable to opponents who can leverage his size against him.
Darnell Wright's hand placement is impressive as I’ve stated previously, but there are instances where he places them too high and wide, which allows defenders to get under his pads and escape his grip. This is especially evident on moving blocks where he tends to have a wider grip. While Wright has good knee bend capacity, he could benefit from bending his knees even more to improve his leverage and draw power up from his base. At times, he has a tendency to bend at the waist which restricts his ability to generate optimal power. Additionally, while he showed more independent hand usage in 2022, he still tends to be too grabby and bear-hug his opponents, and false starts are not uncommon.
Despite showing improvement, Wright's footwork could benefit from more control. While he's better at maintaining balance through weight transfers, he can still plant too early and lose his center of gravity. Additionally, he sometimes turns his hips too early in response to defenders' initial steps, leaving himself open to inside angles.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, despite needing to work out some of the kinks, I do believe Darnell Wright is the best tackle in this year’s draft class. He possesses immense physical abilities and a high football IQ that set him apart from the other tackles in this class. His strength, grip, and anchor make him a dominant force in the run game, while his sneaky athleticism and pass-blocking skills make him a valuable asset in protecting the quarterback. Although he has areas for improvement, such as his footwork and hand placement, the growth he has shown over the past few years suggests that he possesses the ability to learn from his mistakes, which will undoubtedly contribute toward his potential to become an elite player at the next level. I will add that I’d like to see Wright lose 15 pounds or so, as that would give him a little extra juice in space and hopefully assist his footwork as well. Not necessarily a necessity, just something I think would serve him well. With his combination of size, power, and technique, Wright has all the tools to excel as a tone-setting offensive tackle in the NFL for a decade or more. Or, if all else fails, he’ll make for one hell of a mauler if kicked inside to guard.
Grade/Position Rank: First Round, OT1
Comparison: Ben Grimm, aka “The Thing”