Senior Bowl’s Jim Nagy says Bears got ‘nastier and more athletic’ with Darnell Wright

The Chicago Bears ended the 2022 NFL season with the No. 1 pick, but after two trades with the Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles, GM Ryan Poles made his first-ever first-round pick at No. 10. He selected Tennessee offensive tackle, Darnell Wright.

The logic behind the selection is obvious. Wright fills the Bears’ biggest need on offense: right tackle. Despite Poles saying there will be a training camp competition for every starting job, it’s a foregone conclusion that Wright will be one of Chicago’s bookends.

One respected football mind who’s a big fan of the Chicago Bears’ decision to draft Wright is Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy, who took to Twitter Friday to share his thoughts.

Love Ryan Poles’ plan for his O-line.

Take Darnell Wright, who has Pro Bowl potential, and plug him on right side where he is most comfortable and give Braxton Jones another developmental season he deserves at left tackle.#Bears got nastier and more athletic last night. pic.twitter.com/gdx4QXaG2K

— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) April 28, 2023

“Love Ryan Poles’ plan for his O-line,” Nagy wrote. “Take Darnell Wright, who has Pro Bowl potential, and plug him on right side where he is most comfortable and give Braxton Jones another developmental season he deserves at left tackle.”

Nagy added that the Chicago Bears got nastier and more athletic, which seems to be a consensus opinion in the immediate aftermath of the first round.

The Chicago Bears were expected to pick an offensive lineman with their first pick, with Wright joining Paris Johnson Jr. and Peter Skoronski as the most logical targets. Johnson went seventh to the Arizona Cardinals. The Tennessee Titans chose Skoronski with the selection immediately after Chicago’s.

If Nagy is correct in his assessment of Darnell Wright, then it’s safe to say Ryan Poles hit it out of the part in Round 1.