Darnell Wright

Wright was born on August 10, 2001, in Huntington, West Virginia. In his first years of football, Wright played in the Beverly Hills Youth Football League.^[1] He attended Huntington High School where he participated in track & field, football, and basketball.^[2] Wright won the 2017 Class AAA State Basketball Championship playing for Huntington High,^[3] and won the state title for shot-put in 2018.^[4] He was selected his sophomore year for the 2016 Class AAA Football All-State Second Offensive Team,^[5] and selected for the 2017 and 2018 Class AAA Football All-State First Offensive Teams.^[6][7] He was named to the roster for the 2019 Under Armour All-America Game.^[8] A five-star recruit, Wright committed to play college football at the University of Tennessee.^[9][10]

As a freshman in 2019, Wright played in 11 games and recorded seven starts.^[11] He was named to the 2019 Southeastern Conference (SEC) All-Freshman Team as a result.^[12] Wright made nine starts in 2020 and 13 in 2021.^[13] Entering the 2022 season, Wright was projected as a top prospect in the 2023 NFL draft.^[14] He was named first-team All-SEC for his performance in the 2022 season.^[15] Wright played 2,746 offensive snaps in 47 games (42 starts) - 27 at right tackle, two at right guard and 13 at left tackle for the Volunteers.^[16][17] He participated in the 2023 Senior Bowl, representing the American Team under his future NFL offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.^[18][19]

Wright was selected by the Chicago Bears in the first round as the tenth overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.^[22] The pick reunited him with Getsy, who commended Wright's "respect for the position and the guys that he's trying to emulate" during their Senior Bowl meetings.^[19]

As a rookie, Wright started in all 17 games.^[23] He had 1,133 snaps played, 7 penalties, 7 sacks allowed, 3 hits, 41 hurries, 51 pressures and was named in the Top 5 Most Impactful Bears of 2023 by USA Today Sports.^[24] Wright was additionally selected for the 2023 NFL All-Rookie Team.^[25] In the 2024 season, he appeared in and started 16 games.^[26]

After the Bears brought in a new coaching staff under Ben Johnson in 2025, Wright was the only starting offensive lineman from the previous year to return.^[27] He and his new teammates helped the Bears reduce their sacks allowed from 68 in 2024 to 24 and have one of the top-ranked rushing offenses in the league.^[28][27] Despite playing much of the year with a torn UCL, he allowed just three sacks and 19 pressures.^[29] Wright was named second-team All-Pro for 2025.^[28]