Darnell Wright NFL Draft 2023: Scouting Report for Tennessee OT

HEIGHT: 6'5"

WEIGHT: 333

HAND: 9"

ARM: 33 3/4"

WINGSPAN: TBD

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40-YARD DASH: 5.01

3-CONE: TBD

SHUTTLE: TBD

VERTICAL: 29"

BROAD: 9'6"

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POSITIVES

— Burly, thick upper body with heavy hands, powerful shoulders and a barrel chest.

— Creates easy power both on contact and in the "drive" portion of blocks to lift, uproot and steer defenders off of their spot.

— Routinely caves in defenders on angle-drive (down/kick-out) and double-team blocks with enough burst to hook and seal shades in outside zone, plus climb, close space and erase second-level defenders.

— Shows impressive big-man balance, stability and core strength to absorb force and anchor on command.

— Packs heat in his punch, shoulders and forearms to deliver major jolt on contact.

— Mixes up his strikes with a potent, aggressive, quick punch followed by a snatch technique to disrupt rushers and create knockdowns.

— Rugged, physical playing style with a tone-setting demeanor to find work when uncovered, go after his opponent and finish with authority throughout games.

— Strong film against top competition in 2022, including against Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Clemson.

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NEGATIVES

— Shows average foot quickness and range on an island in pass-protection at tackle, resulting in a short corner for high-end, widely-aligned speed-rushers.

— Has a bad habit of dipping his head into contact, resulting in him being susceptible to overextending and lunging when the picture changes post-snap.

— Needs to work on his patience post-snap to better anticipate movement, maintain his center of gravity and be in better position to redirect when needed.

— Hands have a tendency to drop and get wide at the point of attack, causing him to be late and give up first meaningful contact.

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2022 STATISTICS

— 13 starts at right tackle

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NOTES

— Former 5-star tackle recruit out of Huntington High School in West Virginia.

— 42 career starts split across right tackle (27), left tackle (13) and right guard (two).

— Named first team All-SEC in 2022 and was selected to the 2019 Freshman All-SEC team.

— Finished his career without allowing a sack in 19-straight games going back to the 2021 season.

— Accepted an invite to the 2023 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.

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OVERALL

Wright is a former 5-star tackle recruit and top-10 player in the nation with 42 career starts at three positions, with most of them (27) coming at right tackle—including 13 in 2022. Wright has a massive upper body with broad shoulders, thick arms and a barrel chest. He has solid athletic ability with good initial burst, average foot quickness and excellent play strength.

Wright excels in the run game, creating easy movement and opening up alleys on down, kick-out and double-team blocks. He creates jolts on contact with heavy hands and commanding grip strength once latched to steer and drive defenders off of their spot, lift and generate high-quality knockdowns. Wright plays with excellent physicality and aggressiveness, enjoys going after his opponent and finishes with authority throughout games. He has a bad habit of dipping his head into contact in an attempt to work underneath defenders, causing him to lose sight of his target, overextend and fall off of blocks too easily when the picture changes post-snap (gap exchanges/DL crossing his face). He needs to learn to become more patient, anticipate movement better and maintain an upright posture more consistently prior to contact.

In pass-protection Wright mixes up his pass sets (vertical, angle, flat and jump sets) and hands to keep rushers guessing. He is best on jump and flat sets when he can close space quickly, strike and square up rushers. Wright does show light hands and patience on angle and vertical sets with the ability to absorb force and anchor on command against the bull-rush against all levels of competition. He also does a nice job coming to balance at the top of the QB's drop once rushers attempt to break off back inside, closing the door on late penetration deep in the pocket. Wright uses aggressive, quick strikes to stun rushers with a potent snatch technique to steal away leverage that compliments his engulfing size and anchor strength well. He does show average to below-average range on an island against widely aligned rushers, with a max range of about 8.5-9 yards before he loses the corner and gets into chase mode versus skilled rushers who can get his feet stopped before attacking the outside edge.

Overall, Wright is a physically imposing, tone-setting blocker with starter-level play strength, power and balance to absorb and dish out force to both anchor and uproot opponents on command. His average-level foot quickness and range will limit his ability to protect the corner at tackle on true drop-backs, and he needs some refinement with his posture and hand placement, but he can thrive in a play-action heavy, downhill run scheme at right tackle or guard and earn multiple contracts as a quality starter.

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GRADE: 8.0 (Year 1 starter)

OVERALL RANK: 20

POSITION RANK: OT3

PRO COMPARISON: La'el Collins

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Written by B/R NFL Scout Brandon Thorn