Darnell Wright 2023 NFL Draft profile: Scout report for the Tennessee OT
Darnell Wright, the No. 2 offensive tackle recruit in 2019 behind only Alabama standout and now-New York Giant Evan Neal, started seven of 11 games as a true freshman (five at right tackle, two at right guard) and then nine of 10 available in Year Two (all at RT).
In 2021, he started all 13 games at left tackle and helped the Tennessee offense score a team-record 511 points, before moving back to the right side this season, when the Vols immediately broke that record (599) and was recognized as a first-team All-SEC performer.
Darnell Wright, Tennessee
6-foot-6, 335 pounds; senior
Positives
+ When you look at this guy, everything you see screams “power” at you
+ Shows a natural ability to sink his hips and work up through contact, to create movement on angular blocks
+ You’re just not going to rock this guy’s pads backwards or squeeze him down on backside seal-blocks
+ Has the explosiveness out of his stance to work crossfold blocks and skip pulls in the run game
+ For a man his size, the agility in short areas and flexibility in his lower half to reach-block edge defenders on fly sweeps is pretty impressive
+ Just engulfs smaller bodies stepping down or replacing edge defenders when he comes across the line on kick-outs
+ Really strong with that inside arm to extend and create that little bit of extra movement while riding bodies on the interior into the trash when given the opportunity
+ Can create some significant momentum on B-gap defenders as the angular element to combo blocks by accelerating his feet through the target
+ Showcases the dexterity to keep his hands in place with the hips of the man he’s responsible for, as they’re trying to slice past, and he rides them off their landmarks
+ Wright doesn’t look uncomfortable getting out in space and has the natural power to put defenders on the ground by just getting a hand on them
+ His feet are quick enough to match legit speed off the edge and then sit down to not allow himself to be ridden into the quarterback’s space at the top of the arc
+ Shows good awareness for that platform of the guy padding the ball back there and when to flip with the rusher to ride him past that point
+ His base is so strong that even when rushers seem to set up speed-to-power well, Wright can stymie their charge and force them to look for different strategies
+ Can work in some independent hand usage to keep rushers in line with his frame, along with really snatching cloth and dropping his hips, in order to take control of reps
+ Displays impressive body-control to quickly put his outside foot back down and mirror inside moves, even by twitchy guys at nearly 100 pounds less
+ Once rushers get off balance, he can quickly put them on the ground and exploit the opportunity to jump on top of them
+ Thanks to quarterback Hendon Hooker’s mobility, Wright’s agile skills to help secure the edge or shield guys from the backside on rollouts really stood out
+ Extremely battle-tested against a collection of impressive SEC edge rushers and more than held his own. Allowed just one hurry all day against Alabama in 2022, largely going up against a lock for the top five in Will Anderson, who simply couldn’t work his typical speed-to-power against him
+ Didn’t give up a single sack and just eight total pressures across 507 pass-blocking snaps this past season
Negatives
– Carries a little excess weight in the midsection, and he’s not quite up to par with the top three guys in terms of foot quickness
– Doesn’t consistently play up to his size and brings the aggression to create displacement in the run game, while other times he gets his weight shifted too far out in front as he really goes for it (partially due to the type of offense the Volunteers ran)
– Gets too far over his skis at times and ends up stumbling forward when he can’t connect with his hands as D-linemen reduce their surface area
– While you like the mobility to get to the second level, he doesn’t break down and secure blocks consistently enough to take care of his assignments
– Regularly late off the snap and has a certain up-kick to his pass-sets, which didn’t become as much of a problem with less than a quarter of his work being labeled as “true pass-sets” by PFF (tons of RPOs, screens, etc.)
Overview
I’ve been a fan of Wright for a while now, and he’s been ascending his draft stock throughout this process.
Wright came in at a massive 342 pounds for Senior Bowl week, yet he showcased impressive movement skills, effortlessly mirroring a couple of spin moves, along with taking the fight to more power-based string, showcasing his strong upper half. Then, he moved around extremely well during the on-field drills at the combine, and you heard those bags pop when he landed his punches in pass-pro.
This guy has 2,746 career snaps with full years starting at both left and right tackle and put together an incredible track record against a murderous row of SEC edge defenders. So, I have no doubt that he should and will go in the first round.
I’d like to see him enforce his power on a more consistent basis, and there’s a little bit of a tweak that he has to work on his kick-slide, but I don’t think there’s actually a gap between him and what is generally accepted as the “big three” at offensive tackle.
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