Darnell Wright one of ESPN's biggest stock-risers in NFL Draft
Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright is one of the biggest stock risers in this year’s NFL Draft according to ESPN. The standout right tackle was one of seven “draft risers” by ESPN’s Jeff Legwold this week.
Wright was joined on the list by Oregon State tight end Luke Musgrave, Louisville edge rusher Yasir Abdullah, Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett, North Carolina State guard Chandler Zavala, Florida A&M outside linebacker Isaiah Land and Shepherd offensive tackle Joey Fisher.
The 6-foot-5, 333-pound Wright has widely been projected to be picked in the middle of the first round of the NFL Draft. ESPN’s three-round mock draft Tuesday had the Washington Commanders picking Wright at No. 13 overall.
Darnell Wright climbed from third-round grade to first-round projections
On ESPN’s ranking of the best players available in the NFL Draft, Wright is ranked No. 15 overall and No. 4 among offensive tackles, with a draft grade of 91. Offensive tackles Peter Skoronski (Northwestern), Broderick Jones (Georgia) and Paris Johnson Jr. (Ohio State) were ranked ahead of Wright.
Wright anchored Tennessee’s offensive line and was named a First Team All-SEC pick by the Associated Press, USA Today and SEC Coaches. He was a semifinalist for the Lombardi Award and was twice named the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week.
Legwold described Wright as a “body-of-work riser.”
“Scouts had a third-round grade on him, at best, in August,” Legwold wrote. “They thought he had been inconsistent at the Vols’ left tackle in 2021. So, in a lot of databases, he opened the season as a Day 2 or even early Day 3 pick. Now, he sits solidly with a first-round grade and is expected to be among the first tackles off the board.”
Up Next: NFL Draft, April 27-29, Kansas City
Legwold also noted September 1, the date Tennessee kicked off the 2022 season, as the turning point for Wright. It was then that he lined up at right tackle and proceeded to have a breakout season.
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“After the 2021 season at left (tackle),” Legwold wrote, “he went back to the right side. And the confluence of time, experience, work and the positional return — he played right tackle and right guard in 2019, right tackle in 2020 — resulted in Wright playing with better footwork and technique this past fall.”
Wright, out of Huntington High School in Huntington, W.V., was a five-star prospect in the 2019 recruiting class, ranked No. 6 overall in the On3 Industry Ranking. He was the No. 2 offensive tackle in the class and the No. 1 overall player in the state of West Virginia.
Legwold wrote that Wright “still has some bobbles in pass protection” but did more than enough to prove himself in Tennessee’s win over Alabama in October.
“He was far more comfortable in his technique throughout the year,” Legwold said. “And his work against Will Anderson Jr. in Tennessee’s 52-49 win over Alabama this past October, when the Crimson Tide had one sack — by DJ Dale — in the Vols’ 32 dropbacks, was reviewed plenty.”
