LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) — After trading back from the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Bears general manager Ryan Poles faced another difficult decision.
Poles and the Bears had to decide whether to select Georgia standout defensive lineman Jalen Carter, a coveted top prospect whose stock fell after he pleaded no contest last March to misdemeanor charges for reckless driving in connection with a fatal crash.
With Carter on the board for the Bears at No. 9 overall – a pick Chicago acquired from Carolina as part of their blockbuster trade involving the No. 1 overall pick – Poles moved down one spot to No. 10 overall and drafted Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright. The Eagles sent a 2024 fourth-round pick to the Bears in exchange for the right to select Carter with the No. 9 pick.
It was a choice that Poles remained confident in as he reflected after Wright and Carter finished their rookie seasons.
“Yeah, I feel really good,” Poles said. “Darnell did an outstanding job. He continues to work on his technique. I think once he closes that gap, that technique gap and the consistency of using the right techniques versus the right players – there's a Rolodex that you've got to build out in terms of the pass rushers that you go against because they all have different stuff. So, once he starts putting that together, you're going to see a really good player.
“He's out there right now as a rookie, out there just using his natural ability. In a lot of games that was good enough, but there were some games and some reps where it wasn't good enough, and he's got to continue to get better, and I know he's going to put the time in. But he's made of the right stuff. He's tough. He's strong. Like all of those core pieces, (time) is going to allow him to build off of that and be a really good player.”
Wright, 22, started all 17 games for the Bears at right tackle. He stepped into a role with the starting offense in May during OTAs and never relinquished that position.
Wright was the second offensive tackle taken in the 2023 NFL Draft as part of a deep class at the position. The Bears were sold on Wright following a workout of his last April in Knoxville, one in which offensive line coach Chris Morgan put him through rigorous testing.
One of two position coaches on the offensive side of the ball who were retained by the Bears for the 2024 season, Morgan has coached elite tackles such as Trent Williams, an 11-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro honoree, during his career.
“He’s a really good football player right now,” Morgan said in assessing Wright's rookie season. “And I think he’s going to be a great football player.
“The sky’s the limit. If he stays hungry, which I think he will because I think he’s the ultimate competitor deep down, I think he’s got the chance to be special. And I’ve been around a lot of good ones. He’s got a chance to be that.”
After being selected by the Eagles at No. 9 overall, Carter had a strong rookie season in which he emerged as one of the NFL’s top defensive tackles. He had six sacks and ranked No. 6 overall among the league’s top interior defenders, according to Pro Football Focus' grading.
Carter is the favorite to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year honor for his performance in 2023, but Poles and the Bears certainly knew Carter was a tremendous talent. They simply weren't sold on his character.
After passing on Carter, the Bears selected a pair of defensive linemen on the second day of the draft in Florida’s Gervon Dexter at No. 52 overall in the second round and South Carolina’s Zacch Pickens at No. 64 overall in the third round.
The Bears will likely be active once again this offseason in seeking depth for their defensive line. This class of free agency could be led by five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Chris Jones, whom Poles helped identity as a prospect with the Chiefs back in 2016.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.