2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Darnell Wright (OT – Tennessee)

As the NFL season winds down, FantasyPros will be taking a look at early NFL draft scouting reports before the combine in March. Here’s a look at Darnell Wright.

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2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Darnell Wright (OT – Tennessee)

Darnell Wright (OT – Tennessee)

6’6″ – 335 lbs.

Background:

Started five games at right tackle and two at right guard as a freshman, then nine games at right tackle the following season. Was the team’s starting left tackle in 2021 and right tackle in 2022, finishing his career with 42 career starts (27 RT, 13 LT, 2 RG). Allowed ten career sacks, none this past year.

Positives:

Experienced SEC starter who has played three different positions along the line and showed improvement in each season. Massive right tackle with excellent size and bulk. Has enough upper-body strength to generate torque and sling down opponents at times in the run game. Shove is powerful enough to knock opponents off-balance. Shows a pretty solid understanding of positioning to wall off opponents and is virtually impossible to work through in the run game. Surprisingly capable when pulling but wasn’t asked to do so too often during the games reviewed. Pass-protects from a wide base with adequate bend and good extension. Proactive with his hands, generally getting good extension, with strong overall placement. Anchor doesn’t drop quite as early as anticipated, given his size but is still good overall. Generally plays within his frame, keeping his back straight when blocking in the passing game.

Negatives:

Would like to see him play with a much higher level of activity and nastiness. Feet tend to go dead after contact. Seems content to wall off opponents rather than firing out with explosiveness to dominate them, typically playing with a high pad level. Below-average athlete with very little range. Relies heavily on his size to protect the edge in pass protection; doesn’t have much lateral quickness to speak of. Has a tendency to lower his head into contact. Lapses into throwing his body around rather than using his hands to engage. Generally not too penalty-prone, but was flagged ten times in 2021; can be grabby even on plays where it doesn’t particularly matter. Not as athletic as you want from a tackle, but is taller than a typical guard and has relatively little experience there.

Summary:

An experienced SEC starter with rare size and lower-body strength, he looks fine as line as he’s not asked to cover much ground, but doesn’t exactly dominate opponents either, lacking the aggression, explosiveness, and mean streak teams look for in a phone booth. Played tackle almost exclusively in college and could conceivably play on the right side for an inline team, but might be more comfortable as a guard, where his lack of lateral quickness won’t be as evident. Could potentially develop into a pretty good starter if he gets more glass in his diet.

Projection: Round 3-4