What to Know: Packers hosting Tennessee OT Darnell Wright for top-30 visit
By Paul Bretl
The Green Bay Packers will have Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright in for a pre-draft visit, according to Josh Norris. Each NFL team is permitted 30 official visits prior to the NFL draft.
In addition to having Wright in for a visit, GM Brian Gutekunst also attended the Tennessee Pro-Day last week.
Wright measures in at 6’5″ and weighs 333 pounds. He posted an elite Relative Athletic Score of 9.67, which included a 5.01-second 40-yard dash and a broad jump of 9’07.” Also noteworthy is that he has 33.75-inch arms, above the typical 33-inch threshold that the Packers have adhered to going back to when Ted Thompson was in charge.
In four seasons with the Vols, Wright played 2,552 career snaps. Most came at right tackle, but he also played another 823 snaps at left tackle and has some right guard experience as well. This past year at right tackle was by far his best, allowing no sacks against a number of high-level SEC pass rushers, just seven pressures, and ranking fourth in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency metric.
In 2021, when Wright played left tackle, he gave up three sacks and 16 pressures. For what it’s worth, Wright also ranked 74th out of 200 tackles in PFF’s run-blocking grade in 2022.
Wright is ranked as the third-best offensive tackle in this year’s draft class by PFF and the 20th-best prospect overall. For more on his game and what he can offer, here is what NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote:
"“Right tackle prospect who used his size and power to overcome athletic limitations and spotty technique on the collegiate level. The tape can be a little uneven for Wright with poor block finishes followed up by aggressive pancakes. He played with much better body control and footwork in 2022, though. Wright is capable of staying at right tackle at the next level provided he’s given protection help from time to time. While he was often a positional blocker at Tennessee, he’s a very talented drive blocker when allowed to fire out. There will be inconsistent outings, but Wright should develop into a decent starting tackle with the potential to kick inside if necessary.”"
At least for the 2023 season, offensive tackle isn’t a major need for the Packers. David Bakhtiari will be at left tackle, with Zach Tom and Yosh Nijman likely competing for the starting right tackle opening. The Packers also have developmental players in Luke Tenuta, Caleb Jones, and Rasheed Walker, not to mention that Elgton Jenkins is another option if needed.
However, the draft is also about planning ahead and looking forward to 2024, there potentially becomes a lot of uncertainty at one of the game’s most important positions. Bakhtiari could end up being cut to save cap space, and Nijman could be playing elsewhere as an unrestricted free agent. While Tenuta, Jones, and Walker are exciting prospects, we have no clue if they can be reliable starters, and Jenkins is best at guard.
Although not a huge need, as just discussed, there would still be benefits to bolstering the offensive tackle depth for 2023 as well. Immediately, Wright would be in the running – and perhaps the front-runner – for the starting right tackle role. Overall, this would give the Packers more flexibility up front, potentially allowing Tom to compete at center or right guard.
Matt LaFleur frequently talks about putting the best five offensive linemen on the field, and adding a player of Wright’s caliber to the team would really allow the Packers to do that. Any sort of success that Jordan Love is going to have in his first season beings with the offensive line play.