Every love affair has an origin point. It’s not different with the NFL draft. Ryan Pace already liked Mitch Trubisky during the lead-up to the 2017 draft, but it became a full-blown obsession after the former Chicago Bears GM interviewed the young man for the first time. That leads one to question when GM Ryan Poles began to get serious about Darnell Wright. It’s obvious by the time the 1st round began last month the Bears were determined to land the Tennessee right tackle. So one can’t help but wonder when that ball started rolling.
Leave it to the organization to provide an answer. The Bears were well aware of Wright going back multiple years as their area scout in the southeast monitored him closely. However, it appears things reached the next step on December 22nd of last year. Poles convened a film-watching session to begin the process of draft preparation early. The first player on the list was Wright. Footage of the event was documented on the newest episode of 1920 Football Drive. It’s clear right away how much everybody liked him.
From there, the Darnell Wright preparations began.
If Poles was going to make the big right tackle his first-ever 1st round pick, he needed to be sure. It started at the Senior Bowl, where offensive coordinator Luke Getsy got the chance to coach him personally. Wright looked sharp all week. Then came the scouting combine, where he delivered some excellent numbers in drills for somebody 333 lbs. The final step came when the Bears hosted Wright for a private visit. Poles and offensive line coach Chris Morgan made it their mission to work the kid out relentlessly. They wanted to test his mental and physical stamina to see if he’d quit.
He did not.
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The decision was made swiftly after that. Darnell Wright was their guy. Now Poles had to craft a plan to make sure he ended up in Chicago. The Bears fed various rumors that they were interested in guys like Jalen Carter and Paris Johnson, ensuring both went before them. Johnson went 6th overall to Arizona. Philadelphia traded up with Chicago to select Carter. That cleared the way for Wright to become a Bear. It was a process that had been four months in the making.
