Justin Fields must be doing cartwheels after Bears draft Darnell Wright

April 28, 2023 ndowd

The Bears have selected OT Darnell Wright with the 10th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and now Justin Fields doesn’t have to fear for his life.

Justin Fields was incredible throughout the 2022 season as the Chicago Bears quarterback was nearly unstoppable whenever he took off to run. The problem with that, of course, was that he was having to do that exceptionally often behind a poor offensive line.

Now the Bears have used the 2023 NFL Draft to help change that.

After trading down one spot so that the Eagles could be the ones to take the risk on Jalen Carter with the ninth pick, the Bears used the 10th overall pick on Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright, giving Chicago much-needed reinforcements on the offensive line.

Bears draft Darnell Wright and Justin Fields is now less likely to get

Full disclosure, the 10th pick for Wright is a bit rich for me. I had him in the 20th pick range for when he should’ve been taken.

While that might be true, the fact of the matter is that Justin Fields is probably dancing in whatever room he’s in right now because he’s no longer going to have to scamper away from pressure to survive every Sunday now.

More importantly, the Bears sneakily might’ve found their left tackle last year as Braxton Jones stepped in and delivered a quietly dominant performance. So getting a right tackle in Wright really helps to start solidifying the entire offensive line and setting up the offense as a whole.

The biggest part of the equation, though, is that getting Darnell Wright and fortifying the trenches in front of Fields now allows Chicago to fully evaluate their quarterback. They saw signs in 2022 but, with a better situation now, if he doesn’t deliver, they now have two first-round picks in the 2024 draft thanks to the Panthers to be in the QB market in the draft a year from now.

It might not have been the best value for the Bears but, practically and for the health and safety of Justin Fields, it’s probably still the right selection.

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