Darnell Wright’s place on Brandon Thorn’s latest right tackle list gives the Bears something to feel good about, even if it doesn’t line up perfectly with the new money he just landed.
Thorn, who has built a strong reputation around NFL circles through Bleacher Report and his work around the league, slotted Wright seventh among the best right tackles in the NFL. That matters because Thorn’s evaluations carry weight, especially when he’s talking about a position group he knows well.
The Bears just made Wright the highest-paid right tackle in the league, and he also picked up second-team All-Pro honors, which puts him squarely in elite company. Thorn’s ranking is still strong, but it doesn’t quite match the contract value or the awards cachet.
At the top of the list was Lane Johnson, and that choice makes sense. Johnson remains the standard, even though he’s 36 and Wright is 25. The age gap is part of the story, too, since the salary difference is tied not just to present performance, but to what each player is expected to look like in the years ahead.
The other names around Wright are just as interesting. Joe Alt, Armand Membou and Amarius Mims are all younger than Wright, and all three were drafted after him. That suggests Thorn may be looking ahead a bit, projecting those players to keep climbing while a lot of fans are only now catching up to their rise.
If that’s the case, it also helps explain why Wright’s contract could age well. Once Alt, Membou and Mims eventually sign extensions, the price tags may end up climbing past what Wright just got.
Spencer Brown and Luke Goedeke round out the group of note. Brown, who is 28 and signed through 2028, is making $18M per year, which makes him the value play in Thorn’s top seven after being ranked third.
Goedeke came in fifth at $22.5M per year, and Thorn still views that deal as a bargain. Brian O’Neil, who landed eighth on the list, is already above him at $24M per year.
Those are really the only contract outliers in the group, and that leaves Wright sitting pretty close to where you’d expect him to be.
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