The Chicago Bears made Darnell Wright one of the NFL's highest-paid offensive tackles this summer, and three games into the season, the early returns look pretty good.
Wright earned an 80.7 overall grade from Pro Football Focus in Monday night's 27-7 victory over Philadelphia, the second-highest grade among Chicago offensive players behind Kalif Raymond.
It continued an impressive start for the Bears' right tackle. And unlike some of the louder developments surrounding Chicago through three weeks, Wright's performance has been remarkably steady.
Wright enters Week 4 with the Bears' highest overall PFF grade: 91.1. It's an elite score from the longtime analytics giant.
Wright and Jonah Jackson are becoming Bears' foundation
The right side of Chicago's offensive line has been a strength from the beginning of the season.
Through the first two weeks, PFF ranked the Bears' offensive line fifth in the NFL and noted that Wright and right guard Jonah Jackson were two of the four highest-graded offensive linemen in football at that point.
That continued against the Eagles; Jackson earned a 72.1 grade and now has a near-elite 89.4 season grade. He's second on the Bears behind only Wright.
It's exactly what Bears GM Ryan Poles envisioned when he spent most of the 2025 offseason rebuilding the offensive line.
Bears paid Wright to eliminate Major O-Line Question
Chicago signed Wright to a four-year, $116 million extension in August, and deals like that create expectations.
The Bears paid Wright with the expectation he'd be a foundational player and one of the NFL's top all-around offensive tackles. And so far, that's what he's looked like.
While Chicago continues searching for certainty at left tackle, there isn't much debate on the opposite side.
Wright is the right tackle, and he will be for a very long time. At just 25 years old, he's entering what should be the best stretch of seasons of his career.
Caleb Williams will benefit from Darnell Wright's ascent
Case Keenum benefited from Darnell Wright's strong performance on Monday night, and, eventually, when Caleb Williams returns from his hamstring injury, he will, too.
Chicago's offensive rebuild has always been about creating an environment in which Williams has the best chance to succeed. A dominant right side of the offensive line accomplishes a big part of that.
Wright won't receive the national attention of a quarterback performance or a 100-yard rushing game. Offensive tackles rarely do. But through three games, he might just be the most important Chicago Bear not named Caleb Williams.
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