Bears OL Darnell Wright 'Crushed' Conditioning Test After Mistakenly Training As Wide Receiver

Hard work always pays off. Especially when you work a lot harder than you actually have to.

Chicago Bears offensive tackle Darnell Wright absolutely "crushed" his conditioning test, according to GM Ryan Poles.

That's because all offseason, Wright was accidentally training for the wrong test.

"I was looking at the wide receivers' running portion of the workout, so I was doing theirs. So then I came back and obviously, we have different (standards)," Wright said.

As you can imagine, conditioning standards are much more rigorous for wide receivers than they are for the O-line. The running portion of the receivers' test contains "more distance and lower time," Wright explained.

So after training for that, completing the linemen's test must have felt like a walk in the park.

But Wright has a lot to show for his efforts.

At the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, the former Tennessee Volunteer weighed in at 333 pounds. Since then, he's lost 16 pounds of fat.

"It definitely feels better," he said. "It's a little bit of an adjustment as far as training power, still, but I think I'm more powerful because I didn't lose any muscle mass. You definitely feel a step quicker."

Chicago Bears rookie Darnell Wright reportedly lost 16 pounds of fat after the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

The Bears selected Darnell Wright in the first round (10th overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft.

The 6-foot-5 tackle was a five-star recruit for Tennessee in the Class of 2019 and more than lived up to his billing. He was All-SEC First-Team in 2022 and anchored a Tennessee offense that led the nation in total offense and scoring.

Expectations are high for his rookie NFL campaign. And showing up to Training Camp in tip-top shape is a great place to start.