Offensive lineman Darnell Wright was the first top 10 draft pick for the Vols since Eric Berry in 2010. Four more Vols were taken in the third round.

-- Photo By Nam Y. Huh | Ap

Darnell Wright began steadily moving up several mock projections as the 2023 NFL Draft approached. The Tennessee offensive tackle impressed many with his size and skill and was forecast as a potential top 10 pick.

Surrounded by friends and family at a draft party in Knoxville, Wright’s dreams came to fruition when the Chicago Bears selected him with the No. 10 overall pick in the first round of the draft.

“It gives me a lot of confidence that they think that I can come in and help them in any type of way,” Wright says. “It just feels like having that confidence that they believe in me, it just gives me more confidence to even believe in myself.”

Wright was the only Tennessee player selected in the first round of this year’s draft. A total of five UT players were picked, the remaining four coming in quick succession in the third round.

Quarterback Hendon Hooker went No. 68 overall to the Detroit Lions. Wide receivers Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman were chosen with consecutive picks at No. 73 (New York Giants) and No. 74 (Cleveland Browns), respectively. Linebacker Byron Young was selected by the Los Angeles Rams at No. 77.

The 6-foot-5, 333-pound Wright was the 14th top 10 draft pick in Tennessee history, and the first since defensive back Eric Berry in 2010. He is the highest drafted UT offensive lineman since Charles McRae and Antone Davis went Nos. 7 and 8, respectively, in 1991.

A 2022 first-team All-SEC selection, Wright started all 13 games at right tackle in 2002 without allowing a sack in 895 snaps played.

“You see on tape, I’m big and strong. I don’t think people will realize once they really get to see more of me, they’ll see how athletic I am and that I can play both sides as needed,” Wright says. “I just want to earn the respect of those guys first, but I can probably play anywhere on the line. My athleticism will speak for itself. I just want to get better and better at my technique.”

Hooker can heal, learn

Hooker became the highest-drafted Tennessee quarterback since Peyton Manning went No. 1 overall in 1998. The Virginia Tech transfer broke Manning’s record for career completion percentage (68.8) single-season. Other UT records include career passing efficiency rating (178.34), single-season completion percentage (69.6, 2022) and single-season passing efficiency rating (181.4, 2021).

The 25-year-old Hooker is Detroit’s highest-drafted quarterback since taking Matthew Stafford No. 1 in 2009. Jared Goff is Detroit’s starting quarterback, but the three-time Pro Bowler is scheduled to become a restricted free agent after the 2024 season.

Hooker, who is recovering from a torn ACL that prematurely ended his UT career, will have time to return to full strength without expecting to become an automatic starter. He says he’ll embrace the role of being a “sponge” under Goff’s guidance.

“To come in and learn everything, every nuance on how to be a pro first and foremost, and then just admire him,” Hooker says. “He’s been in the league for a long time, and he’s been doing a great job of developing every year to get better and better, and that’s all you can ask for. “I’m definitely going to be picking his brain as much as I can. I’m going to get annoying to him a little bit, but I’m just that type of person.”

Hooker is the first quarterback drafted by Lions since general manager Brad Holmes joined the organization in 2021.

“Obviously, he’ll be a rookie and he’s gonna have to transition into playing in a different type of scheme, but we’re real excited about his upside,” Holmes says. “How NFL-ready are a lot of quarterbacks that you acquire? And that’s just part of the normal development process and again, just a testament of I think we have the right situation for him just to come and sit back, see how Jared and Nate do things and just develop.”

Former Vols get to work

Hyatt and Tillman’s selections extended Tennessee’s streak of consecutive drafts with a wide receiver picked to four.

The Giants traded their third-round pick (No. 89 overall) and fourth-rounder (No. 128) to the Los Angeles Rams in order to move up to No. 73 overall to select Hyatt, the reigning Biletnikoff Award winner given to the nation’s best receiver. Hyatt will be catching patches from Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, who texted Hyatt immediately following his selection.

“I can already tell, he’s the leader of the team,” Hyatt says. “Like I said, by the time I get up there, that’s one of the first that I’m going to meet with to understand what he does, what he likes in games, what his best throws are, what he wants me to do for him. I think when you build that connection with a quarterback, you can go as far as you want to go.”

Hyatt was hoping to go higher in the draft, but hopes to prove some people wrong like he’s done throughout his career.

“I love it when I’m counted out and the Giants, they took a chance on me,” Hyatt says. “So I’m forever grateful. But at the same time, I know now it’s time to put in the work and now I know it’s time to go. I was never picked first for anything. I’m grateful for the Giants giving me an opportunity and I can’t wait to go and show and do what I have to do.”

Young has taken a unique path to the NFL. He worked as an assistant manager at a Dollar General in Columbus, Georgia, before earning a spot on the team at Georgia Military College. Young transferred to Tennessee ahead of his junior year in 2021 and started all 13 games in 2022, ranking top five in the SEC with 42 QB pressures and sixth in sacks.

“When I got the call, it was just a dream call come true,” Young says. “I knew what it was and who it was, and I just had to break down crying and just hug my mom and dad. So thankful, emotional.”