Alex

Wright

It’s official. Wright announced earlier this week that he’ll miss the rest of the season with a torn triceps. This is merely a housekeeping move to open up a spot on the active roster for Michael Dunn.

Wright made the surprise announcement on his Instagram page, saying he underwent an MRI on his tricep following the team’s Week 2 win over the Jaguars after “dealing with pain from a strain.” After playing through the pain in Weeks 3 and 4, Wright underwent another MRI, which revealed a tear that will now require surgery. The former 2022 third-round pick has totaled eight tackles, one TFL, and one sack on the season and was hoping to take a big step forward in his third season. With 2025 being a contract year, Wright will need a breakout campaign in his fourth season if he hopes to re-up with the Browns long-term.

Schefter added that both players are expected back “early in the season,” which carries a fairly wide timeline for return to action. Assuming each player had a cleanup injury, typical recovery timeframe would place them back on the field between Week 2 and Week 4 of the regular season.

Wright (6’5/271) made an instant impact as a freshman, playing in all 14 games and recording 28 tackles, 8.5 TFLs, 4.5 sacks, and a forced fumble while being named to the C-USA All-Freshman team. He went on to start seven-of-eight games in 2020 before fully breaking out last year with 46 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, seven sacks, and two forced fumbles. His 19.5 percent win rate is a commendable mark, and his 11.5 percent pressure rate was one of the best in the country. However, Wright didn’t show well in pre-draft testing, doing just 15 bench reps due to a strained pectoral to go along with a ghastly 29-inch vertical, 9-foot-6 broad jump, and 4.47 shuttle run while avoiding the 40 altogether. Regardless, he has 34-inch arms he uses to punch, lock out, and shed opposing linemen while boasting advanced agility for his size. He lacks suddenness off the snap and plays high at times, but he still has room to add to his frame, which could give him some three-tech potential at the next level. Wright is well worth the speculative pick in hopes that he can continue to hone his skills.

Wright (6'7/270) was named Sam Monson of PFF’s favorite sleeper in the class and there’s a lot of reason to believe he’ll be one of the bigger steals of the draft looking back on it in the future. Ben Linsey of Pro Football Focus listed Wright as one of his top draft targets, so it will be interesting to see where he lands.

Naming Wright (6'7/270) a sleeper is a testament to how deep this class really is. You normally don’t see a guy with Wright’s size and traits named as a sleeper, but this edge class has about 25 really good prospects. Monson notes that he has all of the tools you need to be a great pass rusher but is still relatively raw. The tools are evident as his PFF pass-rush grade of 90.4 shows, as does his 23.8% pass rush win rate

Wright was the star of Blazers defense as he led the team with seven sacks this season. The former three-star recruit from Elba, Alabama has shown his strength and ability to break through the pocket in his time at UAB and should be a Day 2 pick.