Tennessee running back Jaylen Wright is turning his impressive 2023 regular season into a ticket to the NFL Draft with a stop at the Reese’s Senior Bowl in between.
Wright crossed over the 1,000-yard mark during the regular-season finale against Vanderbilt to cap off his career at Tennessee as a final highlight in a great season.
The third-year Tennessee running back finished the season with the fifth-most yards among SEC players and the fourth-most yards among SEC running backs with a total of 1,013 yards gained.
While the resource can sometimes be scrutinized for different positions and at different levels in the sport, Pro Football Focus has been high on Wright’s running ability all season.
PFF has Tennessee’s Jaylen Wright as the fifth highest-graded running back from the 2023 college football season. Wright’s spot from PFF also lands him as the highest-graded running back from the Southeastern Conference.
Highest graded Running Backs this season pic.twitter.com/JV1hmXp6PY
— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 10, 2024
More from RTI: Tennessee Football Lands Top 15 in Final Analytical Rankings
Wright officially accepted his invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl on Wednesday. The game will be played on Feb. 3 and it will represent the first year that juniors, such as Wright, are allowed to participate in the event.
With Wright heading off to the NFL, Tennessee will turn to Dylan Sampson and Cam Seldon as the primary two running backs with next season’s offense. Sampson and Seldon combined for 188 yards on 33 carries during the Citrus Bowl and gave quarterback Nico Iamaleava a great option away from the passing game. Wright was tremendous in his development at Tennessee and the Vols are hoping that both Sampson and Seldon are heading down the same route.
The 2024 NFL Draft will take place from Thursday, Apr. 25 to Saturday, Apr. 27.
