When Nahshon Wright’s scouting report from 2021 surfaced, six words stood out: “Speed is lacking, very thin frame”. A JUCO recruit who’d spent two years at Oregon State, the young wide receiver-turned-cornerback was talked about with relative disinterest. Projections suggested he’d be a seventh-round pick or go undrafted, and vanish into obscurity soon enough. Wright’s trajectory, meanwhile, has been anything but obscure, which explains why even a rival like Micah Parsons was ready to take a hard stand for him.

“Nashone wright getting snubbed for first team pro bowl selection is crazy!!” the Parsons wrote on X, after the announcement was made.

It’s understandable why the Green Bay Packers player took offense.

Truth be told, anyone would, if a player leading the league with eight takeaways on the defensive side of the ball was snubbed in a fashion Wright was. What’s more, in 15 games (14 starts), the 27-year-old has five interceptions (tied for second in the league), an exceptional three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles. Besides that, the player also has an impressive 58.3% completion rate when targeted.

In fact, he also put up 67 tackles and 11 passes defended, along with a 82.4 run defense grade, ranking seventh among CBs, per Pro Football Focus.

One of Wright’s most notable moments came in Week 13 he pulled off an iconic Tush Push turnover over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles were trailing 10-9 late in the third quarter when they lined up for the Brotherly Shove on a third-and-1 at the Bears’ 12-yard line. Wright, however, was hardly in mood for jokes as he pushed his way into the mass of bodies, snatching the ball right from quarterback Jalen Hurts’ grasp. The ball fell to the ground but Wright somehow recovered the fumble, a key move helping with a touchdown a while later.

Earlier in Week 9, too, Wright was instrumental in a 47-42 win vs the Cincinnati Bengals when he intercepted a late Hail Mary attempt. Then, in a Week 10 24-20 win for the Bears, the cornerback pulled off a Jaxson Dart fumble as the New York Giants were leading 17-7 and were close to the red zone.

And if that’s not enough, against the Pittsburgh Steelers the following week, Wright made a spectacular one-handed interception on the latter’s first pass attempt of the game. Additionally, in the Bears’ Week 14 game against Green Bay, Wright once again carried out a forced fumble just when the opponents were about to extend their lead to 13-3 on the first drive of the second half. Chicago ultimately won 22-16 in that game.

At this point, it’s just unfortunate that a player of Wright’s caliber would miss out on a Pro Bowl selection. The cornerback, however, couldn’t care less.

“Nashone wright getting snubbed for first team pro bowl selection is crazy!!” Parsons wrote on X.

“It’s be cool [to earn an All-Pro nod],” he said, per The Athletic. “But I’m trying to get to the Super Bowl.”

That said, among the many cornerbacks, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean of the Eagles, Devon Witherspoon of the Seahawks, and Jaycee Horn of the Panthers made it to the list.

On the other hand, Wright’s advocate, aka Parsons, became the only player from the Packers clan to get a Pro Bowl selection. For the fifth straight time, Parsons was selected at Pro Bowl, alongside Dexter Lawrence of the Giants and Aidan Hutchinson of the Lions.

This is hardly a surprise, cause the Green Bay DE made history before his Week 15 injury. Recording at 12.5 sacks, he became the only player in the league’s history to rack up at least a dozen sacks in each of his five years. However, he has been benched since Week 15, jeopardizing Green Bay’s Super Bowl dreams.

Micah Parsons tore his ACL

Even though the Packers have a strong chance of making the playoffs at 94% according to the New York Times playoff stimulator, they won’t have their biggest defensive weapon. Parsons’ debut season with the Packers was cut short when he sustained a non-contact injury to his left knee in Week 15. After an MRI, it was confirmed that he reportedly torn his ACL.

Parsons is reportedly scheduled for surgery around Christmas and has been declared out for the remaining season. However, his team is confident in their defensive star, stating that he’ll come back stronger.

“Just wait til you see how hard he works to come back, how fast he probably comes back,” said defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. “If I were a betting man, I’d bet that he comes back even better and probably breaks the [NFL] sack record next year. That’s the confidence I have in him.”

Still, the defensive back cannot pull a comeback this season, even if the Packers qualify for the postseason. What’s tough is that quarterback Jordan Love is in concussion protocol with an uncertain return timeline. Advancing beyond the wild-card round might turn out to be pretty tough for the team.