The Cleveland Browns drafted wide receiver David Bell of Purdue and in turn got an excellent player, who will help energize everyone around him
The NFL draft, which just wrapped up in Las Vegas is an exciting and emotional time for the college prospects who hear their name called and get to continue the journey onto the NFL. The Cleveland Browns called David Bell’s name, the wide receiver from Purdue with pick No. 99. Bell thanked general manager Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski on his phone call for believing him and thanked them over and over again in excitement.
Bell had an outstanding three seasons with Boilermakers and was even voted as the best wide receiver in the Big Ten this past season. Considering there were wide receivers like Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave from Ohio State in the Big Ten, it shows what an outstanding player Bell has been and will likely become in the NFL.
There are so many positives with this pick by the Browns. Bell has some of the best hands in all of college football. If you target Bell in a pass, he’s going to catch it. But beyond the actual game of football Cleveland found a player of extremely high character who will work harder than anyone as he becomes a Cleveland Brown.
So, Browns fans here’s a bit of the background on Bell and a look to the future with Bell wearing the Orange and Brown. This pick 99 will be one I believe this franchise will remember for the history books.
While I was initially disappointed the Browns didn’t try drafting a wide receiver with their first two picks in the draft, as I’ve learned on researching Bell now, he will add a lot to a wide receiver group that needs playmakers to keep the chains moving downfield for an offense last season that was spinning in place.
Here are three reasons to get excited about your new wide receiver.
Reason No. 3: Strong foundation has already been set
David Bell grew up in Indianapolis on the far east side where he attended sports powerhouse Warren Central High School. But before he became a star there, his upbringing was one where his grandparents helped take care of him and that strong foundation of the family helped begin guiding him toward greatness. He attended church when he was younger often going twice a week with his grandmother.
On the field of play, when you watch an old video of Bell playing pee wee football, you see him shedding tacklers or running away from the other 20 kids in the middle of the field. That type of athleticism still holds water today and is why is going to the NFL.
He loved basketball growing up and was the star of his high school team as well. In his junior season there, he hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer in the state championship to secure the title. The kid knows and excels under pressure. That’s a winning combination.
I believe Browns fans will find out sooner than later that Bell will be a big addition to the wide receiver room. His strong faith and his upbringing with a grandmother that expected him to work at everything that he did will pay off and help his new Browns team as well.
Reason No. 2: A great college career
When you start glancing at Bell’s numbers while at Purdue, the first thing you might notice is all the catches he made and how rare it was to see him drop a pass. The Browns certainly have had issues in recent years with guys being able to hold onto the rock. He also had record 17 games in his three years at Purdue of going over 100 yards per game.
He had two huge games just this past season where he went for 217 yards against Michigan State, and he added 240 yards in a big win at Iowa.
In all, he grabbed 232 catches for 2,946 yards in his time in West Lafayette, Indiana. That career started with a bang as he was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year after he caught 86 passes and went over 1,000 yards. He had six 100-yard games as a freshman.
When you watch highlights of Bell in college, you notice a wide receiver who knew how to get open by creating space because of his excellent route running. You also saw a player that had superb balance and body control when going up to catch passes or taking a hit from an opponent trying to tackle him.
Some are saying Bell reminds them of a player we just had here, in Jarvis Landry, as my colleague Casey Kinnimon shared in his recent article for DPD.
The knock on Bell recently and part of the reason he slipped to No. 99 was he didn’t run fast enough at the NFL Combine. Bell isn’t the fastest receiver out there but just put the tape on and you’ll know why David Bell will be a good player in the NFL for a very long time.
Reason No. 1: The future is bright
The Cleveland Browns wide receiver room took a nosedive this last season. The good news is the dust has settled a bit and what looks to be a nice potential recovery is on its way and Bell has a lot to do with that renewed hope.
The Browns trading for Amari Cooper this offseason was a huge deal because it gave the team a legitimate No. 1 receiver. The team also has Donovan Peoples-Jones here too and he had a decent sophomore season with Cleveland. The other wide receiver is Anthony Schwartz who they drafted a year ago from Auburn. He might have his work cut out for him this upcoming training camp.
Bell is going to challenge for immediate playing time and unlike Schwartz, he understands football and the game within the game better than he. Just turn on the game tape to see a big difference. While the Schwartz was used as a gadget player then and even now with the Browns, Bell just caught passes all day long and kept battling over his career.
Bell jerseys might be a hot item once Cleveland’s season gets underway in September. The Browns got themselves a kid of high character and a player that loves the game and plays to the whistle. Fans of the team are going to love seeing Bell catch passes for years to come.
The prideful thanks in believing in him that was shared by Bell to Andrew Berry on his draft acceptance call was from a young man that has worked diligently his whole career and one day will be the talk of this Browns town.