Cleveland Browns: 4 young players looking for starting spots

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Sep 11, 2021; East Hartford, Connecticut, USA; Purdue Boilermakers wide receiver David Bell (3) runs the ball for a touchdown against the Connecticut Huskies in the first half at Rentschler Field at Pratt & Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

Cleveland Browns Young Standout No. 2 – David Bell

When the Cleveland Browns drafted David Bell in Round 3 of the 2022 draft, I hated the pick. Bell is a guy that was earlier projected to go in round one or two based on his production but later fell because of poor combine statistics.

After more time to digest the pick, I’m over the 4.65 forty-yard dash, and back to how serious his production was in college. In two and a half years of college (2020 was a shortened season), Bell had 232 catches, 2,946 yards receiving, and 21 touchdowns.

He wasn’t necessarily going against elite SEC talent every weekend, but the BIG10 has been known to produce some pretty good cornerbacks and he was seeing every team’s best week in and week out.

I do worry about him in tight press coverage. Will he have the athleticism to get off the ball and the route-running skills to get separation? Only time will tell.

But I do see him getting a lot of snaps as a rookie in the third wide receiver slot, and I see him giving a lot of production. Teams will be keying on Amari Cooper, David Njoku, and Kareem Hunt out of the backfield on third down, and Bell could be a sneaky guy underneath that develops a strong relationship with Watson.

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