Louisville WR Chris Bell Scouting Report
Bell Too Hard M************ Wanna Fine Me
Image 1: WR Chris Bell (0) making a play with the ball in his hands
Height: 6’2
Weight: 220
Position: WR
Year: Senior
Background
Image 2: WR Chris Bell (3) making a contested catch at Yazoo City High School
Chris Bell was a Three-Star WR prospect in the class of 2022 coming out of Yazoo City High School in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Ranked as the 124th WR in the nation and 26th player from Mississippi, Bell had limited offers coming out of high school, despite having solid track times and production. Initially committed to Southern Miss, Bell decommitted once he received several P4 offers. Deciding between Louisville, Maryland, and Mississippi State, Bell committed to Louisville.
As a Cardinal, Bell primarily played a small special teams role as a true freshman. As a sophomore, Bell got more involved on offense, finishing the season second on Louisville in yards and receptions. As a junior, Bell continued to be a productive WR2 for Louisville, putting up another solid year of production. While he would have gotten drafted as a junior, Bell returned to school to be the top target for coveted transfer Miller Moss. As a senior, Bell put up a career year, leading the team in yards, receptions, and touchdowns. While a recent ACL tear has killed a lot of his draft hype, Bell enters the 2026 as one of the freakiest athletes in the draft class.
Athletic Tools
From a size and speed perspective, Chris Bell is a freak of nature. With a rocked-up frame and great build-up speed, Bell performs physical feats on tape that very few WRs should be capable of performing. Whether he is boxing out WRs, eating up the cushion of off-coverage defenders, or outrunning secondaries, Bell has high-end potential as a deep threat due to his speed and size.
Video 1: WR Chris Bell (0) runs past the Miami secondary due to his speed
Video 2: WR Chris Bell (0) takes a slant to the house with his breakaway speed
Video 3: WR Chris Bell (0) stacks the DB vertically with his deep speed
Video 4: WR Chris Bell (0) showing great build up speed when running vertically
Video 5: WR Chris Bell (0) boxes out the DB with his frame to secure the catch
Video 6: WR Chris Bell (0) boxes out the DB when securing the back shoulder
While speed and size are great tools to have, Bell lacks any of the other athletic tools needed to be an NFL WR. With poor acceleration and deceleration, Bell struggles to reach his top speed or throttle down. For a player whose projection is based on his vertical speed and size, Bell is not going to be able to fully benefit from having dangerous deep speed, as he can’t cleanly run comebacks or digs in full stride. Speed cutting is a solid alternative to getting out of breaks for a player with poor deceleration, but Bell is a stiff athlete who cannot cleanly change directions. Bell has reps of him effectively speed cutting, but he is not snappy out of breaks. Though he can use push-offs at the stem, Bell is going to struggle to get consistent separation on non-vertical route concepts in the NFL.
Video 7: WR Chris Bell (0) accelerates slowly when trying to reach his top speed
Video 8: WR Chris Bell (0) accelerates slowly and rounds the break when running the out
Video 9: WR Chris Bell (0) attempts to stop due to the tipped ball and trips over himself
Video 10: WR Chris Bell (0) does not drive his hips and takes multiple steps when decelerating on the comeback
Video 11: WR Chris Bell (0) does not drive his hips and takes multiple steps when decelerating on the comeback
Video 12: WR Chris Bell (0) taking an inside release and speed cutting at the stem of the dig
Video 13: WR Chris Bell (0) pushes off at the stem of the out route to get open
Technicals
Bell projects mainly as a deep threat who uses his size and speed to separate deep, but he actually struggles with this at the college level. With incredibly long releases and a poor first step, Bell has a difficult time getting off the LOS and beating press coverage against college DBs, Bell’s production has mainly come from short-to-intermediate targets, and most of his big yardage plays come from busted coverages. Combined with rounded breaks and minimal salesmanship at the stem, Bell is a very raw route runner who may lack the fluidity or twitch to be effective running a full NFL route tree. Bell has all the tools to be a good one-trick pony as a deep threat, but he needs to get a lot better at getting off the line and beating press coverage.
Video 14: WR Chris Bell (0) takes an outside release and attempts to hand fight while trying to beat the press
Video 15: WR Chris Bell (0) takes an outside release and struggles to beat the press
Video 16: WR Chris Bell (0) takes an outside release and can’t get open on the comeback
Video 17: WR Chris Bell (0) taking a very long release off the LOS
Video 18: WR Chris Bell (0) does not sell the route at the stem and rounds the break
Video 19: WR Chris Bell (0) does not sell the route at the stem and rounds the break
Video 20: WR Chris Bell (0) rounds the break and lets the DB undercut the pass for a PBU
Video 21: WR Chris Bell (0) makes an explosive play downfield on the busted coverage
Bell’s size is a major advantage, but he is inconsistent in using it to his full advantage. In terms of ball skills, Bell has reps where he is able to box out DBs and secure passes outside of his frame. However, Bell has other reps where he fails to secure passes in traffic. For a player with immense size and play strength, Bell needs to be more active with his hands when fighting off the LOS to gain separation. Bell has reps where he effectively hand-fights, but I wish Bell used his hands more down-to-down.
Video 22: WR Chris Bell (0) secures the ball outside his frame
Video 23: WR Chris Bell (0) makes a difficult catch to secure the ball with one hand
Video 24: WR Chris Bell (0) attempts to make a catch in traffic and fails to secure it
Video 25: WR Chris Bell (0) jumps in the air to secure the high pass and tips it
Video 26: WR Chris Bell (0) hand fights at the stem to get open
While I have been pretty negative on his technical refinement, Bell has a lot of redeeming qualities for a developmental prospect. Despite needing work as a route runner and pass catcher, Bell has good zone feel when finding soft spots in coverage. Beyond being a pass catcher, Bell is a nasty blocker whose size and tenacity let him be a force multiplier in the run game. With his size and strength letting him block bigger defenders, Bell is great in condensed formations as he can effectively block LBs and EDGEs on concepts like crack toss or when climbing to the second level.
Video 26: WR Chris Bell (0) settles in the zone to create an easy throw for the QB
Video 27: WR Chris Bell (0) settles in the zone to create an easy throw for the QB
Video 28: WR Chris Bell (0) drives the DB off the LOS due to his size advantage
Video 29: WR Chris Bell (0) shoulder checks a DB with violence
Video 30: WR Chris Bell (0) climbs to the second-level and blocks a LB
By having an elite straight-line speed and size combination, Bell has the perfect tools to be a gunner in the NFL. With gunners needing to have the size to break through the press of one-to-two jammers and speed to get to the return man, Bell has All-Pro potential pursing returners. Combined with his good blocking and experience covering kicks, Bell can be a multi-phase special teams ace. While this is an unsexy job for fans or fantasy players to read about, Bell being able to be a great special teams contributor can give him an avenue to make rosters while he develops as a player.
Image 3: All-Pro ST/S Brendan Schooler’s RAS Card
Image 4: Pro Bowler ST/WR Ben Skoronek’s RAS Card
Image 5: ST/WR Dareke Young’s RAS Card
Draft Projection
Chris Bell currently has a mid-to-late day two grade. Bell has a lot of intriguing tools to be an explosive vertical threat, but he needs a lot of work to reach his potential. With poor releases and inconsistent hand fighting, Bell needs a lot of technical development before he can be a reliable downfield threat for an NFL offense. In terms of being a true three-level separator, Bell is unlikely to ever be a great player. With poor fluidity and acceleration, Bell is not going to make selling routes and cleanly getting out breaks a part of his game. Though he is a developmental prospect who has a lot of work to do before he can reach his potential, Bell’s size and speed give him a good floor as a high-end skill position blocker and special teamer.
Athletic Testing
Will be updated after the NFL Combine/Louisville Pro Day
Pro Comparison
Image 6: WR Johnathon Mingo (81) during his time with the Dallas Cowboys
A similar speed and size prospect who had serious limitations as a player, Johnathon Mingo reminds me a lot of Chris Bell. A supersized WR with impressive speed, Mingo lacked the refinement and athletic tools to be a starting NFL separator. Due to being stiff and unexplosive, Mingo played a lot slower on the field than his testing would suggest, while lacking the tools to properly use NFL technique as a route runner. Though his size, long speed, and blocking will make him a rosterable NFL player, Mingo’s future as a star WR looks doubtful. While I doubt his stock will get as high as Mingo’s due to his inability to test Bell’s athleticism is worth a dart throw, but I believe it should be done by a team that does not need a year-one starter.
Date Published: 2/4/2025
Date Last Updated: 2/4/2025
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