This series was created in response to questions about why certain well-known prospects went unselected in NFL drafts. For these articles, I reach out to sources with NFL teams to find out why their organizations passed on drafting a given player, and/or, what were the reasons for other teams to pass on that prospect. The positive response to “Why Undrafted” and questions from readers about why prospects were drafted lower than the media expectations led us to create the parallel series “Why the Slide?”
Both series are back this year. Feel free to email me requests for Why the Slide? and Why Undrafted? at [email protected]. I can’t promise to get to all of them, but I will do my best and definitely will respond to the email.
During the 2021 college football season and in the early months of 2022, there was a lot of media hype about Purdue wide receiver David Bell. He had his best season in 2021, collecting 93 receptions for 1,286 yards and six touchdowns to conclude his college career. There were some projections of the juniot being a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, but NFL team sources told WalterFootball.com they had him graded much lower. Thus, Bell slid towards the middle of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Multiple team sources said during the early portion of 2022 they had Bell graded on Day 2 or in the mid-rounds of the 2022 NFL Draft. Those evaluators saw speed concerns as the big problem for Bell translating to the NFL. He ran slow times at the combine and in pre-draft workouts, which only reinforced pro views that he could have major problems separating from NFL cornerbacks. Their tape study and watching Bell in person led them to have concerns about Bell being too slow, and that was the catalyst for him sliding deep into Day 2.
The Cleveland Browns ended Bell’s slide late in the third round, and that was a good landing spot for him. The Browns have an established No. 1 receiver in Amari Cooper, but they need other options to emerge across from him with two other starters and reliable depth. Donovan Peoples-Jones is a favorite to be a No. 2 receiver with Cooper, so that leaves Bell in a competition with other players like 2021 third-rounder Anthony Schwartz, Jakeem Grant, Javon Wims, and some other rookies. Thus, Bell is in a great position to quickly grab a role as a complementary receiver. With an elite quarterback in Deshaun Watson to help him, Bell landed in a very favorable situation to start out his NFL career.
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