The 2026 NFL Draft will be a great event for teams to start building for their future. Here is the Chris Bell NFL Draft Profile.
For full rankings, mock drafts and live coverage, visit our NFL Draft hub.
Position: Wide Receiver
School: Louisville
Size: 6-foot-1 3/4, 222 pounds
Class: Senior
2025 stats: 72 receptions, 917 receiving yards, 12.7 yards per reception, 6 touchdown receptions
Bell was a three-star prospect in the class of 2022 who signed with Louisville out of Mississippi. He played a little bit as a freshman, catching seven passes for 105 yards. Bell showed steady growth in 2023, as he had 29 catches for 407 yards and two touchdowns. Louisville won 10 games that season. In 2024, Bell registered 43 catches for 737 yards and four touchdowns. His play helped the Cardinals win nine games. This season, Bell had 72 catches for 917 receiving yards and six touchdowns. He led the Cardinals to another nine-win season. Bell tore his ACL late in the season.
Following the season, Bell has been recovering and preparing for the 2026 NFL Draft. He is currently projected to be a second to fourth round pick.
Bell has good size for the position, as he measured in at just under 6-foot-2 and 222 pounds at the NFL Combine. That gives him good size for a boundary receiver. He also had arms that measured just under 32 inches. Bell has good play strength with his size and a solid catch radius with his length.
He does some special things with the ball in his hands after the catch. Bell has good size and can build up to a nice speed as well. He can be used in screens and pick up yardage after the catch with some nice field vision. Bell can be tough to tackle with his size and speed combination.
His ability to stretch the field is there as well. While he doesn’t always convert catches deep, Bell has good size and speed to help him create some separation vertically down the field. He is a tough matchup because defensive backs will have to be big, but also have to have long speed to match him.
Bell tore his ACL late in the season, which didn’t allow him to test for the NFL Combine. He may be slow to get started during his NFL career because he won’t be ready for day one. Teams will need to check his medical info and timeline before drafting him or adjust their expectations accordingly.
He isn’t the best route-runner and has some work to do in that area. Bell struggles getting in and out of his breaks quickly, so he doesn’t always separate underneath on routes. He can be a more detailed route-runner to improve, but he is a bigger player so it may also be limited. Bell also needs to work on his releases to beat press coverage.
There are too many drops on Bell’s tape. He needs to limit focus drops by watching the ball all the way into his hands. Bell improved with just three drops in 2025, so he’ll need to keep that up. For his size, he could make more catches in traffic and also ones that are thrown off of his frame.
Projected Draft Range: Second Round Pick-Fourth Round Pick
Draft Grade: Third Round Pick
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