Chicago Bears Draft Profile: Wide Receiver David Bell

With only one wide receiver under contract when the new league year begins, the Chicago Bears certainly need help there. Purdue’s David Bell would be a great fit.

One of the Chicago Bears‘ biggest needs this offseason is at wide receiver. The wide receivers corps last season struggled to get open and make plays consistently. Darnell Mooney eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark, but outside of him, there weren’t dependable options.

Allen Robinson, coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, struggled to get involved in the offense. He also suffered injuries that kept him off the field. He had one of the worst seasons of his career in 2021. Additionally, his relationship with the team became strained.

The Bears could use the franchise tag again on Robinson or sign him to a new long-term deal. However, with his estranged relationship with the team, he is likely gone. A new regime might offer some hope, but not much.

The Bears need some veteran leaders on the unit. They are sure to hit free agency to find some players who could come in and help. They will also certainly get help through the draft, though. A draft pick comes in relatively cheap and in control for a few years.

General manager Ryan Poles has some big decisions to make. The Bears only have five picks in this draft. Poles might want to try to make some trades that bring in some more picks. If not, he has to decide what assets he wants to pick up with his draft picks. Not having many of them, whatever he uses his picks on needs to be a hit.

Great Robinson replacement

What better way to replace Robinson than to have his clone? David Bell from Purdue is just that type of receiver. He receives a lot of comparisons to Robinson. In fact, he even admits that he patterns his game after Robinson.

Just like Robinson, Bell isn’t a speed demon. He is a ball-control receiver. He’ll make the catches that keep the chains moving and occasionally make the big play.

Bell uses great route-running and superior footwork to make up for his lack of speed. Additionally, he has great release off the snap, and great hands. He does a great job of getting to the ball at its highest point and outjumping the defender for the catch.

Bell measures in at 6-foot-2 and 208 pounds. He has good strength but still has room to fill in his body. Robinson is 6-foot-3, 220 pounds. He has eight years on Bell in the NFL so Bell can hit the 220-pound mark easily with a professional team’s weight program.

Purdue had a pass-happy offense. They averaged 44.3 passes a game, one of the most in the country. Coming from an offense like that certainly prepares him for the next level.

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The Boilermakers made sure to throw as many different types of passes as they could to Bell. He had the quick stick routes and slants, screens, and long-developing digs, posts, deep outs, and double moves vertically outside the numbers. All those routes give him a high football IQ.

Bell is similar to David Montgomery when he’s running with the ball. He absorbs hits well and keeps his balance. He is difficult to bring down. That allows him to bounce off attempted tackles and turn short-yardage plays into big yards.

Furthermore, Bell is a relentless competitor. He is fearless going to the middle. In his game film, I saw him take some big hits and hold onto the ball.

Having Bell on the Chicago Bears offense will be like having a younger version of Robinson. We all liked how Robinson played so why not have someone with a similar skill set? Bell would be a great fit with Chicago. Poles mentioned he wanted tough players and Bell is that.