WIDE RECEIVER, PURDUE, ELIGIBLE FOR 2022 NFL DRAFT
David Bell is a 6’2”, 205 lbs. four-star wide receiver for the Purdue Boilermakers. He was the WR19 and 113th overall prospect from the 2022 class.
PAST PRODUCTION (COLLEGE STATS)
As a true freshman, David Bell achieved a breakout season. In 2019, Bell caught 86 passes for 1,035 yards and seven TDs. He also added another score on the ground, amassing 1,047 yards from scrimmage and eight offensive TDs. In the context of the Purdue passing attack, Bell produced 27.8% of the team’s receiving yardage and 24.1% of the team’s receiving scoring. These figures equate to a 26.0% dominator rating and a 27.1% adjusted dominator rating, both qualifying him for a breakout age of 18.8 years old. Bell’s 1.99 yards per team pass attempt fell just short of the 2.0 threshold that we like to see in wide receiver prospects.
David Bell took the next step as a receiver in 2020, despite a strange and shortened season. In Purdue’s six games, Bell caught 53 passes for 625 yards and eight TDs. In the context of the Purdue offense, this accounted for 33.7% of the team’s receiving yardage and 53.3% of the team’s receiving scoring. These figures equate to a 43.5% dominator rating and a 37.6% adjusted dominator rating. Surpassing the 30% dominator rating is an indicator that a player might be a future superstar in the NFL. He also averaged 2.36 yards per team pass attempt.
In the two seasons Bell has played, we emphasize his impact from a market share perspective within Purdue’s offense because he played alongside a player with debatably the most impressive true freshman wide receiver season ever in Rondale Moore. It is well known that Moore was dealing with injuries. Bell and Moore played in seven games together. When Moore wasn’t on the field Bell averaged nine catches for 101 yards and 0.91 TDs in those 11 games. With Moore on the field, Bell averaged five catches for 78 yards and 0.71 TDs. If we scrub out his first four college games when Moore was the clear alpha, he averaged 7 catches for 101 yards and 1.33 TDs. Proving that Bell did not rely on Moore commanding the defense’s attention, rather they complimented each other’s game.
2021 OUTLOOK/PERFORMANCE
David Bell will enter the 2021 season without Rondale Moore, as he has declared for the 2021 NFL Draft. Bell’s quarterback Jack Plummer will be back for his junior season, and he will be looking to feed Bell. We can expect Bell to be a target monster this season, which will lead to elite-level production. The only blemish on Bell is his lack of top-end speed. This is indicative of his career 12 yards per reception average. If Bell can win downfield more often, he will remove any doubt on his profile.
DEVY ANALYSIS
David Bell is currently being valued at the back end of the first round of devy drafts. He is comfortably in the top five receiver cohort in devy alongside George Pickens, Kayshon Boutte, Garrett Wilson, and Treylon Burks. His value should go up throughout the season with elite-level production, however, he could see a dip in value slightly after the NFL Combine, because we are assuming he won’t run a sub-4.4 40-yard dash, though it is possible he does. When it is all said and done, Bell is expected to be a day-two NFL Draft selection as a worst-case scenario.
There are plenty of receivers with Bell’s body type that went on to have successful NFL careers. The best-case comparable for Bell, physically, would be Jordy Nelson or Allen Robinson, though there are plenty of comparable players that didn’t work out which is the case for nearly every prospect.
Bell for me is in the conversation for the WR1 amongst the 2022 class. He produced at elite levels while competing for targets with another top-end talent in the power five. It is also noteworthy that among the power five, the SEC and Big Ten stand out as the conferences with NFL-level defenders, so Bell’s production holds up when compared to the other top options. Bell is a solid buy option in devy leagues right now.
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