Chris Bell was the Cardinals’ leading receiver this past season, hauling in 72 receptions for 917 yards and six touchdowns. He earned first-team All-ACC honors for his efforts.
The 6’2”, 222 lb passcatcher suffered a season-ending torn ACL in late November during a 38-6 loss to SMU. As a result, Bell has been forced to opt out of the pre-draft process as he works back from injury. However, sources told ESPN back in early December that the tear was “believed to be clean,” going into his surgery with Dr. Dan Cooper.
Bell was receiving late first-round hype before he went down for the year with an injury; therefore, he’s a prime ‘steal’ candidate on Day 2 of the draft. The Colts fall into this category as they currently have no first-round pick at their disposal, yet would be more than willing to play the waiting game for someone of Bell’s caliber with their second-round pick (47th overall).
Despite the potential best-case scenario at hand, the Colts have far bigger needs (i.e., edge rusher and off-ball linebacker) than another wide receiver. Sure, having a prospect like Bell fall into one’s lap just to go elsewhere would be a tough pill to swallow, but it’s ultimately the Colts’ fault for essentially shoehorning themselves into taking a front-seven defender thanks to their roster construction thus far.
As reported by Rapoport, Chris Bell had a Top 30 visit with the New York Jets today and will meet with the Colts and do Combine Rechecks in Indianapolis later this week.