Chance to succeed Landry entices rookie slot receiver
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski felt compelled to remind Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta something important during the NFL Draft.
The message had this vibe: David Bell no matter what.
DePodesta revealed on the team’s radio network on draft weekend that Stefanski had texted him midway through the second round about a desire to select Bell in the third round at No. 99 overall.
It all came to fruition, and Bell has vowed not to take Stefanski’s faith for granted.
“To have the coach’s trust, I know I’m going to have to continue to build that out here making plays, how I walk through the facility and how I treat people,” Bell said Friday during rookie minicamp.
When Bell arrived at team headquarters in Berea the day after he had been drafted, Stefanski
told him he had also urged General Manager Andrew Berry to secure Bell.
“You were the first guy I watched, and right away, I was like, ‘We need to get this guy,’” Stefanski told Bell in a meeting
shown on “Building The Browns,” the team’s TV and web series. “You can ask our GM. I was like, ‘This day needs to end with David Bell on our team.’ Just your abil
ity to catch the ball, which I think is the best in the draft, your ability to get open and just who you are as a person, that fits who we are.”
The Browns are confident Bell is capable of making an immediate impact as the consensus first-team All-America wide receiver from Purdue University transitions to the professional level. They hope to use him as their main slot receiver. He filled the role occasionally as a collegiate standout, though he played mostly on the outside, where Stefanski will deploy him at times, too.
“It gets a little crowded out there with the linebackers, defensive line dropping and stuff like that, but it’s something I definitely know how to adjust to,” Bell said. “I played a little bit inside at Purdue, so it’s not too big of a difference.
“I think [playing the slot] gives you a little bit more freedom. You really don’t have that defender right up in your face. He’s about 5 to 6 yards off, so you can get him on his toes and have a lot more space to create.”
Bell is eager to improve against friend and former Northwestern University cornerback Greg Newsome II, the Browns’ 2021 firstround pick, during future practices. He’s focused on learning Stefanski’s playbook and terminology.
At this early stage, no one is claiming Bell will become a five-time Pro Bowl selection like Jarvis Landry, but the Browns clearly envision using him in similar ways. Landry spent the past four seasons with Cleveland and was cut in a March cost-saving move. He struck a deal Friday to join the New Orleans Saints and signed his contract Sunday.
“[Bell is] a very competitive player,” Stefanski said after the first of three rookie minicamp practices, the last of which wrapped up Sunday. “Catches the ball really well. We thought he had some savviness.
“When you’re looking at the draft, there are so many guys who can fit, and you better have a lot of guys who can fit in your scheme. It’s really what traits do you feel like you can exploit, so to speak. We thought he was really competitive at the catch and has some versatility to play outside and inside.”
An obvious opportunity to become Landry’s successor is enticing to Bell.
“I don’t wish I went a little bit higher [in the draft],” said Bell, who graduated from Purdue on Sunday. “God put me in this perfect situation. Come to the Browns. Be in a phenomenal offense. Got a great run game, a great passing game and arguably the best quarterback in the league right now. So I’m just really looking forward for the opportunity to get out there, and hopefully I have that chance to start at Week 1.”
Four-time Pro Bowl selection Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones are projected to start on the outside with Bell in the slot.
“All the receivers in our room, they have their own unique talents,” Bell said, “and I think mine is being able to find a soft spot in the defense.
“I take huge pride in just being able to make those contested catches and the awkward catches, too, that most receivers won’t be able to make.”
No, Bell is not fast by NFL standards. His 40-yard dash times of 4.65 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine and 4.71 at Purdue’s pro day in March were central to his draft stock contrasting from his elite collegiate production.
“I don’t really think it will be an issue for me,” Bell said. “I’ve never been the fastest going back to high school and college, but I really take a lot of real hard looks into my craft. I like to be really technical on how I can beat defensive backs, and that’s one thing I take pride in. Knowing that I’m not the fastest, I have to find different ways to win.”
Bell started 26 of his 29 games at Purdue and compiled 232 catches for 2,946 yards and 21 touchdowns. He set a school record with 17 career 100-yard receiving games and averaged an FBS-leading 101.6 receiving yards per game over his three collegiate seasons. He posted a career drop rate of 4.7% (11 total dropped passes).
A state champion in basketball and football, Bell said he fell in love with hoops first, yet he knew by his freshman year at Warren Central High School in Indianapolis that he would pursue an NFL career. From Bell’s perspective, one sport helped lead to success in the other.
“It’s a lot of lateral movement on the basketball court, so it’s definitely helped as a receiver to move defenders laterally,” Bell said. “And also, high pointing the ball and boxing out is kind of like grabbing a rebound, too.”
Bell, 21, was voted firstteam All-Big Ten the past two seasons. As a junior last season, he was the Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year, which goes to the conference’s top wide receiver.
A trio of Big Ten receivers not named Bell were drafted in the first round last month. They are Ohio State’s Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave and Penn State’s Jahan Dotson. The New York Jets drafted Wilson 10th overall, the Saints picked Olave 11th and the Washington Commanders took Dotson 16th.
Bell and Olave trained together in the buildup to the draft at House of Athlete, a state-of-the-art facility Landry frequents in Weston, Florida. Bell has known Wilson since high school. Bell is from Indianapolis, and Wilson hails from Texas, but they were teammates in a seven-on-seven tournament in California.
“To be able to beat those guys out [for the best receiver in the Big Ten] and to outperform them last season, it definitely is a huge accomplishment for me,” Bell said. “It’s something that I strived to do.”
What will matter much more moving forward is who has the better NFL career.