The Unconventional Sports That Helped Bills Rookie WR Skyler Bell Reach the NFL

Skyler Bell has a chance to make his mark with the Buffalo Bills, but took an unconventional path to get where he is.

Connecticut Huskies wide receiver Skyler Bell makes the touchdown against the Ball State Cardinals. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Buffalo Bills rookie wide receiver Skyler Bell is ready to make his mark in the NFL. It's still early during the offseason, but he's already impressed coaches during rookie minicamp and OTAs, showing plenty of progress after a couple of drops in his first practice.

Bell has been praised for his intelligence and was able to rebound from a couple of drops during his first practice session, which has Bills On SI's Alex Brasky saying the 'hype train' is rolling for Bell.

It's not by accident that Bell knows the importance of self improvement. An in-depth piece from Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News details how Bell was raised, which included his father using some unconventional sports to build an elite athlete.

Derrick Bell impressed the importance of sports on his four kids, and for Skyler, that led to him becoming a big name in the AAU circuit. Outside of basketball, he was also an excellent chess player who qualified for the state tournament. Derrick also had his kids play golf, stressing that there was no one else to blame if you failed there. For Skyler, failure was a rare thing as his father would tell him to putt unitl he made 10 shots, and Skyler rarely missed.

How hockey helped Skyler Bell transition to football

UConn Huskies wide receiver Skyler Bell makes the touchdown against UAB Blazers cornerback Tariq Watson. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

As if those sports didn't make Skyler Bell rounded enough, he was also an avid hockey player. Bell said hockey was his first love, meaning he joined the Bills at the perfect time as he was able to watch the Bruins playoff run. Bell loved the physicality of the sport, but also felt extreme joy when he moved from defenseman to center, where he became an efficient goal scorer.

“I started scoring some goals, man,” Skyler told The Buffalo News via Lysowski
. “Just like anything, once you get that rewarding feeling, I think you want more, you want more, you want more. As I got older and started playing against better competition, I was able to compete and dominate. I just fell in love with it, scoring goals, the speed, the contact, the physicality. It also leads into football.”

Bell eventually fell in love with football and was recruited by Iowa and Wisconsin. He chose Wisconsin, but truly broke out when he transferred to Connecticut.

Now, the kid from the Bronx is trying to prove he deserves a spot with the Bills. Based on his history, it would be unwise to bet against him developing into a legit threat in this offense.