Browns Underlying Stories: David Bell
Despite suggestions to the contrary, Cleveland Browns wide receiver David Bell had an average year for a rookie wide receiver for the role he had in the offense. He's never going to be a great athlete, an argument against the selection in the first place, but Bell was able to get open, catch passes and extend drives. Entering his second season, Bell could provide value, especially as the first slot off the bench.
Potentially a victim of training camp hype in a year where the Browns didn't pick until the third round, Bell felt like a disappointment in an offense where he was behind Amari Cooper, David Njoku and Donovan Peoples-Jones in the passing game.
Jacoby Brissett was notoriously conservative with trusting his receivers. It took time for him to look for Donovan Peoples-Jones and by the time he started trusting Bell, Deshaun Watson was re-entering the lineup. Struggling in many of his six games, his entering the lineup also coincided with Bell injuring his thumb.
Nevertheless, Bell caught 24 passes for 214 yards. It's not a great rookie season, but it's hardly the disaster many would make it out to be, leaving him on the roster bubble.
Second, 35 percent of the 214 yards came after the catch. It's a small sample size but if he can generate yards after the catch at a similar rate, it would go a long way in mitigating athletic limitations.
Third and most importantly, Bell got open. Against man coverage, Bell got open 42.86 percent of the time. That's better than first round picks Chris Olave, Drake London and Treylon Burks.
One could certainly make the argument that those receivers were bigger parts of the offense and drew more attention in addition to facing better corners. I'll concede that point, but Bell was drafted at the end of the third round to be a complementary receiver as opposed to a featured target. The bottom line is Bell got open and didn't get the ball. He did his job.
The acquisition of Elijah Moore further highlights the lack of athleticism from Bell, which may be playing a role in why some are down on him. But it's not as if the Browns are surprised that Bell wasn't a great athlete. It was plain as day on tape as well as in testing and they took him anyway.
The Browns liked him to be a power slot, which is still valid even with Moore. Bell can overpower traditional slot corners while being too quick for linebackers and most safeties. Moore will certainly be a featured target in the slot this season, but his career split is 50-50 outside versus the slot and while those percentages could change, head coach Kevin Stefanski has said they want Moore to also play Z this season.
Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones can play in the slot and will do so to create some mismatches, but both line up on the outside at least 70 percent of the time. Cedric Tillman played almost exclusively on the outside at Tennessee and could fall in a similar range as Cooper and DPJ.
Contrast that with Bell, who played 72.2 percent of the snaps his rookie year in the slot. In addition to just having depth, there is clearly an opportunity for Bell to get reps in the slot within the normal Browns offense.
There's little reason to expect Bell to get much faster, but he can continue to hone his technique and gain confidence in his second season.
Bell could benefit from the influx of talent the Browns have added. More speed and the ability to stretch the field could create more space for Bell to operate in the short and intermediate areas of the field, enabling him to make a bigger impact.
Players like Jaelon Darden could provide competition and push Bell, but it's more likely Darden in particular is trying to unseat Marquise Goodwin. Darden is a deep threat with terrific speed like Goodwin. Darden has only played 30 percent of his snaps from the slot, but it's worth noting he's only played 103 snaps in his career to this point.
It's possible the Browns view Darden as a viable option to take a larger amount of reps from the slot. It's worth monitoring, but doesn't seem likely. They might decide Darden is good enough to keep regardless, but the Browns will need to get slot reps elsewhere. Maybe there's a world where David Njoku, Jordan Akins and Harrison Bryant get the bulk of those slot reps along with Moore, but that would limit the versatility of the offense as a whole. It's a similar situation with Anthony Schwartz.
The most viable slot option the Browns have on their roster outside of Bell might be Mike Harley Jr., a player who spent last year on the practice squad. If he has an epiphany, he could push Bell for that spot, but more likely, he will once again be available to add to the team's practice squad.
Because Bell wasn't bad in the first place, the biggest threat beyond injury is that he somehow regresses. That would limit the Browns options in the slot and might have the offense get more creative with some of their other receivers or, as mentioned earlier, utilizing tight ends to operate out of the slot.
David Bell's viability in the slot gives the Cleveland Browns more freedom with how they operate their offense, especially with Elijah Moore who could line up outside or even in the backfield. The Browns getting more production from Bell in his second season is an added bonus.
