Saints Draft: If Chris Bell is Off the Board, Who Should New Orleans Consider?
· Yahoo Sports
Before his season-ending injury, Louisville WR Chris Bell was supposed to go in the first round and could have been a top-20 pick. His mix of size and athleticism is something teams around the league would easily fall in love with, but he suffered a late-season torn ACL. This has dropped his draft stock to where the New Orleans Saints are selecting, and rightfully so, fans want him on the team.
QB Tyler Shough and Bell were teammates in 2024, and the Saints have a need at WR2. Bell also adds a level of speed, and after the catch ability, the Saints are completely missing, so he would be the perfect pick at 42 for the team.
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Now, there's an issue: He will probably be gone by 42.
This offseason, Bell has progressed really well, and there is a strong belief that he will be healthy by training camp. A development like this could and should catapult Bell into first-round conversations, and that is out of the Saints' range.
There have been two ideas circulating on social media about how to get the Saints' Bell: trade back or trade up to the first.
Here are the problems with those ideas. Mickey Loomis does not trade back, and getting back in the first is too expensive, especially in this draft. The WR class is really good this year, and depth-wise, that's where the strenght is. Kellen Moore can find a WR2 at 42, even if Bell is off the board.
Yes, Bell on the Saints is a great scenario for everyone, but realistically, the team sticking and picking at 42 for a WR is the smarter move. If the Saints were able to fix more of their roster needs in free agency, maybe a trade up for Bell would make sense, but Loomis has done a great job in recent years of being passive and making small trades.
So, if the Saints do stay at 42 and pick a WR, some of the options the team can go with instead are Alabama's Germie Bernard, Clemson's Antonio Williams, Notre Dame's Malachi Fields, Georgia State's Ted Hurst, or UConn's Skyler Bell.
The fact that these are just some of the options, and that there are still players projected to be selected in the third round that the Saints could love as well, is an excellent situation for this team. If Bell is there at 42, great; if not, there are other options.