Chris Bell was a first-round lock on Nov. 21, 2025. On Nov. 22, he tore his ACL in a 38-6 Louisville loss at SMU. The Cardinals’ top wide receiver prospect had 72 catches, 917 yards, and 6six touchdowns in 10 games before the injury. His 2026 NFL Draft stock has reset. He’s now a Day 2 projection with Round 2 upside and a training-camp target date for NFL availability.
Where Will Chris Bell Be Drafted? Day 2 Range With 49ers in Play
PFSN’s Jacob Infante has Bell going to the San Francisco 49ers at No. 58 overall in his Day 2 and 3 mock.
“Listed at 6’2″ and 220 pounds, Chris Bell is a freak athlete for his size with the raw speed and strength to be a potential force at wide receiver,” Infante wrote. “He falls a little bit due to a thin route tree and a season-ending injury, but one could argue that Bell has the highest ceiling among wide receivers in the 2026 NFL Draft.”
The industry consensus has converged on Day 2 after the injury. NFL.com ranks Bell as the ninth receiver in the class.
“Bell is a deadly three-level threat in the making, but his medical situation is a source of uncertainty,” Cummings wrote. “He tore his ACL late in the 2025 season, but it was a clean tear with minimal ligament damage, and he had successful surgery. He won’t be able to test or take part in pre-draft activities, and his early-season availability may be in question, but as long as Bell is on track to a full recovery, he holds merit as a potential Top 50 pick.”
If Bell goes in Round 2, he’ll be the highest-drafted Louisville wide receiver since the Rams took Tutu Atwell in Round 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Chris Bell Scouting Report: Vertical-Z Upside and ACL Recovery
The physical profile is why the draft community stayed on Bell after the injury.
Cummings’ report captures the case. “Chris Bell has a profile that NFL teams continually fawn over each and every cycle,” he wrote. “At 6’2″, 227 pounds, with 32″ arms and likely 4.4 speed, Bell brings a tantalizing mix of lean mass, play strength, playmaking range, short-area quickness, and long-strider explosion to the fold. His physical profile is dominating, and it enables him to contend in 1-on-1 situations on the vertical plane, as well as accrue devastating volumes of RAC with speed and contact balance.”
Cummings’ measurements are pre-combine projections. At Indianapolis, Bell measured 6-foot-1â…ž, 222 pounds with 10-inch hands and 31¾-inch arms. He did not run or participate in agility drills at the combine or at Louisville’s Pro Day because of the ACL rehab timeline.
The PFSN WR Impact Grade backs the production side. Bell’s 2025 grade is 80.9, a B-, ranking No. 27 among all 2025 wide receivers and No. 209 all-time. That’s a top-30 producer grade on a 10-game sample cut short by injury.
The operational piece is still developing. “He can offset DBs with fast feet and efficiency on releases and at stems,” Cummings wrote. “He can cut tight angles on breaks for his size, and he’s a reliable hands-catcher over the middle.” Bell had a 4.0 percent drop rate in 2025 (three drops).
The rehab is the wild card. Rapoport reported on April 23 that, per agent Erik Burkhardt, Bell has already been clocked sprinting at more than 18 miles per hour, a pace that translates to a 4.3 forty. Dr. Dan Cooper, the Dallas Cowboys team physician, performed the surgery in Dallas. Bell is expected to be available for the start of training camp, though Week 1 availability remains in question 10 months after the November injury.
The A.J. Brown comp follows Bell around. Walter Football and multiple other outlets have invoked it based on frame, speed, and contact balance. Bell has invoked it himself. Those are weight-bearing comparisons to earn, but the bet a team makes in Round 2 here is that the player matches up to the body type when he’s back on a football field.
