After finishing the 2025 regular season with a 6-11 record, the New Orleans Saints are set to make their second-round selection with the 42nd overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Despite the team’s struggles, Tyler Shough showed potential to lead the New Orleans offense. To improve his supporting cast, the team is predicted to draft Louisville wide receiver Chris Bell at No. 42.
Why the Saints Are Predicted to Draft Chris Bell in the Second Round
PFSN’s Jacob Infante predicts that New Orleans will select Bell with the 42nd overall pick. Infante noted Bell’s physical tools and high upside despite recent setbacks.
“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. 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.”
Last season, the Saints ranked among the league’s worst offenses in PFSN’s NFL Offensive Impact Metric. They ended the season with an impact score of 68.0, equivalent to a D+ grade, ranking them 26th in the NFL.
Adding Bell would be a significant pickup for the Saints, given the lack of depth at the wide receiver position. In PFSN’s NFL Wide Receiver Impact Metric, only two Saints receivers qualified for the rankings: Chris Olave and Devaughn Vele.
Olave ranked 24th in the league with an impact score of 80.0 and a B- grade. Vele ranked 58th with an impact score of 73.2 and a C grade.
Over four seasons and 47 games with the Cardinals, Bell recorded 151 receptions for 2,166 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. In PFSN’s College Football Wide Receiver Impact, he ranked as the 27th-best wideout in college football for the 2025 season with an 80.9 impact score and a B- grade.
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In 2025, he recorded 72 receptions for 917 yards and six touchdowns in only 11 games. There is no denying that Bell is a premier athlete at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds.
However, as Infante notes, Bell suffered a season-ending injury last year. The injury was a torn ACL sustained late in the college season on Nov. 22.
While Bell possesses the physical traits to be an impact player in the league, the primary concern remains how he will perform after a major knee injury at 21.
