Who is Kenny Bell?
The conclusion of week 16 also marks the beginning of analysis season in dynasty. Savvy owners will be hitting the waiver wires and initiating trade discussions as strong as ever in search of sleepers for 2016. Prime targets will include talented players who are currently buried on depth charts, particularly given how far some NFL teams had to reach as a result of injuries, as well as those who missed time due to injury.
Finding a player who excelled in college and at the NFL Combine, missed time due to injury but is expected to be available for the start of the 2016 season and will face minimal competition is a good place to start. If he’s on your waiver wire, or more likely at the end of someone’s bench, it is a good time to target Tampa Bay wide receiver Kenny Bell.
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The 6’1, 197-pound wide receiver redshirted at the University of Nebraska (UN) in 2010, then proceeded to lead the team in receptions (32) and receiving yards (461) as a first-year starter in 2011. He also scored four touchdowns, including an 82-yard rushing touchdown. He upped his game as a sophomore, again leading UN with 50 receptions for 863 yards and eight touchdowns. In 2013, Bell dealt with injuries but still caugth 52 passes for 577 yards and four touchdowns.
Bell concluded his career at UN with 47 receptions for 788 yards and six touchdowns as a senior, leaving as the school’s all time-leader in receptions, receiving yardage and games started by an offensive player. He also averaged over 25 yards per kick return over his four seasons.
The wide receiver’s success continued into the 2015 Combine, where he put his name into consideration as a selection for the second day of the NFL Draft. He placed in the top-eight at his position in five categories, including top-four in vertical jump, broad jump and three-cone drill as well as seventh in the 40-yard dash with a 4.42-second time.
Even with a strong Combine performance and record-setting statistics in college, Bell was flying under the radar with Amari Cooper, DeVante Parker, Kevin White, Breshad Perriman and Nelson Agholor dominating the wide receiver spotlight. In what was considered a deep wide receiver class, following what is already an all-time great class from 2014, Bell was not one of the more talked about names in the draft. For a current NFL comparison, many scouts have compared him to Nate Washington.
Through the first two days (three rounds) of the Draft, Bell did not hear his name called. The Buccaneers made him their fifth-round selection (162nd overall) on the final day of the draft, a round ahead of where former college teammate Quincy Enunwa was selected by the Jets the previous year.
Considering the increasing hype surrounding Bell pre-draft, Tampa Bay was thought to have gotten good value at a position where they desperately needed to improve. Regarded as one of the best blocking wide receivers in the draft, Bell displayed the toughness and strength to hold his own against larger defenders in college and combines this with his agility to win contested catches. He has reliable hands, runs good routes and has the acceleration to create separation on the outside. He was the Cornhuskers’ go-to target to make a big play or move the chains, and is considered a strong vocal leader who backs up his talk with a work ethic and football IQ that are second to none.
On the downside, Bell doesn’t have much room on his frame to get bigger, which could be problematic as he faces bigger and tougher competition at the NFL level. His skillset likely limits him to play on the outside, though he doesn’t have the top-end speed to consistently out-run his opponents. Overcompensating for his size by physical play, he had more than his fair share of offensive pass interference calls. He also missed all of the 2015 season with an early-September hamstring injury, though the Buccaneers’ plan was clearly to involve Bell in the offense early.
To his advantage is the sad state of affairs that is the Tampa Bay wide receiver corps. There is very little beyond Mike Evans, particularly as there is an increasing probability that Vincent Jackson does not return in 2016. Donteea Dye, Russell Shepard and Adam Humphries are no more than camp bodies playing snaps out of necessity. Aside from the running backs and the talented yet still unproven Austin Seferian-Jenkins, the Buccaneers will be looking to free agency and the draft to bring in targets for Jameis Winston.
To what extent will depend upon the status of Bell, who coaches have raved about and appears primed for a starting gig pending a free agent signing. Even then, there are not too many options more intriguing than Bell. Options could include Rueben Randle or Rishard Matthews, should they reach free agency, but either scenario likely would not negatively impact Bell’s role in the offense. While he does not fit the profile of a number one wide receiver (how many really do?), Bell could thrive opposite Evans in single coverage.
Given that the majority of scouts’ issues with Bell can be traced directly to his size, a variable which many NFL players have successfully overcome and even used to their advantage, the trick for the wide receiver will be to stay healthy. Aside from that, as a prospect in fantasy Bell has the combination of talent, passion and opportunity to be a great buy-low option.
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