Name: Ronnie Bell

School: Michigan

Year: Sr

Position: Wide Receiver

Measurables: 6’0”, 191 lbs.

Combine: Vertical- 38.5”, Broad- 10’, 40-yard dash- 4.54s, Shuttle- 4.15s, 3-cone- 6.98s

Stats:

Courtesy of Sports-Reference.com

General Info:

Former 3-star recruit out of Kansas City, Missouri, with five years of experience at Michigan. Bell turned 23 in January.

Bell recovered from a knee injury suffered in 2021 to put up his best statistical season for the Wolverines in 2022, before declaring for the NFL Draft.

Having been named Michigan’s offensive rookie of the year in 2018, he went on to lead the team in receiving the following season.

In his high school days, Bell was a two-sport athlete and originally committed to play basketball at Missouri State, before being recruited to Michigan by Jim Harbaugh.

Positional Skills:

Strengths

The word that comes to mind with Bell is ‘clean’. He is just a very solid all-around receiver.

His basketball background shows up in how he comfortably catches the ball even on inaccurate throws. He possesses impressive body control and can ‘toe tap’ to stay in bounds on sideline grabs.

Bell runs a nice variety of routes, and he runs them smoothly and efficiently. At the line of scrimmage, he possesses a couple of different releases which put him in good position to get the ball early on.

In terms of versatility, Bell has lined up on both perimeters and has plenty of reps in the slot. He was used in motion by Michigan, too.

He was a two-time captain, and his team-first attitude shows up in the effort he gives as a blocker, working through the whistle. Bell will keep working to get open later in the rep, and this led to a big play versus Ohio State this past season.

Bell also has experience on special teams as a returner.

At the combine, Bell tested well, earning an 8.20 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) on a 0-10 scale compared to previously drafted receivers, including above average scores for speed, agility, and explosion.

Weaknesses

For everything that is good about Bell as a receiver, there is nothing great. He is not the quickest receiver, or the biggest, the best route runner or the best after the catch you will find in this draft. He is a good player, but he is more ‘high floor’ than ‘high ceiling’.

This may be evidenced by the fact he never had a season of top-end production at Michigan. His best season comprised of 62 catches for just under 900 yards and four touchdowns.

Bell is big enough to qualify for the Packers based on their draft history at the receiver position, but he was given a ‘poor’ size grade on his RAS card, standing at 5’11.5” and weighing 191lbs.

He also has a serious knee injury in his past, which was sustained in the 2021 season opener and kept him out for the rest of that campaign.

Fit with the Packers:

Bell would be an excellent fit in Green Bay. Based on the other receivers Brian Gutekunst has drafted, he is big and athletic enough.

He would bring the versatility to play on the outside or in the slot and could be trusted to block, a pre-requisite for getting on the field in Matt LaFleur’s offense.

Simply put, Bell is the type of receiver every NFL team could use. He will never be a superstar but is as reliable as they come and should be an effective role player for a long time.

The Packers could look to target Bell late on day two or early on day three of this year’s draft.