One of the draft’s top receiver prospects is recovering from a serious injury. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Pete Thamel, Louisville’s Chris Bell suffered a torn ACL in late November.
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Bell suffered the injury in a November 22 matchup against SMU. The wideout finished that contest with five receptions for 46 yards. He was sidelined for the team’s regular season finale against Kentucky, and we now know why. Schefter notes that the player is believed to have suffered a “clean” tear, and he’s set to undergo surgery this week.
The six-foot-two, 220-pound receiver earned first-team All-ACC honors this season after hauling in 72 catches for 917 yards and six touchdowns. This was a breakout season for the Cardinals star, who entered the year with 1,249 receiving yards in 36 games at Louisville.
This is obviously a tough development for the NFL prospect, who was recently projected by ESPN’s Field Yates to be a first-round pick in this year’s draft. Yates cited the player’s size and “uncommon power and burst” as reasons for why he’d be highly touted in the draft. This latest development will surely hurt the receiver’s draft stock, and in an update, Yates notes that the injury will likely force Bell out of the first round. Still, considering the wideout’s upside, a team will still surely take a chance on him, perhaps even earlier than Day 3.
Ohio State’s Carnell Tate and Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson are still expected to be the first receivers off the board, but Bell could have pushed to be the third player taken at his position. Instead, this injury will likely open the door for the likes of USC’s Makai Lemon and Washington’s Denzel Boston to be scooped up by WR-needy squads drafting later in the first round.