If the Houston Texans go defense in Round 1, could WR be an option in Round 2?
With Lovie Smith as the new head coach of the Houston Texans and with so much high-level talent available on defense in the first round, for argument’s sake let’s say Smith and general manager Nick Caserio make defense a focal point with the third overall pick.
Now with the 37th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Texans can possibly share the wealth of early-round draft choices and take a look at the offense, with the possibility of adding a wide receiver. If still on the board, the Texans should be interested in Purdue wide receiver David Bell.
The Texans with their placement in the first three rounds of the draft is there are various ways they can pick a wide receiver in this draft as we’ve previously spoken about Garrett Wilson (a first-round projection) and Romeo Doubs (a third-round projection).
One positive in a Bleacher Report draft profile of Bell is his ability to create yards after the catch, and here is what was written about Bell in the B/R draft profile about Bell:
"“Can create yards after the catch with his strength and good balance. Bounces off CBs with the ball in his hands and flashes some burst to get north.”"
All the yards after catch the Texans can add next season would be a huge plus, and if they were to decide to draft a wide receiver in the second round Bell could be available and the Texans would have a decision to make.
In a tweet describing some stats of Bell this week, @MetricScout of @DLFootball had this information about the Purdue wide receiver for those who are into advanced numbers on draft prospects:
David Bell caught 86 balls for 1,035 yards and 7 TDs as an 18 year old freshman in 2019. Owned a 27.83% market share. One of just 3 WRs in this class to hit a 20% market share at 18. Also had 1.99 yards per team pass attempt, class leading for Year one, not just age 18.
— Bruce Matson (@MetricScout) February 8, 2022
Houston Texans draft: A wide receiver would be a big difference maker
For his collegiate career at Purdue, Bell, who is 6’2′ and weighs 205 pounds, finished with 2,946 yards receiving with 232 receptions and 21 career touchdown catches in three seasons. Bell also averaged 12.7 yards per catch for his career and twice in his career caught for over 1,000 yards in a season.
Bell’s individual season numbers while playing in the Big Ten looked like this:
2019: 12 games, 86 receptions, 1035 yards, 7 touchdowns (12.0 ypc)
2020: 6 games, 53 receptions, 625 yards, 8 touchdowns (11.8 ypc)
2021: 11 games, 93 receptions, 1286 yards, 6 touchdowns (13.8 ypc)
Looking at the Texans wide receivers from this past season, other than Brandin Cooks – who finished with 90 receptions for 1,037 yards and six touchdowns (11.5 ypc) the rest of the receivers left the offense needing more for this upcoming ’22 season.
Nico Collins was a great addition through the draft last year by Caserio and the Texans, as he totaled 33 receptions for 446 yards (13.8 ypc) and one touchdown as a rookie, but there is a need for more with the unit, and this draft is a nice place to do so.
Bell would be great to offset with Cooks’ leadership and top-level talent, and he would mix well with the speed brought to the offense by Collins. Add those three to a wide receiver unit with an improved Davis Mills at quarterback and things will change for sure.
Also seeing Bell work with new Texans offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton would be interesting as Hamilton has worked with excellent receivers at all levels, especially his time with the Indianapolis Colts as their offensive coordinator with his unique take on a West Coast-inspired offense.
Though many might not believe it, but the offense of the Texans could have a huge turnaround if Hamilton isn’t as predictable as the previous OC, and if the talent level rises on the unit at receiver, which if available in the second round, Bell would be a steal and a second round gem at 37th overall.