Chris Bell 2026 Season Preview — what we know, and what nobody does | Muffed

Chris Bell was drafted on the tape and priced on the knee. Pick two twelve is the market's offer for a third-rounder whose last live football ended in a torn ACL — the caution is sound. So is the upside case. That's the episode.

The record: ninety-fourth overall from Louisville, per the team's draft coverage, months after the November ACL that ended his best season — seventy-two catches at the time of the injury, per the school. Pre-injury evaluations tracked him rounds higher, per CBS Sports. The rehab file, dated: no timetable, per Jeff Hafley in late May via the Miami Herald — then ahead of schedule, running and jumping, a season-opening reserve stint still possible, per Athlon in June.

[[SITUATION]]

The situation: the room was stripped to the studs. Tyreek Hill released, Jaylen Waddle traded to Denver, per the offseason reporting — Waddle's sixty-four catches and nine hundred ten verified yards walked out with him. The top returning target, per NFL.com, is Malik Washington — verified at forty-six catches. New everything else: Hafley coaching, Bobby Slowik coordinating since April, Malik Willis at quarterback, per the club and CBS. Opportunity is not his problem. Availability is.

[pause] The plainest stance in this batch: an ACL rehab runs on a schedule the building itself won't commit to — pricing that is guessing, and we don't guess. If the knee is ready, the depth chart is wide open. That's an if, not a projection.

Watch: the reserve-list decision when camp opens, and the date of his first full-contact practice — everything downstream keys off those two. [[CLOSE]] If he's one of your guys, this show exists for your whole roster — every player, every week, all season.