Bills gain plaudits for underrated draft selection originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Buffalo Bills have been one of the teams this offseason that have gone about their business without much fanfare and have addressed several needs.
With Joe Brady taking over from Sean McDermott, pressure is on the franchise to finally break through its playoff ceiling and make or win the Super Bowl.
And a key part of that equation is the draft class.
The Bills addressed the defense early, but it is a selection in the later rounds that has many bullish on Josh Allen and the offense, and that’s receiver Skyler Bell.
For CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson, Bell is his most surprising selection, but in a good way.
“Skyler Bell and in a great way,” Wilson wrote. “One of the biggest surprises of the pre-draft process was learning that Bell was just a shade under 6-feet because he plays so much bigger than that. Throw in that he ran a 4.40 40 at the combine and had one of the best three-cone times of any WR drafted, he’ll have a chance to quickly become one of Josh Allen’s favorite targets.”
More: Analyst reveals surprising choice for favorite Chiefs draft selection
Can Bell be productive in Year 1?
Absolutely, he can, and the Bills’ current receiver room isn’t exactly out of this world.
DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, and Joshua Palmer are Allen’s top weapons, so there is a chance for Bell, if he has a good offseason, to be a key rotational part of Joe Brady’s offense.
Receiver has been a problematic position for years, and now with the free agency signing of Moore, and possibly a steal in Bell, maybe it won’t be a topic of conversation again in Buffalo.
Yes, there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge, but if Bell can be a good contributor for the Bills in his rookie season, maybe, just maybe, Allen could have something special cooking in 2026.
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