2026 NFL Draft: Miami Hurricanes OT Markel Bell Selected with the 68th Pick by the Philadelphia Eagles

Nov 29, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Miami Hurricanes offensive lineman Markel Bell (70) in action against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Another one! The Miami Hurricanes added another name to the 2026 NFL Draft class as OT Markel Bellwas selected with the 68th overall pick in the third round of the draft on Friday night by the Philadelphia Eagles. And Bell is a prospect who defies easy description.

At 6’9″ and 346 pounds with 36 3/8-inch arms and an 87-inch wingspan, he is the kind of physical outlier that offensive line coaches dream about developing – a player whose measurements alone put him in rarified company in this draft class or any other.  He came to Miami as a developmental project from junior college (Holmes Community College) and grew into a legitimate Day 2 draft pick, one of the more striking development stories in Mario Cristobal’s tenure in Coral Gables.  For context on the sheer scale of the man: his 36-plus-inch arm length ranks among the longest of any offensive lineman drafted in the past decade.

Multiple teams showed interest to visit with Bell before draft night, a testament to how seriously the league took his physical profile. He is raw, yes.  He is a work in progress, certainly.  But he is also a six-foot-nine, 346-pound human being with the wingspan of a small aircraft and a foundation Mario Cristobal’s staff built from the ground up.  You can’t teach size.

The Eagles have a developed offensive line led by Lane Johnson, , , , and so Bell will have a hard time competing for early work but should be a developmental project.