Skyler Bell NFL Draft Profile - Rookie Film Analysis

Nov 8, 2025; East Hartford, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies wide receiver Skyler Bell (1) makes the touchdown against Duke Blue Devils cornerback Landan Callahan (21) in the second half at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images

Film Profile | Analytical Profile

Prospect Information

College: Connecticut
Height/Weight: 6'0"/187
Hands: 9 1/4"
Age: 22 (at the time of the 2026 season opener)

Important NFL Combine/Pro Day Numbers

40-Yard Dash: 4.41
Vertical Jump: 39.5"
Broad Jump: 10'4"
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A
3-Cone: N/A

College Production (Stats)

Profiles similar to:Jaylin Noel

Plays similar to: Poor man's Diontae Johnson

Position-Specific Attributes and Grades

Note: my usual format (citing examples for each attribute) does not display well on the site. Please click this link to access them.

Positives

• Combine numbers carry over to the field; easily one of the best in this draft class with how he changes direction.
• While his 2025 catch rate (72.3%) and yards after contact per reception (8.2) in 2025 were heavily influenced by how many times a screen was getting called for him, it only accounts for a small part of how much damage he does after the catch (835 yards ranked second in FBS).
• Showed the presence of mind to stair-step his routes on several occasions as a senior.
• Vertical explosiveness really showed in contested-catch situations in 2025, winning 65% (13-of-20) of his battles in those situations.
• Even after factoring in middling competition, his separation rate (per PFF) was far above the draft class average against every coverage look (man, zone, zone double, etc.).
• Experienced a significant improvement in drop rate in his final season.

Negatives

• Height, weight and arm length all rank among the bottom third among NFL receiver prospects, which will make it a challenge for him to defeat physical coverage.
• Occasionally takes too many steps to beat press and doesn't consistently show enough urgency during his route..
• A bit on the older side for a receiver prospect (turns 24 in early July).
• Cleaned up his drop issues in 2025 (3.8% drop rate), but he entered the season with three straight seasons of a drop rate of at least 14%; he had the same number of drops (24) as touchdown catches in college.
• Appears to be content putting a shoulder into a defender and hoping for the best as a blocker.
• An inordinate amount of his production in 2025 seemed to come via screens (38 screen catches) or blown coverages (h/t to offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis for much of that)..

Bottom Line

Talk about a change in philosophy: in 2024 (his first year with UConn), Bell was targeted deep (20-plus yards) 31 times and behind the line of scrimmage eight times. In 2025, those numbers were 24 and 44, respectively. Another 41 targets were between zero and nine yards. That's right: 85 targets came within nine yards in 2025, 77 of which were caught. (He finished with 101 receptions.) The shift in philosophy was a good call, if only because it makes more sense to give a player as elusive as Bell the ball and let him do something with it than it does to hope he catches a low-percentage pass downfield. The change likely had to do with the quality of quarterback play (Joe Fagnano is a candidate to be drafted but probably won't be taken), but it also guaranteed that the Huskies' most electric player could focus more on one of the things he does best: run after the catch. Sammis also deserves a lot of credit for Bell's breakout 2025. There were at least a handful of times in 2025 that the defense simply dropped coverage on Bell because of a play design. Credit goes to Bell for taking advantage, but credit goes to Sammis for putting him in a position to do so.

Several parts of Bell's profile are worrisome, such as the drops, his age, his below-average size, how often he was moved around to avoid press and how often he was schemed touches. Even the level of competition was not great most of the time. There is an argument to be made that Sammis did little to improve Bell's game this year with the way the offensive coordinator schemed him touches. Yet, some aspects of Bell's game are quite enticing. While he is not going to power through tacklers very often, it is hard for defenders to tackle what they can't catch. His explosiveness is part of what makes him a viable contested-catch threat as well, although that shouldn't ever be the part of his game that is featured the most. The hard part for teams is finding elusive receivers who can do work after the catch naturally; most of the rest can be improved through pro coaching and/or full-time commitment to football (especially if he committed to his craft, which it sounds like he is). Bell probably never reaches the heights that Johnson did during his prime, but it does not take much imagination to see him serving as a schemed-touch No. 2 receiver about two or three years into his pro career.

This article originally appeared on The Huddle: Skyler Bell NFL Draft Profile - Rookie Film Analysis