All Green Bay Packers All The Time – NFL Football

NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Le’Veon Bell, RB Michigan State

Posted on by Marques Eversoll
ALLGBP.com All Green Bay Packers All the Time
Michigan State RB Le'Veon Bell
Michigan State RB Le’Veon Bell

Green Bay Packers NFL Draft prospect profile: RB Le’Veon Bell

Player Information:

Le’Veon Bell, RB Michigan State
6-1, 230 pounds
Hometown: Reynoldsburg, OH

STATS

NFL Combine:

40-yard dash: 4.56
225-pound bench: 24 reps
Vertical: 31.5″
3-cone drill: 6.75
20-yard shuttle: 4.24

News and Notes:

Bell declared for the 2013 NFL Draft following his junior season at MSU … Big, tough runner ran for 1,793 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2012, along with catching 32 passes on the season … Bell shared the load in 2011, racking up 948 yards and 13 touchdowns and catching 35 passes … Never averaged fewer than 4.7 yards in three years with the Spartans … NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks ranks Bell as the No. 1 running back in the class … Could go as high as the early second-round or fall to the end of the third.

 What they’re saying about him: 

  • CBSSports.com: “Strong-build and well proportioned with thick hips. Very good balance and stays low to the ground through contact. More of a downhill athlete who picks up speed as he goes. Stays light on his feet and has some deception to his game, slipping through cracks at the line of scrimmage. Tough runner to bring down cleanly, often carrying defenders. Good forward lean and pop to deliver blows at the point of attack. Not afraid to leave his feet to leap over defenders. Active receiver with good awareness in pass pro to pick up blitzes. Led Big Ten in rushing in 2012 (1,793 yards) with three 200-yard performances.”
  • NFL.com: “Sets up defenders in the open field to cut away. Flashes some stop-start ability and shake in space that freezes oncoming defenders. Pushes piles with lower body strength. Can lower his pads for contact, churn through tackle attempts to become difficult to bring down due to second and third efforts. Wiggles and pushes through traffic inside to get the extra yard after it looks as though he’s stopped. Possesses a spin move to come off tackles at the second level, maintains balance to keep on moving or at least fall forward for an extra couple of yards. Uses a strong stiff arm in space, as well. Agile enough to jump over defenders trying to cut him down in the open field. Used in Wildcat formation in the red zone. Decent receiver out of the backfield.”

 

Video:

Video Analysis:

  • Powerful runner, isn’t fazed by arm tackles.
  • Rarely goes down on first contact.
  • Doesn’t waste any time getting up field; strictly a north-south runner.
  • Decent athlete, able to hurdle defenders that go low to tackle him.
  • Solid receiver out of the backfield with good vision in the open field.
  • Shows patience waiting for the hole to open up, but often attacks the defense and creates a hole by himself.
  • At his best between the tackles but is agile enough to run outside.

If drafted by the Packers:

If the Packers draft Bell, he would combine with DuJuan Harris to give the team a “Thunder and Lightning” combination in the backfield. Harris is a smaller back, best suited for a change-of-pace role and drafting Bell would allow Harris to step into a more natural role. Personally, I think the idea of having a big back to complement a small back, or vice versa, is a bit overrated. In my opinion, as long as a team has multiple capable runners to keep each other fresh, it doesn’t matter how big or small they are. That being said, Harris and Bell would be an intriguing one-two punch at running back. The most logical comparison to Bell is Buccaneers running back LeGarrette Blount. But if that’s all Bell is going to be, why not just trade a mid-round pick for Blount, whom the Bucs are reportedly trying to move? There’s a wide variety of opinions on Bell, but he’s an interesting name to keep in mind on Day 2 of the draft.

——————

Follow @MJEversoll

Marques is a Journalism student, serving as the Sports Editor of UW-Green Bay\'s campus newspaper The Fourth Estate and a Packers writer at Jersey Al\'s AllGBP.com. Follow Marques on Twitter @MJEversoll.

——————

22 thoughts on “NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Le’Veon Bell, RB Michigan State”

  1. I wouldn’t mind the Packers picking Bell up in the 3rd or 4th round, but talk of him being considered by the Packers in the 1st round is just stupid.

  2. i know i’ve been ringing the christine michael bell for a long time but just go check the highlights of lacy… and then bell… and then michael.

    i’m sorry but michael is just at another level. i truly think he’s special. strong as an ox… fast… lateral bounce is ridiculous… balanced… forward lean… gets to top speed in an instant… quick… nasty.

    i know he’s had some injury and attitude problems. but, man sure would be sweet to have a serious bad ass running the ball.

  3. At 6″ and 230#’s he’d be the kind of back the Packers need. He played in 12 games in 2010, 14 in 2011 and 14 again in 2012. That tells me he has demonstrated durability. I wouldn’t mind him in the 2nd even. In addition he has good speed.

  4. Need a trench player in the 1st rd. Would like to see a quality rb in 2nd or 3rd. We need to run the ball better this year when teams are in 2 deep coverage.

    1. I think the nicest thing about him would be his versatility. Many big backs are strictly downhill runners and they telegraph what’s coming when they’re in the game. That’s not the case with Bell. A player like Bell could threaten that dropping LB and open holes in a 2-deep.

      I don’t like him as much as other backs in this year’s draft, but this would be a plus he brings to the table.

  5. Spartan fan here.

    Bell is a potentially capable 3rd down back type but with Green why bother? Bell is too small and too slow to be a legitimate threat.

    I like the kid on the college level but he’s one of the most uninspiring backs that State has churned out in years. The numbers he racked up were against sub-par defenses (stop and laugh at the Michigan secondary will you?) so that doesn’t exactly help his cause.

    1. I agree. Glad we have someone with your knowledge of him. I’ve seen him play 6-8 times the past 2 years and have been left unimpressed on the whole. He has his moments but more often than not he’s uninspiring. Seems to me he lacks decisiveness and runs into blockers a little too much for my liking. That rarely if ever happens to quality RB’s, and it seems to me that his vision isn’t quite as good as most RB causing him to miss cutback lanes.

      Lacy top 2nd rd
      Ball top 3rd
      Lattimore end 3 or 4th rd
      Micheal top 4th
      Bell end 4th

      In that order…

      1. I live in MI and have seen plenty of Bell over the last couple years…I agree with both of you.

      2. For those who have seen him – would he make a good FB? Potential replacement for Kuhn?

        1. Exactly what I thought…good receiver, good pass blocker but limited vision. Can’t be any worse running on 3rd and short.
          TT would gain $2M+ in cap space but he can’t take a Kuhn replacement before round 4.

        2. He would potentially give the Packers a lot of what they get from Kuhn…willing blocker, bulk, hands out of the backfield, and stopgap starter at RB (with the chance to develop into more). Would that not be worth a 4?

          I think of him as a less physical, but more athletic, Shonn Greene.

          1. 230 is a far cry from 250. Bell first wouldn’t fit as a FB since he doesn’t want to play FB. You can’t just draft the guy and tell him your moving him to FB. You’ll have a lockerroom problem on your hands! Kuhn went undrafted so when teams talked to him, he was open to moving to FB. That won’t be the case w/ Bell.

      1. Let’s rephrase: Bell is too small to be a power back and too slow to be a speed back.

        I personally think that makes him bland and unexciting and he hasn’t exactly shown freakish smarts either.

        But also to Bell’s credit MSU has one of the worst offensive lines in the NCAA.

    1. I think LeVeon Bell is a “playing it safe” pick in rd 3 or 4 at RB. TT isn’t averse to reaching a little for a player he likes if he’s worried that the player won’t be there next pick AND if it fits the philosophy of the scheme…so in some regards I would be at peace with Bell in 3, but I would hope no earlier than 4.

      I see Lattimore as being a potential homerun pick (but also a potential nothing). I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Packers take 2 RB in this draft…and I’m not including special teams projects in Rd. 6-7.

      1. It would have been nice to be comped a 4th instead of a 5th. Saturday cost us that earlier comp pick.

        1. Flynn and Wells not playing cost us the 4th. If either would have played all year, we probably would have gotten a 4th.

  8. Just don’t like the idea of getting a subpar running back.. We have plenty of them already..

Comments are closed.