Would WR Chris Bell be worth the gamble for the Cowboys?

With the NFL draft next week, I figured it would be a good time for me to start dropping some more of my thoughts about how things will play out.

I have been doing a hardcore dive into players who are injured, and maybe some people forgot about it, and one of those guys is wide receiver Chris Bell from Louisville, who had ACL surgery in December.

While a recovery is normally 10–11 months, he has slipped from a projected first round pick to the middle of the second round.

Worth The Gamble?

You know Jerry Jones, and he pulls a lot of things out of left field that has all of us fans wondering what in the heck he is doing.

The only reason why this might be a thing to think about is because the Cowboys clearly like him as he was a top-30 visit for them just last week.

#Louisville WR Chris Bell is at the #Jets on a Top 30 visit today, then he has #Colts and Combine Rechecks later in the week.

Bell had surgery for a torn ACL in December, and countless teams have had him in to check on his progress. He has #Raiders and #Cowboys after Indy. pic.twitter.com/nPlHy5zaRD

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 7, 2026

Look, I don’t want them to do this, nor do I think they will, but it is possible, and maybe they trade the 20th overall pick for more picks and land him in the second round, where he is projected now.

Bell caught 12 touchdowns in four years at Louisville, with 151 total catches on 223 targets. He has dropped 13 total passes, with seven in the last two years on 168 targets.

Bell has 96 first-down catches in his career and 74 in 2025. He caught 21 of 39 contested catches the last two seasons, while being 33 of 59 in his career.

He has over 1,600 yards in the last two years, and for a guy that played on an offense that just did not throw the ball much, he put up production.

Currently, the Cowboys have no idea what is going to happen with George Pickens, but my guess would be that he sits out the summer and hopefully signs a new contract or his tag by the end of July.

The only way he would not play for Dallas this year is if he sits out (which would not be the start of his football career), or a team trades two first round picks for him to get him away from Dallas.

That is it, those are the only two options that he has.

At the end of the day, if he does not play, and moves on at the end of the year, Dallas will need some WRs on standby and drafting Bell in the second or if he makes it to the third round with their only pick, wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Dallas should take the best available defensive back at pick no. 12, and then I am lost on what they will do with pick 20.

"I think Chris Bell is the receiver with the most upside in the draft"

Turn on the tape – he looks like the best athlete on the field pic.twitter.com/6ItuAnaLuY

— Underdog NFL Draft – Josh & Hayden (@UDFootballShow) March 26, 2026

Reports are that they are the most likely team to trade up in the draft, but they would probably have to trade both of those picks, or at least the 12th overall pick.

Again, this is all based on my own thoughts, and you never really know how the draft is going to shake out and what players are going to slip, or who will be a reach, etc.

If I was Dallas, I would either trade up, or pick at 12 and trade the 20th overall pick and get some second and third round picks to add more players than two top-heavy guys.

Draft the best defensive back at 12 and then see how the rest of the draft shapes out.

It is going to be a interesting week starting next Thursday into the week, so let’s see if Bell is there for them even in the third round. Then I would take him 100% with the pick they have from the trade with the 49ers.