49ers receiver Ronnie Bell can emerge as hidden gem in rookie season
The 49ers' offense is blessed with a cavalcade of star players at the offensive skill positions, so much so that is difficult to see many players beyond their starters at those spots having much of an opportunity to get on the field and make an impact. Yet behind the likes of Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk […]
The 49ers' offense is blessed with a cavalcade of star players at the offensive skill positions, so much so that is difficult to see many players beyond their starters at those spots having much of an opportunity to get on the field and make an impact.
Yet behind the likes of Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle, the Niners do have a significantly less heralded weapon who could quickly prove to be a hidden gem for San Francisco in his first year in the NFL.
The 49ers have continually done excellent work in the later rounds of the draft, and their run in that regard looks like continuing, with seventh-round rookie receiver Ronnie Bell impressing significantly during preseason.
Linebackers Jalen Graham, another seventh-round pick, and Dee Winters (sixth round) also stood out during the exhibition schedule and made the roster. Yet even with the plethora of players ahead of him on the depth chart it is Bell who stands a better chance of producing in the regular season due to the range of ways in which the Niners can use him.
Bell finished preseason with 172 receiving yards, the fourth-most in the NFL, and the manner in which he primarily amassed those yards was befitting of a 49ers receiver under Kyle Shanahan.
Route-running
Bell did not run fast at the Combine. His time of 4.54 seconds put him in the 37th percentile for wide receivers. While his long speed may be in question, Bell performed well in the drills that measure explosiveness and change of direction ability.
Indeed, Bell's 10-yard split of 1.52 seconds put him in the 76th percentile for wideouts and his hugely impressive vertical jump of 38.5 inches was in the 83rd percentile. The standout section of his workout, though, was Bell's 20-yard shuttle. His time of 4.15 seconds was tied for the third-fastest among all receivers at the Combine.
And the explosiveness and agility Bell, who earned a Relative Athletic Score of 8.2 out of 10 for his workout, displayed in Indianapolis was evident in his route-running during preseason.
Bell does a consistently superb job of bursting off the line and quickly hitting top speed.
He excels at threatening defenders vertically and then breaking off his route without losing speed as he changes direction, that lack of wasted motion maximizing his ability to create separation against zone coverage.
That lack of wasted motion was critical to his biggest play of preseason, a 43-yard catch and run on a game-winning drive against the Broncos.
Bell did an excellent job attacking the corner's outside leverage, with his fluid break to the inside creating the separation to allow him to sit down in the zone, make the catch and then get downfield with the ball in his hands to rack up additional yardage.
YAC
Bell's success in creating yards after the catch makes him a natural fit for an offense defined by players who thrive in that area.
What shone through in the preseason was Bell's toughness with the ball in his hands.
Per Pro Football Focus, Bell forced five missed tackles in the preseason, his combination of elusivenes, physicality and contact balance allowing him to do damage not only after the catch on routes further down the field but also in the screen game and on designed hand-offs out of the backfield.
The toughness he demonstrated with ball in hand extends to another area of the game.
Catch point prowess
Bell's physical approach is not only beneficial after the catch, it can also be a significant factor when he has little room to work with at the catch point, and he proved as much in the exhibition opener with the Raiders.
On a 37-yard reception on a go ball from San Darnold, Bell won despite failing to create separation.
He did so by finding the ball early and leaning on his physicality to generate a vital smidge of separation at the catch point before tracking the ball into his grasp and making a fine fingertip grab.
Later, he survived a significant amount of contact to hold on to another pass from Darnold, securing the ball despite taking hits from three defenders.
His evident prowess in being able to compete and win at the catch point made two preseason drops that both deflected into the hands of opposing defenders even more maddening.
Bell can't afford such inconsistency if he is to have a chance of playing offensive snaps as a rookie. Yet, even on an offense as stacked as that of the Niners, his well-rounded skill set gives Bell a shot at blossoming into a valuable role player in year one, and he could even have an opportunity to shine in Week 1.
An immediate chance?
If everyone is healthy, the Niners might not look to use Bell often in Week 1 beyond him potentially filling in for kick returner Ray-Ray McCloud, who has a wrist injury.
However, there is at least a chance the 49ers won't be healthy at all their skill positions for the opener, tight end George Kittle having missed practice on Monday because of an adductor injury.
San Francisco's tight end options behind Kittle are distinctly uninspiring. Though the Niners are a team that last year leant heavily on 21 personnel and did not use any formations featuring four wide receivers, a Kittle-less offense in the season opener could be one that relies heavily on 11 personnel with both Jauan Jennings and Bell getting snaps.
Longer term during his rookie year, Bell is a receiver whom the 49ers can utilize sparingly to take some of the strain off their primary playmakers.
While San Francisco will undoubtedly look to use Christian McCaffrey and Samuel in the backfield at the same time, Bell can take some of the running game and screen game burden off of the latter's shoulders. On top of that he could see snaps as an additional receiving threat on plays where Samuel is in the backfield.
The opportunities initially figure to be limited, but Bell made the most of the chances he got during the preseason. If he does the same in games that matter, Bell may see his snaps gradually increase and develop into a highly useful luxury for arguably the league's most loaded offense.
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