The Indianapolis Colts have a tough question to ask in the second round of the 2026 NFL draft. Should the team draft for need or take the best player available? If the latter is the case, wide receiver Chris Bell might be the right player to choose at pick 47.
Indy is clearly interested in the wideout, too. According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Bell will be visiting with the Colts. Indianapolis will likely do a physical and an interview, and decide if they want to spend their first pick in this year's draft on the receiver, should the situation allow.
The physical will be key as Bell suffered a torn ACL late in the 2025 season with Louisville. Eventually, he will be healthy, but will he be ready somewhat soon next season? If he isn't, any team choosing the receiver will basically be taking him to play for three years and not most of four. That would drop him in the draft.
Indianapolis Colts reportedly set to meet with Louisville wide receiver Chris Bell
As far as size, he has that. He is 6'2" and 225 pounds, or two inches shorter and about the same weight as Pittman, who was traded this offseason to the Pittsburgh Steelers due to his $29 million cap hit. Physically, Bell might be as close to a pure replacement of the traded receiver as anyone available in round two or three.
The Colts, of course, do not have a first-round choice as general manager Chris Ballard traded this year and next year's first-rounders in return for cornerback Sauce Gardner during last season. Gardner, for all intents and purposes, is the team's first-round choice in each of the next two drafts.
Bell could be an ideal pick in the middle of round two should Ballard want to go with skill over need. Indianapolis's bigger need, one would assume, would be at edge rusher and inside linebacker. Other than Laiatu Latu, Indy doesn't have an edge rusher with proven consistent production, and that includes free agent signee Arden Key. No one stands out at inside linebacker on the current roster.
The wide receiver group features Alec Pierce and Josh Downs, and tight end Tyler Warren is another great option in the passing game. A healthy Bell would add a wideout who can help pick up first downs and be a red-zone threat. The former is what Michael Pittman provided.
At Louisville in 2025, Chris Bell was named First-Team All-ACC and had 72 catches for 917 yards and six touchdowns. That would imply he isn't the most explosive of receivers, but the Indianapolis Colts have Pierce for that. Bell would fit the need that Pittman did, and Bell might do that as a second-round pick.