David Bell

#3 · WR · So. · Purdue6′2″ · 205 lb · Indianapolis, IN · Warren Central

David Bell: WR · Purdue · #3.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Jaxon Smith-NjigbaOhio State · 2021 · 65% season match
Romeo DoubsNevada · 2021 · 59% season match
Jalen TolbertSouth Alabama · 2020 · 51% season match
Grant DuBoseCharlotte · 2021 · 48% season match
Garrett WilsonOhio State · 2021 · 48% season match

David Bell

WR · Purdue · So · #3

Moves the chains on third down. Three seasons in the Purdue receiving corps to date. All-America (Consensus) in 2021 made it three straight seasons on the honors list. A game that shows it: 240 receiving yards and 11 receptions against Iowa — Week 7, 2021.

Style of play

Play style

Reliable target who converts on critical downs. Not flashy; consistently productive.

Fans

No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.

Purdue in the news

Purdue releases unofficial depth chart247Sports Oct 30
NCAA sues Ohio governor over eligibility orderOct 16

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2021	Purdue	93	1,286	13.8	6	60
2020	Purdue	53	625	11.8	8	89
2019	Purdue	86	1,035	12.0	7	54
Career		232	2,946	12.7	21	89

Season	Team
2021	Purdue	3	39
2020	Purdue	--	--
2019	Purdue	3	12
Career		6	51

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2021 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 30-21vs Oregon State	8	134	16.8	0	42	134-yard receiving day
Wk 2	W 49-0@ UConn	6	121	20.2	3	59	3 TD catches
Wk 3	L 13-27@ No. 12 Notre Dame	7	64	9.1	0	32
Wk 5	L 13-20vs Minnesota	6	120	20.0	0	34
Wk 7	W 24-7@ No. 2 Iowa	11	240	21.8	1	60	Season-high 240 yds
Wk 8	L 13-30vs Wisconsin	6	33	5.5	0	10
Wk 9	W 28-23@ Nebraska	9	74	8.2	0	21
Wk 10	W 40-29vs No. 5 Michigan State	11	217	19.7	1	53	217-yard receiving day
Wk 11	L 31-59@ No. 6 Ohio State	11	103	9.4	0	23
Wk 12	W 32-14vs Northwestern	12	101	8.4	0	21
Wk 13	W 44-7vs Indiana	6	79	13.2	1	20
Total		93	1286	13.8	6	60

Signature game

Week 7 · 2021

W 24-7

at Iowa

11 rec · 240 yds · 1 TD

With A. O'Connell — 375 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 98.3 · J. Ansell — 35.3 yards per punt · 4 punts · 1 inside the 20

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 2 · UConn · 2nd and 6 · Q2 · EPA +5.21Jack Plummer pass complete to David Bell for 59 yds for a TD, (Mitchell Fineran KICK)
Week 7 · Iowa · 3rd and 6 · Q2 · EPA +4.42Aidan O'Connell pass complete to David Bell for 60 yds to the Iowa 16 for a
Week 10 · Michigan State · 3rd and 9 · Q3 · EPA +4.14Aidan O'Connell pass complete to David Bell for 50 yds to the MchSt 12 for a
Week 1 · Oregon State · 2nd and 10 · Q1 · EPA +3.88Jack Plummer pass complete to David Bell for 42 yds to the OrgSt 33 for a
Week 10 · Michigan State · 3rd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +3.76Aidan O'Connell pass complete to David Bell for 42 yds to the MchSt 6 for a
Week 10 · Michigan State · 2nd and 9 · Q4 · EPA +3.62Aidan O'Connell pass complete to David Bell for 53 yds to the MchSt 6 for a

4 more plays

Week 7 · Iowa · 2nd and 8 · Q3 · EPA +3.56Aidan O'Connell pass complete to David Bell for 47 yds to the Iowa 20 for a
Week 1 · Oregon State · 3rd and 13 · Q3 · EPA +3.29Jack Plummer pass complete to David Bell for 13 yds to the OrgSt 41 for a
Week 7 · Iowa · 3rd and 16 · Q4 · EPA +3.28Aidan O'Connell pass complete to David Bell for 20 yds to the Iowa 22 for a
Week 7 · Iowa · 2nd and 9 · Q4 · EPA +2.96Aidan O'Connell pass complete to David Bell for 21 yds for a TD, (Mitchell Fineran KICK)

Teams and coaches

3 seasons under Jeff Brohm — 15-16 over that span.

2019Purdue4-8HC: Jeff Brohm · Pass-leaning

2020Purdue2-4HC: Jeff Brohm · Pass-heavy

2021Purdue9-4HC: Jeff Brohm · Pass-leaning, fast tempo

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 91 (#12 of 468). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2021 season

91All-America level #12 of 468 · 2021?

12 metrics · season cumulative

2021 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: receptions (98th percentile). Strength: rec yards (97th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

EPA / target#172 / 655 · 74th pct

0.85

Explosive rate#184 / 655 · 72nd pct

16.9%

Yards / catch#211 / 655 · 68th pct

14.0

Catch rate#292 / 655 · 55th pct

77.1%

TD rate#361 / 655 · 45th pct

5.1%

Box-score rates (7)

Receptions#11 / 557 · 98th pct

Rec yards#15 / 557 · 97th pct

1286

Rec TDs#71 / 557 · 84th pct

Rush yards#65 / 273 · 76th pct

Long catch#163 / 557 · 70th pct

Yards / catch#233 / 557 · 58th pct

13.8

Rush TDs#57 / 273 · 40th pct

Season trend

EPA / target— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Explosive rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Catch rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

TD rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Yards / catch— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2021. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2021 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home5g	7.4	117	15.0	0.4
Road5g	8.8	120	13.7	0.8

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-75g	7.6	136	17.6	0.8
Weeks 8+6g	9.2	101	10.7	0.3

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2021 season

Head Coach

Jeff Brohm

Pass share

60.1%

576 pass / 383 run

Plays / game

79.9

12 games

Team sack rate

4.7%

615 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Pass-leaning, fast tempo.

Awards

Player standing · 2021

Consensus All-American

First team on a majority of the recognized selector lists.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

91 · #12 of 468 WRs · 2021

Former four-star. Now #12 at the position.

Selector Grid · 2021

AP1st

FWAA1st

AFCA1st

WCFF1st

SN—

SI—

Named Consensus All-American — recognized on 3+ of the 5 NCAA-recognized selector lists.

David Bell

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

Purdue in the news

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

Consensus All-American

Three seasons at Purdue, drafted

2019 12 games

2020 6 games

2021 11 games

2022