After three years at the University of South Carolina, tight end Jaheim Bell moved south with a transfer to Florida State for his senior season. He posted a personal-best in receptions (30) and receiving yards (503), showcasing his athletic traits by creating plays down the field.
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 241 pounds
40 time: 4.61 seconds
A three-star recruit, Bell’s FBS highlight was a 2023 Second-Team All-ACC honor. He enters the NFL draft conversation as a hybrid tight end who brings positional versatility that historically hasn’t translated so well into the pro ranks.
Table: TE Jaheim Bell, Florida State (2020-23)
*includes postseason/bowl games (stats from Sports Reference)
Pros
- Fast enough to challenge many safeties and linebackers down the seam — his 4.61-second 40-yard time ranked in the top 87% of TEs to attend the combine
- Tough to bring down in the open field thanks to contact balance, leg drive, stiff-arms, above-average lateral movement traits, and leaping ability
- Weaves through traffic extremely well — dangerous over the middle and on designed screens
- Can play out of any receiver placement but is his best from the slot where he can exploit physical mismatches — also offers boundary traits when split out wide
- Has enough functional strength to be groomed into being a better blocker
- Showed rushing chops while at South Carolina
Cons
- Not a universal system fit as a tweener — unlikely to ever develop into a full-time, true “Y” as an inline tight end, due to his lack of size (91% of combine TEs were taller, 85% outweighed him)
- Inconsistent hands and average catch radius — 79 3/8-inch wingspan ranks in the 56th percentile among combine TEs
- Overpowered as an inline blocker and shows massive swings in effort
- Could be limited to passing downs given his lack of size and point-of-attack strength
Fantasy football outlook
Bell, who compares to well to Tennessee tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo, will be a late-round selection, probably in the fifth or sixth, given his limitations. He would best fit an RPO-based system that looks to create mismatches in personnel alignments, and there’s an argument for him to be drafted as a situational TE2 in a West Coast offense.
Creative play callers, such as Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay, would scheme him into a role that maximizes his contributions. In terms of fantasy football success, it seems like a long shot for Bell to eventually mature into a consistent fantasy contributor. History works against tweener tight ends making a huge impact.
