Film Session: Jaheim Bell NFL draft prospect profile

Pro scouting report of FSU tight end Jaheim Bell

Jaheim Bell is a redshirt Junior tight end from Florida State University. He previously played at the University of South Carolina, starting 11 out of 30 games. He came into 2023 as the number one tight end in the transfer portal, and at FSU, Bell played in all 13 games with nine starts.

What to make of Jaheim Bell as a tight end? Here are my takeaways from Bell’s LSU film.

Bell is a versatile tight end who can line up at multiple positions. He has good acceleration and foot quickness at the line of scrimmage to beat press coverage. Bell also shows good play strength in using his near arm to create space from jam defenders. His acceleration and foot speed also help him close cushion against off-coverage.

In the route phase, Bell is best on full-speed routes, using his acceleration and foot speed to separate on vertical routes like Seams or horizontal like Crossers and Overs.

As a pass catcher, Bell has good hands and very good grip strength. He’s good on stationary targets and targets on the move. He has a good ability to catch around his frame. His catch radius is slightly above average, though. He shows body control and the ability to adjust to low targets and passes behind him. He’s competitive at the catch point in contested situations and has good concentration on over-the-shoulder targets.

Bell is an exceptional player after the catch. He can create yards with athleticism and power. He has good foot speed and acceleration after the catch. He can also create with elusiveness and lateral quickness. Sometimes, Bell finishes runs with very good play strength and competitive toughness. While Bell had limited opportunities at Florida State to carry the football, he showed natural vision and good contact balance as a runner taking handoffs playing at South Carolina.

In the run game, Bell overall displays very good physical toughness and a willingness to get dirty. He’s good on frontside combo blocks and has good processing to self-locate second-level defenders. He’s consistently good on split-zone blocks, with proper hat placement and good block sustain when crossing the backside of the formation. When uncovered on the first level, Bell has a good tempo and takes good angles, sealing off defender pursuit angles. Bell’s competitiveness shows itself most in 1-on-1 situations such as base or down/pin blocks.

Regarding concerns, Bell struggles with his overall release plan against press coverage and has issues reducing his frame vs. press, which can slow him down against overall aggressive defenders. He can be clunky at the top of routes, showing adequate change of direction and a lack of quickness to win on COD routes consistently. He can also struggle with his stem setups, and struggles overall manipulating defenders’ hips. At the catch point, Bell suffered random concentration drops. Bell also shows a below-average ability to pluck passes away from his frame and struggles to adjust to passes above his frame.