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Off to Buffalo: UConn wide receiver Skyler Bell taken in fourth round of NFL Draft
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- Off to Buffalo: UConn wide receiver Skyler Bell taken in fourth round of NFL Draft
UConn wide receiver Skyler Bell, surrounded by family and friends, watched the telecast as former teammate Cam Edwards recorded.
It's one for the video scrap book. Bell was taken in the 4th round of the NFL Draft Saturday, chosen by the Buffalo Bills with the 125th overall pick.
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"Just the hard work," Bell told Buffalo-area reporters on a ZOOM call Saturday, "there's God, my family and my support system, but it's all in the work, I'm a hard worker, i just put in the work, put my head down keep grinding and just take it day by day."
Bell had to wait one day longer than anticipated. Though he had the NFL.com 's ninth best scouting grade among receivers in this draft, there were 19 wideouts picked ahead of him, and he was not part of the run of receivers taken in the second and third rounds on Friday night. However, he had been extensively linked to Buffalo during the draft process, as he fit the mold of the type of receiver the organization likes to work with star quarterback Josh Allen, 29, whose is entering his prime.
They already have Khalil Shakir, a receiver Bell has often mentioned he studies, and acquired veterans DJ Moore and Trent Sheffield. Now they have added an college receiver with a lot of game experience, considered ready to contribute right away, to their receiving corps.
"My versatility provides a lot of different things you can do with me," Bell said. "i would say I'm dynamic, explosive, versatille, I can do a lot of things, inside, outside, deep ball, intermedia routes, I can do a lot of things."
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Those who watched him play at UConn can attest to that. Bell, who played at Taft School in Watertown, started his college career at Wisconsin. After three years, he transferred to UConn where his career took off, with 50 catches in 2024 and 101 last season. Bell was a finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation's top wide receiver.
He scored 13 touchdowns for the Huskies in 2025, and had at least six catches in every game but the first, a blowout win over CCSU, and the Fenway Bowl, where he played only one series. He was among the top receivers in FBS in yards after the catch (1,325, second) and average YAC (8.2, fourth).
At the Combine, Bell ran the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds, with a 41-inch vertical leap and 11 foot, 1-inch broad jump. With these "measurables," Bell combined a knack for making clutch catches in the Huskies' close games, and a high football IQ in his route running. Though he is older than most rookies, about to turn 24, he is considered by draft analysts a player who can contribute in the NFL immediately, ideal for a team that needs depth in its receiving corps.
Bell caught 11 balls for 107 yards during UConn's OT loss at Syracuse, and six for 63 and two TDs in the Huskies victory at Buffalo last season, so the Bills didn't have to travel far to see him at his best. Former Husky Chase Lundt , who is going into his second training camp with the Bills, chatted with Bell about playing there during the season, and the pre-draft process.
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With the Bills, Bell will be reunited with defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard , who was on the staff at Wisconsin when Bell was there.
"I'm going to give him the craziest hug," Bell said. "That's my guy. My true freshman year I redshirted, he was our DC, I was running routes against his defense. Then we'd go look at film, he was trying to get me better so I could torch his defense and make them better."
Former Husky tight end Justin Joly, who finished his career at NC State, was picked by the Broncos in the fifth round, No. 152 overall. Bell's former teammates at UConn, quarterback Joe Fagnano and linebacker Bryun Parnham, were still waiting as the last four rounds of the draft were playing out Saturday.
