San Francisco Takes Tight End Blake Bell In The Fourth Round

As the fourth round of the NFL draft progresses more Sooners are coming off the board. Most recently was the selection of tight end Blake Bell who was taken 117th overall by the San Francisco 49ers. This selection surprised me a bit as I expected Bell to go in one of the final two rounds. However, the former quarterback showed enough in his one year as a tight end to get called up by the 49ers a bit earlier than that.

The one time "Belldozer" was the MVP of the 2011 Insight Bowl and made a name for himself in short yardage packages. It's his frame (6-6/252) and his athleticism that will help him latch on at this point more than his experience at the tight end position. He is good in space against the zone and can overpower defensive backs with the ball in his hands.

He stills needs to gain experience at the position but I think he can start out by making a name for himself in short yardage situations. He takes a wide base as a blocker and keeps his hands inside which helps him in pass protection and is labeled as a coachable.

He'll need to improve on route running and understanding the offense from a different position but there's no questioning his ability to do that based on his track record.