Top NFL Draft WR prospect suffers knee injury

By Ross Jackson

Wide receiver has already been a popular position atop many New Orleans Saints mock drafts. Even here at LouisianaSports.Net, wideouts from Arizona State, Jordyn Tyson and Indiana, Elijah Sarratt, have found their way into the first or second round in draft exercises. 

Unfortunately, the pool of top wideouts has now taken a big hit with one prospect familiar with Saints’ rookie quarterback Tyler Shough having suffered a major knee injury. 

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Pete Thamel, Louisville wide receiver and Shough’s former teammate Chris Bell suffered a torn ACL. 

Louisville’s Chris Bell, one of the top receiver prospects in the upcoming NFL draft, suffered a torn ACL in a game at SMU on Nov. 22, per @PeteThamel and me. In his latest mock draft, ESPN’s Field Yates projected Bell as a first-round pick.

Bell is a 6-foot-2, 220-pound wide… pic.twitter.com/LsPDHQWnzG

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 11, 2025

The two appeared in 12 games together last year, combining for 37 receptions, 677 receiving yards and two touchdown connections. Bell added six receptions for 60 yards to his season total in the team’s bowl game against the Washington Huskies. 

Bell produced well in his 11 games in 2025, reeling in 72 receptions for 916 receiving yards and six touchdown catches. 

A “clean” ACL tear is typically seen as a more favorable injury than a rupture or incomplete tear. But surgery and recovery time are still substantial. This could potentially keep Bell out for around half of the season in 2026 and is sure to impact his draft stock. 

The Saints should absolutely be interested in this year’s talented class of wideouts in the next NFL Draft. But Bell’s name will now carry an injury tag that may make it challenging to consider reuniting Shough with his top option from 2024.