The praise for Philadelphia Eagles rookie third-round pick Markel Bell is growing by the day, which is an encouraging sign for the fan base.
Eagles fans have seen Bell at OTAs take starting snaps at right tackle, with Lane Johnson not participating in voluntary workouts with good results so far. New Eagles offensive line coach Chris Kuper talked about Bell and what he has seen out of the young offensive lineman.
“He's got a unique opportunity with his height and size, learning from a bunch of other guys that have similar height and size," Kuper said via The Athletic's Brooks Kubena. "You don't find that in the league. We got 4 or 5 of those guys that are just mutants, to be honest.”
Chris Kuper talks about Markel Bell's mammoth size
It all keeps coming back to Bell's size and how monstrous he looks, standing at 6-foot-9 and 346 pounds. His new teammate, left tackle Jordan Maliata, said something similar at OTAs that Bell was not from this planet.
Not a bad compliment to have.
Last season with the Miami Hurricanes, Bell allowed nine pressures, one quarterback hit, and zero sacks in 440 pass-blocking snaps. There is some development needed in his game, but his pass-blocking skills are what attracted the Eagles to select him and make him a potential replacement for Johnson at right tackle.
Johnson should be the starter for the next year or two, giving Bell the unique opportunity to learn from one of the best right tackles in the NFL right now and possibly in history. Bell has all kinds of talent he can work with on the Eagles' offensive line that can help him reach his full potential, which he should be at with the size and skills he has.
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This first impression that Bell is making is an important step for him as he tries to show the Eagles that he is the successor they need for Johnson and nobody else. So far, the future looks good for an offensive line that did not look particularly great heading into the offseason.
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