Vonn Bell will play with passion for the Saints, who take him in 2nd round

Safety Vonn Bell is the latest Buckeye off the board, with the New Orleans Saints taking him with the No. 61 overall pick. Bell had garnered a lot of interest since deciding to declare early for the NFL Draft, visiting and attending private workouts with over half of the 32 teams since the Combine.

As a member of a secondary that includes two other NFL-caliber prospects, Bell found success at Ohio State, where he seemed like an interception magnet. In his three years as a Silver Bullet, he recorded 175 total tackles (115 solo), nine interceptions and two fumble recoveries. His sophomore campaign and national championship run in 2014 saw six interceptions, with his first pick-six coming against Minnesota in 2015.

One area the strong safety wanted to improve this offseason was on run defense. He noted at the NFL Combine that at times “it was a little iffy” but that he’s “getting better.” He went on to say some scouts gave him grief about some of his film that they said showed him getting lazy sometimes. Bell did note that, “It’s something to fix, it’s not hard to fix. Just got to run to the ball a little harder.”

The safety wasn’t able to perform drills at the Combine due to a hamstring issue, but was able to make the media rounds and meet with teams. Bell was asked at the Combine to describe himself as a player, to which he replied, “Fiery guy, showed passion and energy, want to be a spark on the team, a playmaker.” He also spoke on how important playing with passion is at the next level.

“It’s just not just being paid now, you’ve got to show your passion, because those guys are looking up to you, ‘this guy’s taking a play off, why should I go hard for him’.”

Bell did end up running the 40-yard dash and doing a full workout during Ohio State’s pro day, and subsequently scheduled meetings with most NFL teams ahead of the draft.