The Minnesota Vikings faced a tough decision on undrafted rookie wide receiver Dillon Bell across the final week of the preseason, but after reports that he was likely to hit the waiver wire and end up in a competing uniform, the team will instead keep him as a member of the initial 53-man roster.
Alec Lewis of The Athletic authored the initial report on Sunday, August 30, which is cutdown day around the NFL.
“Sounds like Vikings UDFA WR Dillon Bell is going to make the team’s 53-man roster, per source,” Lewis posted to X. “Another really cool one. The explosiveness and athletic upside has been very apparent.”
Dillon Bell Was Predicted as Tough, but Likely, Cut for Vikings
Lewis’s report Sunday runs contrary to a prediction he made regarding the 53-man roster last week.
“Bell, an undrafted signing from Georgia who excelled Saturday against the [Baltimore] Ravens, isn’t going to be easy to slide to the practice squad,” Lewis wrote on August 25. “Lose him to another team, and the Vikings will have a pretty thin group of developmental receiver talent.”
Lewis wasn’t the only Vikings insider who believed that Bell would end up on the outside looking in at Minnesota’s wide receiver room.
Kevin Seifert of ESPN projected on August 24 that Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jauan Jennings, Tai Felton and Myles Price would comprise a five-man position group and that Bell would be the odd man out.
“Jefferson, Addison and Jennings will comprise the Vikings’ three-receiver sets, which Jennings has compared to the Golden State Warriors‘ championship trio of Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson,” Seifert wrote. “Felton and Price were both impressive during training camp but will play limited roles unless there are injuries.”
Bell caught nine passes for 86 yards across three preseason games and has a skill set that should make him dangerous both on gadget plays and after the catch if the offense is able to scheme up ways to get him the football in space.
Vikings May Have Sacrificed RB Zavier Scott to Keep WR Dillon Bell
Judd Zulgad of SKOR North predicted on Sunday that Minnesota will keep six WRs on the 53-man roster, which means that neither Felton or Price will be a casualty of the team’s decision to hold onto Bell.
However, it does mean that another position group will have one fewer player by the time the Vikings submit all of their cuts. Where that player might come from is anyone’s guess, though the Vikings may have already made the sacrifice in the form of running back Zavier Scott.
Seifert predicted last week that Minnesota would retain Scott as part of a four-person group at running back, along with a fifth backfield player in fullback Max Bredeson.
However, rookie Demond Claiborne is now firmly in the RB3 position after Scott’s release — a call the Vikings may have made to keep as many explosive playmakers available to the offense in Week 1 as possible.
Vikings to Keep Explosive Rookie Playmaker in Unexpected Roster Play