'I'm real hard on myself': Cleveland Browns rookie receiver David Bell looking for perfection

BEREA – David Bell had an admission to make during minicamp last month. Yes, the Browns rookie receiver had, in fact, dropped a pass.

"I think it was at the first OTA, second OTA," Bell said on the second day of minicamp. "I just dropped one. So, yeah."

Better cut the third-round pick out of Purdue now, right? Obviously, that's an extreme exaggeration.

The only problem is, to Bell, such an outcome when the ball's thrown his way isn't some small deal. In fact, it's something he's going to examine as if trying to find the solution to a complex equation.

"I'm real big on myself," Bell said. "So when that does happen, it's uncharacteristic of myself to do that. I take it to heart. I try to make sure that it doesn't happen again. Every time I drop a ball, it's always one minor thing that I didn't do, whether looking it in or my hands aren't in the right place. So when I drop a pass, I know why I dropped that pass."

It's not something that Bell has done often. During his 29 games played with the Boilermakers, he caught 232 passes and dropped 11, finishing his career with a 4.7% career drop rate.

That attention to detail allowed him to set a Purdue record with 17 100-yard receiving games, and lead FBS Division I with 101.6 yards over his three seasons. It's also gotten the attention of his more experienced teammates with the Browns.

"The quarterback trusts you to make those catches because they have a lot going on their plate," said Bell, who finished with 2,946 yards and 21 touchdowns for his three-year career. "It's really an easy job for us because we have to get up and catch the ball and run the right routes. That's something that we all take pride in as a receiver, being able to catch the ball."

Bell's obsessive approach to his craft didn't take long to grab the attention of his new Browns teammates. That included one of the receivers who he's tried to emulate as he's developed into an NFL prospect.

"You can see that he's a perfectionist," Browns teammate Amari Cooper said. "He wants to do everything right. He's a young player, so he's only going to get better. But I've seen some good stuff out of him. I haven't seen him drop many balls. He takes coaching very well. I was in his ear a couple times about certain routes, and he immediately went out there and did it."

Learning those routes have been part of the adjustment Bell has had to make since being the 99th overall player taken in April's draft. Of course, as with anything he does on the football field, he's made a point to try to avoid making the same mistake twice.

Bell's first offseason program as a pro ended with three solid days of work during June's veteran minicamp. A month earlier, he received his first indoctrination into life in the NFL during rookie minicamp.

That initial three-day exposure to life at the next level was eye-opening in some regards to him. It also set the tone for what he did the over the next month.

"I'm real hard on myself, so I think the first few days weren't what I projected it to be," Bell said. "It was just a matter of getting on my feet and getting an understanding of the plays and stuff like that. I think each and every day I progress, and that's just something I live for, just to make sure you get better day by day and hopefully you can reach that full peak potential."

Where the Browns believe Bell's peak potential begins is around what they had in Jarvis Landry. In fact, there's some similarities already in the newest Browns receiver and the former one, starting with both falling into the second day of the draft due to some questions about their speed.

Landry, who was released by the Browns in March and signed with the Saints, has answered those critics with five Pro Bowl appearances in his career. What Bell – who ran a 4.65 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine – does remains to be seen, but those who have watched him daily during the voluntary offseason program and minicamp have already been impressed.

"We're asking a lot of him right now," receivers coach/passing game coordinator Chad O'Shea said. "Some of the things that we really liked him for in the draft process, that we said, 'These are the strengths that David Bell had,' really showed up. ... He tries to be detailed in everything we're asking him to do and, like all rookies, they have a long way to do. Not just David, but any rookie has a long way to go."

The Browns could be asking a lot of Bell this upcoming season, especially if he can continue on the developmental path he's already started down. There's a wide-open competition among a handful for talented but young receivers to emerge as the No. 2 option in the room behind Cooper.

There's a lot that gives Bell a chance to eventually emerge as that guy. It's not just the perfectionist attitude, nor the collegiate production, but it's also the versatility.

In another direct comparison to Landry, Bell is capable of lining both inside and outside in the formation. Although a majority of his snaps at Purdue were on the outside at the X, he did also work out of the slot some there.

The Browns spent a lot of the offseason program working with Bell on that versatility. That should continue once training camp begins, with the rookies reporting on Friday and the first full-squad practice coming on Wednesday.

"Right now, if we tell David the more you can do for us, the more role you're going to have," O'Shea said. "We're not going to be, at this point, specific on putting him at one place. We're going to put him at several different places, whether it's inside, whether it's an outside receiver. That's part of his development is to understand he's gonna have to learn a lot of different spots."

The spots may be different for Bell, but his own expectations won't change. Inside or outside, he'll expect to catch everything that gets thrown his way.

Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: David Bell looking for perfection from himself as Browns rookie