Vonn Bell is a professional NFL player who started playing for the New Orleans Saints as a safety in 2016 after being selected by the team as 61st overall in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Prior to that, Bell played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he stood out, intercepted nine career passes in three seasons with the team, including six in his sophomore season, 2 fumble recoveries, 2 touchdowns and a bag.
Who is Vonn Bell? – Biography,
The Tennessee native was born on December 12, 1994 to Vanessa and Vencent Bell as Vonn Christian Bell. He attended two high schools; Chattanooga Central High School, Harrison, Tennessee and Ridgeland High School, Rossville, Georgia, and played football at both schools.
In Chatanooga, he received the entire district During his senior season at Ridgeland, he led the school team to the Georgia class AAAA state championship, but they unfortunately lost to Sandy Creek. It would be ranked No. 2 in safety nationwide. Scout.com, Rivals.com and 247 Sports rate him as a 5-star recruit. ESPN listed him as a 4-star rookie, as well as the 50th best player in the nation.
He was also selected to play in the 2013 Under Armor American game, the same year he signed up for Ohio State University, where he played thirteen games as a freshman. His first career start, however, came in January 2014 at the Discover Orange Bowl, where he also recorded the first interception of his college career.
He became a full-time starter in his sophomore season, recording ninety-one tackles, six interceptions in fifteen games. He played in the 2015 College Football National Playoff Championship and had 6 tackles and a sack in the game against Oregon that ended in a win.
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NFL Career
Bell attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana, but skipped drills due to a hamstring injury he suffered in college while playing. He opted instead to meet with several team representatives and have their weights and measurements taken.
He would later compete in Ohio State’s Pro Day and performed the 40-, 20-, and 10-yard dashes, including vertical drills. Vonn Bell also attended private workouts and visited several teams, including the Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Rams, Buccaneers of Tampa Bay, among many others.
ESPN and NFL draft analyst Mike Mayock ranked the 2nd best safety prospect in the draft. DraftScout.com ranked him 3rd in safety, while Sports Illustrated named him the 11th best defender back.
Other pundits and scouts projected him a second-round pick in the draft and that projection was accurate as the New Orleans Saints would pick him in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. The franchise traded their 3rd-round picks (78th overall) and in the 4th round (112th overall) to the New England Patriots in order to place Voon Bell in 61st place in the second round.
He sealed the four-year $3.97 million deal with the franchise on May 10, 2016. The deal came with a $1.08 million signing deal. In training camp, he competed with Jairus Byrd for the starting free safety position. Head coach Sean Payton would later name him a backup safety to start the regular season behind Byrd.
Bell played in all sixteen games for New Orleans as a rookie, starting 13. He was second on the team in the standings and appeared to be a key part of rebuilding a struggling Saints high school.
He also led the team in subsequent fights (2017 season) and became an important part of the team’s defensive improvement fitting perfectly into Coach Allen’s aggressive philosophy. Voon was also second on the team with 4.5 sacks.
Vonn Bell played in sixteen games in his second season with the Saints, starting ten of those games. He finished the season with eighty-three combined tackles (62 solos), 2 assists and 4.5 sacks.
In 2017, it was ranked 65th best security system by Pro Football Focus with an overall rating of 68.7.
Height, weight and body measurements
The New Orleans Saints star stands at a height of 1.80m and weighs 94kg. His arm length is 32 3/8 inches and his hand height is 9½ inches.