Chicago Bears 2019 NFL Draft: Late round safety targets
By Ryan Heckman
Marvell Tell III, USC
This illustration may be a bit of hyperbole (or a lot), but Marvell Tell III skates across the field like Michael Jordan flew through the air at times.
Like I said, the hyperbole is real.
On a serious note, Tell is quite an athlete. Athletically, he is extremely gifted. Tell stands a stout 6-foot-2 and has excellent length for a safety, giving him a broad radius to find the ball. His Combine was impressive, too. The kid leapt out of the stadium on both of his jumps — 42.0 inches on the vertical and a ridiculous 136.0 inches on the broad.
There is a ton to like about Tell when it comes to his natural gifts. The biggest issue, to me, is his size. Because of his height, he should be a bit heavier than he is (198 pounds). He’s a long, rangy prospect but looks very thin.
The physicality required to play in the NFL is at an all-time high, to begin with. Players are stronger than ever, and at the safety position, he will be the defense’s last resort at times. He has to put on some muscle mass if he’s to make it into an NFL starting lineup at some point.
The positives significantly outweigh the negatives with Tell, but the knocks are clear and he’ll need to fix them. If he’s available in the fifth round, I would be totally fine seeing Pace bring him to Chicago.