He may not have heard his name called during the NFL draft, but Markquese Bell wasted no time in making sure his Cowboys teammates knew who he was at the team’s second practice session.
The safety out of Florida A&M was one of the team’s official 30 visitors before the draft, but managed to slip through all seven rounds without having his card turned in. The Cowboys pounced on bringing him in as an undrafted free agent, perhaps the most highly-touted of the entire class of 20 college players.
Bell quickly demonstrated that he may have a leg up on making the final roster by delivering the highlight of Wednesday’s voluntary practice. Several Cowboys reporters called him out for jumping a 4th-down-and-1 pass thrown by backup quarterback Cooper Rush.
Best defensive play during OTA media availability came from UDFA S Markquese Bell who picked off a QB Cooper Rush pass during team drills on a fourth and 1 inside the 10.
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) May 25, 2022
On the final play of the two-minute drill that closed out the day’s work, Bell took the pick 98 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.
Maybe.
“I think he was out of bounds there,” head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters with a smile at a post-practice press conference. “But it was a great moment.”
Bell will be looking to string together several more of those moments, making it that much easier for the coaching staff to keep his name on the roster once cuts are due.
“He’s been impressive,” McCarthy continued. “He jumped out at the rookie camp. He was very impressive in the Zoom calls leading up to coming in here. To me, that’s all about young guys who keep stacking success. And then to start making plays like that, that definitely helps.”
The Cowboys currently have Donovan Wilson, Jayron Kearse, Malik Hooker, Tyler Coyle, and Israel Mukuamu at the position. Georgia Tech’s Juanyeh Thomas also plays safety and, like Bell, is an undrafted free agent looking to make the 2022 squad.
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