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If you were to rank the Carolina Panthers’ 2023 offseason additions by the attention they’ve received, Vonn Bell wouldn’t be anywhere near the top of that list. But, we found one where that is the case.
On Monday, Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar published his rankings of the NFL’s best 11 safeties. Kicking off this list is Bell, who apparently just squeezed in at No. 11:
The 11th slot was the toughest on this list — I was torn between Bell and Derwin James of the Chargers, but Bell’s improvement in coverage over the last two seasons won the day. Last season, he allowed 35 catches on 48 targets for 445 yards, 182 yards after the catch, one touchdown, four interceptions, two pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 73.7.
Bell, who’s entering his eighth year in the league, has steadily improved on that coverage mark—as he allowed a 127.5 passer rating in 2020 and a 96.3 passer rating in 2021. In fact, all four of his interceptions from 2022—as noted by Farrar—came in the deep third of the field.
The former second-round pick of the New Orleans Saints is now onboard in Carolina with a three-year, $22.5 million pact—a deal that may very well be, whether he gets attention for it or not, one of the biggest bargains of the spring.
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