Dear Old Gold
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Iowa football: Four biggest draft busts in Hawkeyes history

By Andrew Wade

Nick Bell #43, Running Back for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes runs the ball during the NCAA 77th Rose Bowl college football game against the University of Washington Huskies on 1 January 1991 at the Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, California, United States. The Washington Huskies won the game 46 - 34. (Photo by Stephen Wade/Allsport/Getty Images)
Nick Bell #43, Running Back for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes runs the ball during the NCAA 77th Rose Bowl college football game against the University of Washington Huskies on 1 January 1991 at the Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, California, United States. The Washington Huskies won the game 46 - 34. (Photo by Stephen Wade/Allsport/Getty Images) /
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3 Nov 1990: Running back Nick Bell of the Iowa Hawkeyes in action during a game against the Illinois Fighting Illini. The Iowa Hawkeyes won the game 54-28.
3 Nov 1990: Running back Nick Bell of the Iowa Hawkeyes in action during a game against the Illinois Fighting Illini. The Iowa Hawkeyes won the game 54-28. /

Nick Bell

Another Raiders draft pick another Iowa football bust. Nick Bell was selected with the Raider’s second-round pick in the 1991 draft that included historically bad quarterback bust, Todd Marinovich. Al Davis was looking to a successor to the running back tandem of Roger Craig and Marcus Allen, and Bell wasn’t it.

After rushing for 1,744 yards and scoring 18 rushing touchdowns in his career with the Iowa football program, Bell didn’t top 1,000 yards total in Los Angeles.

At 6’2” 255 pounds, Bell was a bulldozer, but at the NFL level, he couldn’t bulldoze much. In three seasons, he rushed for a combined total of 853 yards for a yard per carry average of 3.8. His final season in Los Angeles was the worst though. Bell averaged 2.7 yards on 67 carries, and for obvious reasons, he was not brought back to the Raiders the next season.

As far as I can tell, Bell never resurfaced again a player in the NFL, but he did dabble in semi-pro football as a coach for a bit.

Although a second round pick doesn’t carry the expectations of a first-round pick, at the running back position, you are expected to produce regardless of draft position. It’s just the nature of the position. Failing to last more than three seasons or top more than 500 yards in any given season is a big reason why Nick Bell makes this list.