D.J. Moore spent training camp trying to turn Skyler Bell from a quiet Chihuahua into a barking Rottweiler.
The Buffalo Bills rookie receiver gets his chance to make some noise on Monday Night Football.
Bell spent the summer following Moore around like a puppy, tagging along to the cold tub and sauna while soaking up everything he could from the nine-year veteran.
Moore didn't mind having a shadow. He had plenty of advice to share.
Now Bell might finally get his chance to be unleashed.
With Joshua Palmer ruled out and Moore questionable with a shoulder injury, Bell will be active for the first time this season when the Bills visit the Los Angeles Rams at 8:15 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12.
The fourth-round draft pick was inactive for Buffalo's first four games,
but head coach Joe Brady confirmed Saturday that Bell will make his NFL debut on one of the league's biggest stages.
"Skyler's going to be up," Brady said. "It was good because early in the week he was taking DJ's plays in practice."
Bell has been preparing for this opportunity since arriving in Buffalo. The timing wasn't lost on him.
"God don't make no mistakes, man," Bell said Saturday. "He put it on Monday night for a reason. Got to put on a show. Whole world watching, so I'm excited."
'Little brother' Skyler Bell spent Bills training camp following DJ Moore
Bell recognized the opportunity when he arrived in Buffalo.
Moore was entering his ninth NFL season. Bell was a rookie trying to learn how to become a professional receiver.
So he started following him.
"When you have a guy like that in your room that's been playing at such a high level for so long, I feel like I'd be crazy not to try to soak up everything he does," Bell told the Democrat and Chronicle during training camp. "I try to follow him as much as I can without being annoying and being in his back head every day."
Moore noticed.
"Skyler's like a sponge," Moore told the Democrat and Chronicle during training camp. "He's soaking in everything right now. Me and him hit the cold tubs and sauna together afterward, and we just chop it up."
Bell is the youngest of four children. He's accustomed to being the little brother.
Moore, who is also the youngest in his family, found himself playing the role of big brother.
Bell said his older siblings taught him plenty about football growing up. Now he had Moore, Khalil Shakir and Joshua Palmer to lean on in Buffalo.
But Moore was the one he seemed to follow everywhere.
Their conversations went beyond routes and catching passes.
Bell wanted to understand how Moore prepared for practice, recovered afterward and maintained his body through the demands of an NFL season.
"He's been in the league a minute, so you have to take care of your body to play in the league that long," Bell said. "I think just taking what I can in that sense."
Moore knew what it was like to be the rookie asking questions.
He had Cam Newton and Torrey Smith to learn from when he entered the league with the Carolina Panthers in 2018.
"They set the precedent like a pro's pro," Moore said. "So then I just stuck with it all my career and now I've been having rookies that have been just following that lead."
Bell has another big brother on the team: defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.
Bell began his college career at Wisconsin, where Leonhard served as defensive coordinator and later interim head coach. He credits Leonhard with helping him develop as a person and player when Bell was a redshirt freshman on the scout team.
"I love that kid, man. He's like a little brother," Leonhard said during training camp. "He's highly motivated. He's highly competitive. So you just keep pushing him."
Their history gives Leonhard a different way to connect with Bell.
"I feel like I can reach him a little bit in a different way than coaches who don't know him," Leonhard said. "Just check in and make sure he's getting what he needs. ... He's a great kid, man."
Why DJ Moore compared Skyler Bell to a Chihuahua
There was one thing Moore wanted Bell to do.
Speak up.
Bell is quiet. Really quiet.
He describes himself as a loner who enjoys spending time in his room watching movies. He isn't the kind of receiver who starts talking trash before a game or feels compelled to be the most boisterous person in the room.
"The receivers kind of get on me for it," Bell said. "They think I should talk a little bit more, but I talk when needed, when I'm spoken to or when I have to speak up about something."
Moore decided Bell needed a little positive reinforcement.
"He's got to start being a Rottweiler instead of like a Chihuahua that's real quiet," Moore said during training camp. "He's a Chihuahua that's quiet right now, so we're going to get him to be a Chihuahua that barks a lot for right now, and then he's going to turn into a bigger dog."
The comparison wasn't a criticism of Bell's ability.
"A Chihuahua is not weak," Moore said. "It's barking, it's agile. It can move. He looks good. He's still learning. He's learning how fast the game goes at this level. He'll get adjusted to that and he'll be off to the races."
Bell wasn't about to change his personality.
"D.J.'s probably the one that gets on me a lot for not talking a lot and not expressing myself as much," Bell said. "But I tell him, man, it's just not my personality."
Brady had a front-row seat to the relationship throughout training camp.
"I see him following DJ," Brady said. "He doesn't talk a lot, but he flies around the football field and he looks like he's enjoying football. He has such a professional approach and when he's had an opportunity to make plays, he's made them."
Skyler Bell ready for NFL debut with Josh Allen on Monday Night Football
Bell had to wait longer than he hoped to make his regular-season debut.
The rookie missed Buffalo's first two preseason games with a groin injury but gave the Bills a glimpse of his bite in the finale.
He caught seven passes for 49 yards and scored on a 28-yard end-around against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Skyler Bell turns on the burners for a 28-yard TD!
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But Bell was inactive for the first four regular-season games while the Bills relied on their veteran receivers.
He's been waiting for another chance to show what he can do.
Bell continued getting work with Josh Allen during practice. And as the Bills dealt with injuries to Moore and Palmer this week, his opportunity became more concrete.
Brady said Bell took Moore's plays early in the week, giving him a chance to prepare for a larger role.
"It's not like he hasn't been getting work with Josh," Brady said. "An opportunity for him. He's made the most of his opportunities and now just knowing he's going to be up and, 'Hey, these are going to be your plays now.' I got all the confidence in Skyler and excited for his opportunity."
Bell believes the work he's put in with Allen will translate when they finally take the field together in a game.
"I think it's been going well," Bell said Saturday. "I always work with him in practice. I think us being able to show it in a game setting for the first time is going to be exciting."
Bell caught 101 passes for 1,278 yards and 13 touchdowns at UConn last season. He was a consensus All-American along with being a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, presented to the most outstanding wide receiver in college football.
"If you've never seen me play I would say wait until Monday night," Bell said. "I think I'm explosive, I'm dynamic, I've got speed and I try to make every play that comes my way."
Bell said he plans to appreciate the moment before settling into the job he's been preparing to do.
"I'm going to be super grateful," Bell said. "Take it all in. Once that ball is snapped, it's ready to go. Time to roll."
Moore spent the summer trying to get Bell to bark.
Monday night, the rookie finally gets his chance to be heard.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: DJ Moore's 'little brother' ready to make noise in NFL debut for Bills
