But where Wells once flitted in and out of games, he has become a consistently damaging AFL performer in recent seasons.
In this week's episode of The Whiteboard, former Richmond star Matthew Richardson uses exclusive ISO-cam vision from North's round 14 win over St Kilda to illustrate what makes Wells so good.
Click here to view Wells' career stats
Using footage of Wells' individual duel with Saints defender Sam Gilbert, Richardson illustrates how Wells' combination of speed and endurance makes him "just about impossible to stop" if he is allowed to run into open space.
Richardson says Wells' run and carry makes him a "classic 80m player", who can hit a target even when running at high speed.
However, Richardson is most keen to highlight how Wells constantly put teammates into scoring positions against the Saints.
The former Tiger runs through footage of Wells setting up three North goals in the final quarter, the first through a long looping handpass to Brent Harvey and the others via deft short passes to Lachlan Hansen and Jack Ziebell.
"I reckon this is just about the best aspect of Daniel Wells' game these days," Richardson says.
"He is a very, very unselfish player. I reckon he loves bringing teammates into play, there's no doubt about that."
Watch The Whiteboard for more of Richardson's insights on the Kangaroos star.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
