Brandon

Powell

A 28-year-old depth piece, Powell caught a career-high 28 passes as the Vikings dealt with injury issues last season. The journeyman isn’t guaranteed to make the 53-man roster, but his 2023 experience and early re-signing definitely give him a leg up. 5-foot-8 Powell turns 29 in September.

Powell ran a route on 35 of the team’s 47 drop backs and caught a short pass for what proved to be the game-winning score. Playing mostly from the slot, Powell remains the third or fourth option in the Minnesota offense with Justin Jefferson (hamstring) out. He’s only viable in deep leagues.

Powell was quiet until the second half, catching three of his four receptions on the team’s final two drives. Even so, he managed to finish the game third in receiving behind Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson on a night the team attempted 45 passes against just 21 team rush attempts, the latter of which included the final kneel-down. Powell brings fringe fantasy appeal for managers struggling with injuries in a week with no team on bye.

Powell also rushed the ball once for a loss of a yard. Seeing an expanded role due to Justin Jefferson’s injury, Powell was used as the Vikings’ short-yardage receiver. He has a hold on the WR3 role for the Vikings, playing behind Jordan Addison and K.J. Osborn. Powell is worth an add, but is not yet a fantasy start for Week 7 against the 49ers.

Powell saw the majority of his production come following the departure of alpha wide receiver Justin Jefferson in the fourth quarter. That said, he could continue in the WR3 role for the Vikings considering Jefferson left with the dreaded hamstring injury, placing his availability moving forward in question.

It won’t be much of a schematic shift for Powell as he played under Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell while the two were with LA in 2021. Powell opened the 2022 season as a special teamer but quickly found more work as a receiver because of injuries ahead of him on the depth chart. He also saw a handful of snaps as a running back in an effort by Sean McVay to spark his team’s struggling ground game. Powell ended the year with 24 catches for 156 yards plus another 80 yards on the ground. He will continue to be a gadget player and a returner in Minnesota.

Powell showed up on the Rams’ final injury report as a DNP because of the illness. He had not been listed previously. Powell turned seven touches into 84 total yards last week. He was one of the only sparks the Rams could find on offense. He isn’t on the fantasy radar, but Powell missing Week 14 would make the LA offense slightly more unwatchable.

The seven touches matched gadget man Powell’s season high, while the 84 yards from scrimmage were easily his new top mark of 2022. Nice, though hardly predictive going forward. The Rams are kind of just throwing things against the wall and seeing what sticks. Powell should still be considered to have a zero-touch floor for Week 14 against the Raiders.

Powell has moonlighted as a receiver over the years but mainly gets his reps on special teams. He only saw three offensive snaps with the Rams last year but took over as a kick and punt returner late in the season. He held onto the special teams role during the playoffs and will compete with Tutu Atwell for return duties in 2022.

Powell was in on a career-high 181 snaps (16%) for the Falcons last year due to Julio Jones’ plethora of injuries. He’ll primarily stick on special teams in Buffalo with the occasional rep behind Isaiah McKenzie as the team’s No. 5/6 receiver.