Cornell

Powell

Powell was a fifth-round pick last year, and anytime a receiver has Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback, he becomes an intriguing fantasy name to watch. Powell was one of those for a short period but never made anything of his opportunity. He never appeared in a game for the Chiefs.

Powell – a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft – turns 24 in October. He had a productive final season at Clemson, amassing 882 yards and seven scores on 53 catches, but this move doesn’t bode well for his career prospects.

Mahomes described Powell, the team’s fifth round pick out of Clemson, as a “beast.” “He’s big out there, running across the field and making some big catches in some tough, contested spots,” Mahomes said. The aged rookie, who enters the NFL at 24, had an excellent final year at Clemson, catching 53 passes for 882 yards and seven touchdowns in 2020. Powell last year had four receptions of at least 50 yards and at least one 20-yard reception in seven of his final eight games. Playing time could be hard to come by for Powell in 2021, though injuries or struggles among the Chiefs’ tertiary wideouts could give the rookie a shot at fantasy relevance in KC’s high-powered offense.

Powell (6'0/204) was lost on Clemson’s depth chart behind future NFL receivers (Mike Williams, Hunter Renfrow, Justyn Ross, Tee Higgins, etc.) for four years before emerging with 53/882/7 as a fifth-year senior in 2020. He accounted for 90-plus receiving yards in five of the Tigers’ final six games but failed to record more than 50 yards in any career game until Week 9 of 2020. Head coach Dabo Swinney attributed Powell’s success to his “night-and-day” change in practice habits as a “grown up,” but how much further he can actually develop as a 24-year-old rookie with limited speed is a legitimate question mark. Probably he won’t see much playing time in KC this season.

Powell (6'0/204) also posted a 36.5-inch vertical jump in what was a pretty solid display of his measurables. Powell also got to show off his receiving skills at Trevor Lawrence’s pro day workout that was conducted earlier in the offseason. In his 2020 breakout campaign the Clemson wideout caught 53-of-78 passes for 882 yards, 16.6 YPC and seven touchdowns. From an advanced data perspective, PFF gives Powell a respectable 74.1 receiving grade for his play in 2020. He is a late-round level prospect for NFL Draft purposes.

Powell was the top target for Clemson and Trevor Lawrence, and put up big numbers against the Buckeyes’ secondary. Unfortunately for Powell and the Tigers, it wasn’t nearly enough. Both scores came in the second half, and the 6-foot, 210-pound wideout ends the year -- and likely his career -- with Clemson with seven scores in 2020. Powell accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl, and while this class is absolutely loaded at wideout again, he has a chance to put himself into the Day 2 consideration with a strong showing in Mobile and the combine.

Powell has come on real strong for Clemson as of late. After a ton of low-volume games to start the year, Powell continued his five-ish game tear this weekend. He now has four consecutive games with at least 90 yards, three of which games also featured a score. At 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, Powell has the size and speed to be a menace on the outside. Seeing as Clemson were down a few WRs, such as Frank Ladson and Joe Ngata, it’s a relief that someone like Powell could really step up to fill in their shoes.

Powell (6'2/210) caught the second touchdown of the game on a well designed flea-flicker that left him running wide open down the middle of the field for a 43-yard scoring strike. However his best play came on a play-action deep shot into one-on-one coverage with a defender draped all over him that he reeled in for a 70-yard gain, narrowly missing a touchdown. With fellow outside receiver Frank Ladson out, the junior WR has emerged as the primary outside receiving threat for the Tigers alongside slot wizard Amari Rogers. Powell has posted over 100-yards receiving in his last three games and will look to keep the streak in tact next Saturday when Clemson travels to play Virginia Tech.

Powell scored the first touchdown of the game for the Tigers on a 53-yard connection with freshman sensation DJ Uiagalelei to make it 10-7 Notre Dame. He just missed his second touchdown on the first play over overtime, but he was ruled down at the one on a 24-yard pass from Uiagalelei that set up a one-yard plunge from the quarterback. Powell has been very effective these previous few weeks, as this follows an 11-catch, 105-yard effort in the close win over Boston College. The question now is if the 6-foot, 210-pound junior will be as involved when Trevor Lawrence (likely) comes back against Florida State no November 21.

Clemson was in deep waters all afternoon after falling in a 28-13 hole at halftime. Of all the potential heroes who could have emerged to save the day, Powell (6'0/210) didn’t have a likely resume. He entered this game with only 54 catches over five seasons on campus. In fact, early on today, he passed his career-high of 15 catches in a season. But Powell emerged as a favorite target of true freshman QB D.J. Uiagalelei. He caught all 11 balls Uiagalelei targeted his way, keeping the chains moving.