Originally Posted by :
Powell was a top-50 prospect nationally coming out of Greenville, North Carolina, but struggled during his first four years on campus to get playing time ahead of talented pass catchers Mike Williams, Tee Higgins, Justyn Ross, Hunter Renfrow, Deon Cain, Ray-Ray McCloud, Amari Rodgers, Artavis Scott and Diondre Overton (plus Jordan Leggett at tight end). He played in nine games as a reserve in 2016 (12 receptions, 87 yards, 7.3 average) and 14 games in 2017 (eight receptions, 57 yards, one touchdown, 7.1 average; three kick returns, 65 yards, 21.7 average). Powell redshirted his third year with the national-champion Tigers but played in four games (five receptions, 63 yards, 12.6 average; four kick returns, 117 yards, 29.3 average) as a backup while maintaining the year of eligibility. He was a larger part of Clemson's offense in 2019 (15 receptions, 122 yards, 8.1 average, two touchdowns). With Higgins off to the pros and Ross sidelined due to a spinal condition, Powell played well enough to earn third-team All-ACC honors (53 receptions, 882 yards, 16.6 average, seven touchdowns). He accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl. -- by Chad Reuter
Overview
Unique evaluation as a wideout who came into the program as a four-star recruit, never beat out talent in front of him and then put together impressive tape in his single season as full-time starter. Powell is well-skilled beyond the career production as he's clearly taken in the coaching and learned from others at the position. He's smooth but will have to win with route polish and competitiveness as his long speed and separation burst appear to be very average, which could lead to a higher number of contested catches outside the Clemson offense. The tape is good but the testing will be important as teams grapple with the single season of production. Powell will be an NFL backup, at worst. Strengths
Moves around the field with smooth gait.
Leverages route turns against tight man coverage.
Sneaky hand fighting to create separation.
Clears out catch space at the top of his routes.
Showed and proved as downfield ball-tracker and body-stacker.
Athletic in air with outstanding body control and catch instincts.
Plucks it at high-point and hides it away from swatting hands.
Plus hand-eye coordination through noisy catch-points.
Quarterback's friend with sudden but soft hands.
Will go get the football where it is thrown.
Gets run-ready even before completing hitch catch.
Not overly elusive but makes tacklers miss after catch.
Has ability as a stalk and wall-off blocker.
Weaknesses
Only one year over 15 catches and 125 yards in a season.
High-cut with limited wiggle in his movements.
Expect average release success against press.
Drive gear doesn't seem to generate panic in cornerbacks.
Route fakes lack salesmanship.
Below-average separation burst.
Route asks were rather basic at Clemson.
Dropped easy would-be touchdown catch headed into end zone against Virginia Tech.
Originally Posted by Deberg_1990:
Why did He get drafted so low?
He was a late bloomer, so his body of work is smaller. Didn't break out until he was a 5th year senior. Normally the higher-drafted receivers have success earlier in their college careers.
Part of it was late development, part of it was the sheer amount of talent in front of him on the roster. [Reply]
Since we drafted him, I've watched quite a bit of Powell and I like his game. I'm not sure he gets a ton of snaps on offense this year, but that's not a knock on him. There's a steep learning curve and a handful of experienced players in front of him.
Other than Hill, I don't think this offense needs our wide receivers to do anything groundbreaking. Just run the route you're supposed to run (Hardman!), catch the ball when it's thrown to you, and block the guy you're supposed to block. And if the play breaks down, keep playing. The guys we have on the roster are all capable of doing that.
I really believe the re-tooled offensive line and the threat of a legit running game will make all of our receivers look better. The great thing about having Mahomes is that he sees the entire field and is willing to throw his receivers open. Mahomes has a completely different definition of the word "open" than most NFL QBs. Combine that vision and anticipation with an added second of time in the pocket, the comfort of knowing the guys in front of him can block, and the fact that the defense you're playing against is actually respecting the threat of the run, and I think we're going to see record-setting fireworks on offense this year. [Reply]
Powell went from heralded recruit to one-year starter after getting stuck behind a talented group of pass catchers at Clemson. He’s not a burner or a sudden separator from his routes, but he’s smooth and skilled when the ball is in the air. He offers a bit of a different look from what the Chiefs currently have on their roster at that position. [Reply]
In the video the Chiefs posted showing the call to Powell, you hear EB kinda telling him that he needs to come in ready to roll because he has a big opportunity in front of him.
If he starts making plays in camp and we are hearing about it, I think he plays day one. But it will be hard for Andy to not start D-Rob week 1 I’m sure. Just seems to be his style. [Reply]
Powell went from heralded recruit to one-year starter after getting stuck behind a talented group of pass catchers at Clemson. He’s not a burner or a sudden separator from his routes, but he’s smooth and skilled when the ball is in the air. He offers a bit of a different look from what the Chiefs currently have on their roster at that position.
I've been reading and watching alot on him. I'm intrigued. I think he could be one of those late round guys that just got buried behind legit dudes at Clemson and had a really good pro career. [Reply]
Powell went from heralded recruit to one-year starter after getting stuck behind a talented group of pass catchers at Clemson. He’s not a burner or a sudden separator from his routes, but he’s smooth and skilled when the ball is in the air. He offers a bit of a different look from what the Chiefs currently have on their roster at that position.
His round 6 picks included:
Nick Niemann
Iowa · LB
Los Angeles Chargers
No. 185 overall
The Chargers were a disaster on special teams last season. Niemann has the physical traits and play demeanor to help in that area right away. He needs more experience, but he’s a plus athlete and effective tackler. He has early backup potential and could be a player on the rise
This guy gets it... Guys like Nick and Ben Niemenn are important role players. Ben Niemen shouldn't be starting, but cutting him would be idiotic... [Reply]
Kansas City Chiefs selecting WR Cornell Powell (Clemson)
The pick: 181 (Round 5)
The No. 2 receiver position in Kansas City is up in the air at this point. While Byron Pringle and Demarcus Robinson have each had their opportunities over the years, neither has solidified himself as a legitimate option. There's a chance Powell can step in and be that guy.
Powell is one of the most physical route runners in the draft class at 6-foot and 204 pounds, and he broke out in a big way down the stretch in 2020. Over the final six games of Powell's collegiate career, he averaged well over 100 yards per contest and his 730 receiving yards were the sixth most in college football over that span. He then went to the Senior Bowl and had the second-highest win rate of any receiver in the one-on-ones against press coverage. That skill set can translate quickly.
Yeah, it would be nice to have Reggie Wayne to go with our Marvin Harrison.
I can envision having a #2 by committee approach. Maybe we don’t have 1 guy with 800 yards and 7 TDs, but I could see us having 3 guys with 500+ yards and 4-6 TDs in Hardman, Robinson, and Powell.
As long as they’re reliable when targeted, it might be effective to have several competent (but not great) weapons to make teams pay when they commit to stopping Hill and Kelce. [Reply]
Our number one receiver is Hill/Kelce. Our number two receiver is Hill/Kelce. The vast majority of the time we're rolling out 3 wide receiver sets, so we're going to need two of Robinson, Pringle, Hardman, Callaway, Powell to fill those spots. But yeah, I don't think it's really a weakness at all.
"What do we do if a team takes away Hill and Kelce?" That's monumentally difficult to do, and with our re-tooled offensive line, it's going to be even harder. If a team wants to dedicate four defenders to take away Hill and Kelce, then we should be running the ball at 10-yards a clip or throwing to a wide-open [insert your favorite receiver here]. [Reply]
Originally Posted by wachashi:
Our number one receiver is Hill/Kelce. Our number two receiver is Hill/Kelce. The vast majority of the time we're rolling out 3 wide receiver sets, so we're going to need two of Robinson, Pringle, Hardman, Callaway, Powell to fill those spots. But yeah, I don't think it's really a weakness at all.
"What do we do if a team takes away Hill and Kelce?" That's monumentally difficult to do, and with our re-tooled offensive line, it's going to be even harder. If a team wants to dedicate four defenders to take away Hill and Kelce, then we should be running the ball at 10-yards a clip or throwing to a wide-open [insert your favorite receiver here].
Agree with this.
The key for the receivers not named Kelce/Hill will be to make teams pay when they’re left open. Can’t have drops/fumbles/wrong or bad routes.
Run the play, catch the ball, protect the ball.
They don’t need to take over games, but they can’t make negative plays and give the defense gifts. [Reply]