Did the Kansas City Chiefs steal Cornell Powell on day three?

A year ago at this time, there was speculation about which players could be opting out of the 2020 college football season and which players might be hurt the most by the season being canceled completely due to the pandemic. It’s safe to say we would not be talking about the Kansas City Chiefs getting a day three 2021 NFL Draft steal in Clemson’s Cornell Powell if it weren’t for the 2020 season being played, abbreviated or not.

Powell, a former four-star recruit to Clemson by Rivals.com, was rated as the 36th best player in the entire country by the recruiting service.

As a big-time recruit, Powell was obviously expected to make an immediate impact at Clemson but he managed to catch only 20 passes in his first two seasons while contributing a little bit on special teams.

In his junior season, Powell once again had modest numbers through the first four games of the year before getting a redshirt.

In his redshirt junior season (2019), Powell played in 10 games — the most he’d ever played in a single season at Clemson — but still only caught 15 passes for 122 yards and two scores. The 2020 season became Powell’s last shot and really his only shot at a potential gig in the NFL after coming to Clemson as a big-name recruit.

How does a big-time recruit come to Clemson, a school known for cranking out receiver prospects to the NFL, and everything doesn’t work out? Powell had to be wondering this himself going into the 2020 offseason as college football itself last year was in jeopardy.

Thankfully for Powell, Clemson ended up playing in 12 games. An unfortunate injury to Justyn Ross paved the way for Powell and Amari Rodgers to lead the Clemson receiver group, and Powell responded in a big way.

Powell caught 53 passes for 882 yards and seven touchdowns, tying for the team lead with Amari Rodgers. He averaged 16.6 yards per reception and finally got the chance to show what he could do with an expanded role.

That one big season was enough for the Kansas City Chiefs, one of the best teams in the NFL who just so happen to have a vacancy at receiver with Sammy Watkins departing in free agency (Ravens).

In a deep wide receiver class, Powell may have been drafted a round later than his true value and he could wind up being a significant year one contributor for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs obviously have Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, tight end Travis Kelce, and an underrated fourth option in Demarcus Robinson, but Powell will have a chance to put his speed and explosiveness to use for Kansas City in his rookie season.

Because of the situation he’s going into and the fact that he showed his best ball this past season, it’s reasonable to say the Kansas City Chiefs may have a steal on their hands in Rodgers. Patrick Mahomes elevates any option in the passing game the Chiefs bring in, and this young player should be viewed no different.

If Powell had been able to put this kind of production on the field two years earlier and build off of it, who knows how much higher he may have gone?

Any receiver the Kansas City Chiefs bring in is worth watching closely, but especially in this deep receiver class, Powell is a name to file away as a sleeper to way out-produce his draft status.