Scouting Report:

Powell doesn't have a huge upside as a running back but I would be surprised if he didn't end up having a productive career.

Positives: Has good size and strength. Runs hard. Has pretty good burst to hit the hole. Shows pretty good vision as a runner and has good feet. He runs with good pad level and balance which makes him hard to tackle at times as he has strong legs and consistently drives them for extra yardage after contact. He shows that he can catch the ball out of the flat and likes to initiate contact when he gets outside or when he gets to the second level. He can run you over and attack you in the open field or he can use some of his shiftiness to make you miss in the flat.

Negatives: Powell isn’t a very explosive back and he won’t be ripping off huge runs consistently in the NFL because of his lack of shiftiness as a runner and he doesn’t have great straight line speed. He doesn’t run well when he is forced outside of the tackles and doesn’t have the speed to get the corner consistently in the NFL. Doesn’t offer much as a pass blocker in the backfield.

Overall: Powell can be a quality feature back in the right offense. He runs with good power and shows pretty good burst and vision which makes him a pretty good running back prospect. He won’t ever be an elite runner because of his lack of great straight line speed and he isn’t that well rounded yet but I would be surprised if he didn’t end up being a pretty productive NFL running back.

Projection: 4th round. I think this is where Powell will start to get some consideration, especially for teams that run offenses that need more powerful runners.

SKILLS:
1-poor, 2-weak, 3-above average, 4-very good, 5-elite

Speed: 3.0
Power: 3.5
Agility: 3.0
Vision: 3.0
Hands: 3.0
Blocking: 2.0

Thanks for reading!

–Tom