Inside The Vikings

The Vikings Might Have Found Something in Brandon Powell

Powell stepped up in a big way for Minnesota in its win over the 49ers.

Will Ragatz

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Kirk Cousins sent a text to Brandon Powell after Monday night's win over the 49ers.

"The player you were (tonight) is kind of the player I see you being game-in and game-out," the text read, as Cousins recalled this week. "It’s kind of what I expect from you, because I think you do separate versus man, and I think you do make plays after the catch."

The Vikings appear to have found something in Powell, who they signed to a one-year deal worth just over $1.2 million this offseason. He came up huge in the upset victory over San Francisco, catching four passes for 64 yards with a five-yard carry. All four of those catches came after halftime, including two key conversions on third downs.

As expected, T.J. Hockenson has led the Vikings with 17 receptions in the two games since Justin Jefferson went on injured reserve. Jordan Addison, who had his national coming-out party on Monday night, leads in receiving yards (151) and touchdowns (3) during this two-game winning streak. What's been interesting is that Powell has as many catches during that span (7) as K.J. Osborn does — with a similar yardage total — despite playing 41 fewer snaps.

At 5'8" and 181 pounds, Powell is the shortest player on the Vikings' roster and one of the shorter wide receivers in football. Originally a running back in high school and when he began his college career at Florida, he switched to wide receiver as a sophomore but never had more than 406 receiving yards in a season. Powell signed with the Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2018, caught two touchdowns with the Falcons in 2019, and bounced around multiple practice squads in 2021 before latching on with the Rams.

"It’s been amazing, his football journey and how he’s carved out a career for himself," Cousins said. "Watching him in training camp, the way he played, you could just see this guy separates versus man coverage, and those guys are hard to find. He’s a playmaker, and he’s pretty natural. Having been a college running back, he’s gonna be physical in the run game, he’s gonna understand what he has to do to help in other ways."

Special teams are the main reason Powell was brought to Minnesota. Back in December '21, he returned a punt for a touchdown against the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. He was the Rams' punt returner last year and has been decent in that role for the Vikings so far this year.

With Jefferson out, Powell has become an important piece of the Vikings' offense, too; he's already just 25 yards away from setting a new career high in receiving. Powell showed what he was capable of as a pass-catcher during training camp, when he was consistently getting open and making plays for Cousins. Now that's translating to Sundays (and Mondays).

"He plays really fast," offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. "He's a naturally quick athlete. He's one of the tougher humans on our football team at all times. You just love a guy like that. He's prepared, he's a pro. Everything about him is kind of set up for him to do what he did in the games. Not the biggest stature, but plays a lot bigger than he is."

Powell's emergence has been huge for the Vikings as they navigate life without the league's reigning offensive player of the year. His ability to get open and make plays as a No. 3 receiver reminds you a bit of Jarius Wright, a 5'10" wideout who played for the Vikings from 2012-17. Powell will continue to play an important role for the Vikings for as long as Jefferson remains sidelined, and has shown enough to remain involved in some capacity even when No. 18 does return.

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Will Ragatz
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