Chiefs Draft Prospects: Jerrell Powe
We are under a week until the draft and that means we have to up our effort in trying to give you a snapshot of as many potential Kansas City Chiefs as possible.
Today we are going to take a look at NT prospect Jerrell Powe. We have talked a lot about the NT position around here and for good reason. The Chiefs need a big, nasty presence in the middle of their defensive line.
The popular pick is Phil Taylor out of Baylor. AA Senior Staff Writer DD is a big Phil Taylor fan and he believes that Taylor is the most logical pick for the Chiefs in round one. But what if Taylor is already gone? What if the Chiefs don’t like him? What if they decide to take Akeem Ayers instead?
Another of AA’s Senior Staff Writers, Keith (ake Merlin) might tell you that the Chiefs should give a long hard look at Jerrelle Powe, out of Ole Miss.
And they have. We found out Powe had a visit with the Chiefs via an exclusive interview at NFL Mocks.
"“Yeah I had a lot of visits with some teams. Kansas City, Miami, and I’ve definitely been talking on the phone with a lot of teams too. The Broncos have contacted me.”"
Let’s take a closer look at Powe after the jump.
NFL Draft Scout currently projects Powe as a 3rd or 4th round pick. After a so-so showing at the combine, however, Powe held his own Pro Day and did pretty much a full on workout for scouts. This seems to have boosted his draft stock and he could go in the 3rd or even as early as the 2nd.
Here is what Merlin had to say about Powe in his NT preview:
"Jerrell Powe Mississippi 6′ 2” 335 lbsPowe is close to what the Chiefs look for. Like Taylor, he has a good build for a nose tackle. Unlike Taylor, he has a longer track record of success against a higher level of competition. Also, he was a captain at Ole Miss, so the leadership question should not be an issue. Unfortunately, he was moved to a three-technique for his senior year and asked to lose weight. He did not perform as well under those conditions. He should flourish in the NFL as a true nose tackle. He does have his own baggage. Powe had some serious academic issues and was denied academic eligibility by the NCAA on three occasions. That is not a trivial concern for a team like the Chiefs. However, he was diagnosed with dyslexia. If the Chiefs are satisfied with Powe’s character and intelligence, you may see his name called in rounds two or three."
The scouting reports I’ve read on Powe sound pretty good. He plays with a nice leverage and, get ready for this, he’s a block-eater!He can clog the middle and is good at drawing double teams. He also has an impressive bull rush. Sweet Ron Edwards had one bull rush for a sack last year. I don’t know if you remember it but it was breathtaking. Having a guy who could do that a handful of times a year could really help.
Powe dropped some weight between his junior and senior seasons. Scouts seem to think he played better at 240 than at 225.
The other interesting thing about Powe for me is that he is out of Mississippi. We know that Scott Pioli loves the SEC and he also has a tendency to draft players from the same school. Often he does this during the same draft.
Last year the Chiefs took two players from Ole Miss in Kendrick Lewis and Dexter McCluster. That means they were likely looking a lot at tape of the team and likely saw a lot of Powe by proxy.
Check out this chart on Pioli’s tandem drafting. It comes to us from one off AA’s new Staff Writer’s, Ladner Morse.
Interesting stuff, eh? Looking forward to what Ladner is going to bring to the site once we get him going.
What do you think Addicts? Is Powe a better choice than Taylor? Should the Chiefs go for him in the second round or the third? Or not at all?