The K.C. Chiefs had two picks to use in both the second round and the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and now the second selection is in the books for general manager Brett Veach and his staff with the announced pick of wide receiver Cornell Powell out of Clemson.
During his career at Clemson, Powell had 93 catches for 1,211 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, but so many of those came this past year after he broke out from being buried on the depth chart. Given a solid showing at the Senior Bowl, Powell is a player whose stock has been ascending and the Chiefs finally grabbed him here at the end of the fifth round.
The Chiefs were a threat to take a wide receiver in every single round so far, but have put off the position thus far in the draft, to the surprise of many fans. The absence of Sammy Watkins for the first time in four seasons cast a shadow over the depth chart that the team has already tried to fill in free agency and failed (including attempts to sign JuJu Smith-Schuster and others).
There’s not a large body of work here for Powell, but his most recent season was very productive and it’s possible the Chiefs have cashed in on a late bloomer here.
Unless Veach makes another trade, the Chiefs are now finished through five rounds of the draft with one remaining selection to make near the bottom of the sixth round. So far in the draft, the Chiefs have taken linebacker Nick Bolton from Missouri (second round), center Creed Humphrey from Oklahoma (second round), pass rusher Joshua Kaindoh out of Florida State (fourth round), and tight end Noah Gray from Duke (fifth round).