KC Chiefs still have plenty of WR help in case of emergency

Cornell Powell

Last year at this time, Powell looked like a potential bust of a pick after the Chiefs had selected him in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. While it was his rookie season, Powell looked overmatched or underwhelming most days in training camp and in preseason games as other players—including Fountain—moved on past him on the team’s depth chart. Ultimately he stayed on the practice squad all season.

But what people might have forgotten was that Powell was a late bloomer at Clemson and didn’t come into his own until he was a fifth-year senior for the Tigers. Suddenly he put up 53 catches for 882 yards and 7 touchdowns and landed on draft boards around the league.

This preseason, the story was technically the same—Powell failed to get a roster spot and was back on the practice squad—but the paths looked remarkably different. Powell was clearly stronger and more mentally prepared for the tasks in front of him and at times he looked like he might be the best developmental receiver on the team.

Going forward, there’s every reason to believe that Powell might turn into a real contributor next season with another full year of growth with the Chiefs staff. However, if push comes to shove, he could also likely help in a pinch this year.

Marcus Kemp

The Chiefs have already called him up, so to speak, with a promotion to the active roster for Week 7 and he’s likely going to surface again after turning in such an outstanding performance on special teams against the 49ers.

It was a bit of a surprise that the Chiefs brought back Kemp earlier this month, but he’s a known quantity who excels as a core-four performer on Dave Toub’s special teams units. Early on when Toub’s units were watching rookies make mistakes left and right, it made sense for the Chiefs to call on someone who could immediately provide dividends in those areas.

Kemp is who he is and he’s not going to surprise anyone by becoming more involved in the offense or showing off some new skill level. However, the Chiefs know they can lean on him to do his job and do it well, one thing that made it easier to allow Fountain to explore new opportunities.