There was a safety, Robert Sands (West Virginia) who would have brought excellent value and would have brought a physical presence to the defensive backfield.
Kendric Burney, a corner out of North Carolina, is another guy who would have made sense. He will be a nickel corner at the next level and the Jets could have used him.
Drew Coleman has been spotty and Kyle Wilson struggled in his rookie year. Burney would have been a nice fit.
This pick is also odd considering the Jets drafted Joe McKnight in the fourth round last year. They are different types of runners but why take another guy if you like McKnight?
Tomlinson will only be around for another season, if that, so taking a RB in this draft makes sense but there were better players at other positions available at this spot. But this does not mean Powell is a bad player. I would not have had him in the JetsFan-50 if he was.
He will be a good one. I love his vision and balance. He will not be a home run hitter and has only average speed but he knows how to follow his blocks and weave his way through a defense.
At 5-11, 202, he is a little small and at his size might be better off as a 3rd down pass catcher.
His top-notch vision allows him to find creases and he exploits them in a hurry. He breaks a lot of arm tackles and picks up good yardage after contact.
He runs with great balance and has a low center of gravity. This makes it hard for defenders to knock him off his feet.
Is very instinctive - feels holes opening before they are there and has a natural feel of when to cut back.
He runs hard but with below average power. Is more of a one-cut runner. Excels once he gets to the second level and can make guys miss in space.
Has good change of direction skills and is shifty in the open field. Has good hands and could develop into a solid 3rd down back.
He puts out good effort as a pass blocker but like most young backs, needs work on his technique.
He had a bad upbringing and got into trouble in high school by hanging around the wrong kids. Wound up getting stabbed his sophomore year and left home to move in with his coach’s family, which turned around his life.
He really came into his own this past year at Louisville and his best football still might be ahead of him.
"He's a complete back," said Louisville running backs coach Kenny Carter, who has been an assistant at Florida, Penn State and Pittsburgh. "I've coached a lot of really good backs, and he's as good as all of them."
Powell’s story is very much like Michael Oher’s whose life was depicted in the movie “The Blind Side”. He came from a tough neighborhood and fell in with some bad kids. ESPN had a good article on him last September.
His mom worked multiple jobs, was never around and Powell had no male influences. He ran with local gangs, got in fights, even got shot at. Between his sophomore and junior year, he was stabbed and had to be hospitalized.
He played at Lake Gibson High in Florida and after years of the coaching staff trying to get through to him, he finally asked for help from his running backs coach, Rusty Bulloch, who took him in.
Bulloch invited Powell to live with his family at their country ranch. He and his wife had taken in several troubled kids before. They made them do chores around the ranch and taught them Bible scriptures.
"It was like a 180-degree turn overnight," Bulloch said. "He immediately stopped cussing. He stopped running around with gangs. He didn't want to smoke marijuana anymore. He was a totally different person."
Powell played CB in high school initially but after a couple of RB’s went down, Bulloch convinced the head coach to give Powell a look at running back and he seized the opportunity.
Powell rushed for over 1900 yards and had 22 TD’s that year and impressed coach Charlie Strong of Louisville who awarded him a scholarship the next year.
Powell is a humble, quiet guy now. He wants to stay out of the limelight and keep a low profile. He did not talk to reporters in college and will need to adjust to the glare of New York.
But he has used his experience to help others. He talks to high school kids and shares what happened to him and has helped them stay out of trouble.
Powell will be a good player for the Jets. He will be a nice change of pace for Shonn Greene and has the makings of a very productive back.
His top receiving year at Louisville was 12 catches so he does not have much experience in this area. But he has soft hands and can be a good receiver out of the backfield.
Powell has been through a lot but has shown a ton of resilience and has come out on top.
He is a smooth runner, who sets up his blocks well and can find creases in a defense. He has excellent vision and balance and has the instincts you look for at the position.
He won’t be a game-breaker but he will have plenty of big runs and brings an elusive element to the Jets’ rushing attack.
The Jets did not get great value with this pick, and I believe they could have done better by adding another defender, but Powell is a good player and should contribute immediately.
Written by Alan Levin