Cornell Powell hauls in 64-yard touchdown catch in preseason game vs. Lions

Former Clemson star Cornell Powell is still grinding away on his dream of playing in the National Football League. And on Saturday evening, he made an impressive 64-yard touchdown catch in the Chiefs’ preseason game against the Detroit Lions.

Cornell Powell took this one all the way to the crib 🏡

📺: #DETvsKC on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/UPHsiZ5XiP

— NFL (@NFL) August 17, 2024

Powell hauled in the catch from Chris Oladokun, a quarterback on the practice squad for the Chiefs.

The former Clemson star signed his four-year rookie contract with Kansas City on May 13th, 2021. He was drafted by Kansas City in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. But since then, he hasn’t seen any snaps in the regular season for the franchise, but they’ve decided to keep him around on the practice squad.

During his college career with the Clemson Tigers, Cornell Powell eventually developed into a starter his senior year, where he enjoyed a breakout season. Powell hauled in 53 catches for 882 yards and seven touchdowns, putting together some spectacular plays in the process.

One of his highlight reel plays came on the road against Notre Dame, when he spun through three Fighting Irish defenders. As a senior at JH Rose High School (Greenville, North Carolina), Powell had 65 catches for 1,557 yards, and 38 total touchdowns. He’s certainly always had potential and it’d be intriguing to see if he can finally get a shot with the Chiefs in the regular season.

The bad news for Powell is that Kansas City brought in some more options at wide receiver this offseason, so carving out a role in the offense will only be even more difficult.

Marquise Brown is out for 4-6 weeks with a sternoclavicular injury, which can be serious, but luckily for Brown, he avoided surgery. Xavier Worthy has made some highlight reel plays for the Chiefs in preseason and many are thinking the former Texas star will be a favorite new target for Patrick Mahomes. He was clocked at 4.21 in the 40-yard dash at the 2024 NFL Combine, shattering the previous record of 4.22 set by John Ross.

Then there’s Rashee Rice, who has been dealing with a number of legal issues. In 2023, he hauled in 79 catches for 938 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. If he’s not suspended, Rice will definitely make an impact for the Chiefs receiving corps. But that’s a big if. It’s been reported over the summer that Rice is facing a multi-game suspension from the NFL. His legal situation is a giant question mark, and nobody knows what will happen.