Brandon Powell (born September 12, 1995) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

punt returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punt (gridiron football), punts and kickoff (gridiron football), kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusivel ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

. He has been a member of the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

College career

Powell entered the Florida football program out of Deerfield Beach High School as a four-star recruit and was ranked 267th overall in the

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300 and was also the 34th ranked athlete in the 2014 recruiting class. Brandon began his collegiate career as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. He later switched to

his sophomore year. During his freshman season, he caught 15 passes for 147 yards with a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. As a sophomore, Powell caught 29 passes for 390 yards and three touchdowns, including a career long 77 yard score against Ole Miss. As a junior, he had 45 receptions for 387 yards and 2 touchdowns. During his senior year, Powell had a team high 42 receptions for 406 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

Powell signed for the

as an undrafted free agent on May 11, 2018. On December 30, Powell started in place of

Kenny Golladay Kenny Golladay (born November 3, 1993) is an American former professional football wide receiver. He has previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions and New York Giants. He played college football for the North ...

and caught six passes for 103 yards against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. On August 31, 2019, Powell was waived by the Lions.

Atlanta Falcons

On September 2, 2019, Powell was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

. On November 5, 2019, Powell was promoted to the active roster.

Buffalo Bills

Powell signed with the

on a one-year contract on March 26, 2021. He was released on August 30, 2021.

Miami Dolphins

On September 2, 2021, Powell was signed to the

practice squad. He was released on October 12.

Los Angeles Rams

On November 4, 2021, Powell was signed to the

practice squad. On December 26, 2021, in a game against the

, Powell returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown that was key in the Rams' victory, ensuring a playoff berth for the team. He was named

National Football Conference The National Football Conference (NFC) is a conference of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The NFC and its counterpart, the American Football Conference (AFC), each h ...

Special Teams Player of the Week for the first time in his NFL career for his performance. Powell won

Super Bowl LVI Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 NFL season, 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2021 Los Angeles Rams season, Los Angeles ...

against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. On March 19, 2022, Powell re-signed with the Rams on a one-year deal.

Minnesota Vikings

On March 22, 2023, Powell signed with the Vikings. He served as the team's primary punt returner in 2023 and also put up career receiving numbers with 29 catches for 324 yards and one touchdown. On March 12, 2024, Powell signed a one-year contract extension with the Vikings.

References

External links

Florida Gators bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Brandon 1995 births Living people American football wide receivers Atlanta Falcons players Buffalo Bills players Powell, Brandon Detroit Lions players Florida Gators football players Los Angeles Rams players Miami Dolphins players Minnesota Vikings players Sportspeople from Deerfield Beach, Florida Players of American football from Broward County, Florida