Brash Viking Makes Bold Prediction
You can’t say he suffers from a lack of confidence.
Minnesota Vikings wideout Brandon Powell has emerged as the club’s defacto WR3 in the last two months after WR1 Justin Jefferson hit the shelf with a hamstring injury.
Brash Viking Makes Bold Prediction
The man has performed wonderfully in clutch situations and is now using his words to speak boldly.
The Vikings take on the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium. Powell is stoked for the game because the Super Bowl will occur in Vegas, and he thinks his team will be in it.
“It is going to be a fun experience for everybody. It will be a little warm-up for the Super Bowl,” Powell told reporters Friday.
Of course, Minnesota is unlikely to reach or win the Super Bowl in 2023 after losing quarterback Kirk Cousins to injury at the end of October. Teams rarely strut to February football without their QB1, though the Philadelphia Eagles did precisely that in 2017 with Nick Foles, so fans — and Powell — hope Minnesota can follow suit.
Meanwhile this week, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips talked about adding more targets to Powell’s plate, “I do think Brandon Powell has earned the right to get some reps.”
Powell joined the Vikings in March and could be on the fast track to a WR3 job next season. He’s a tried-and-true playmaker and even helped Minnesota knock off the Atlanta Falcons on the road in early November, thanks to a game-winning touchdown reception.
He’s also no stranger to bold commentary with the media. In addition to insinuating the Vikings are good enough to reach the Super Bowl, Powell said two weeks ago, after Minnesota a loss to the Chicago Bears, that the NFC North rival was “trash.”
“Man, the Chicago Bears defensive backs is trash. That’s just simple. They were trash. We just hurt ourselves, that’s all,” Powell told Star Tribune. Powell’s unflattering summary of the Bears wasn’t shocking. He was involved in a skirmish with cornerback Kyler Gordon, a tussle that ended up with a 15-yard penalty for Gordon.
Too, Powell was correct about Minnesota hurting itself. The Vikings handed four turnovers to the Bears via interception, as quarterback Joshua Dobbs produced his worst career game — one so unfortunate that head coach Kevin O’Connell wouldn’t immediately name a starter for this weekend’s game. Ultimately, following a week of deliberation, O’Connell chose Dobbs, and he will play Sunday.
Powell entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent from the University of Florida in 2018. Since then, he’s been a part of six organizations, including the Vikings:
- Detroit Lions (2018)
- Atlanta Falcons (2019–2020)
- Buffalo Bills (2021)
- Miami Dolphins (2021)
- Los Angeles Rams (2021–2022)
- Minnesota Vikings (2023)
The stops in Buffalo and Miami included no regular season action. Powell was released by the Bills in the summer of 2021 during roster trimdowns and spent six weeks on the Dolphins practice squad later that season. The aforementioned O’Connell won a Super Bowl with Powell in 2021, quarterback Matthew Stafford’s first season in Tinseltown. Minnesota hired O’Connell a few days later while Powell stuck around for an underwhelming 2022 Rams campaign.
Powell is also the Vikings’ punt returner.
Minnesota has +10,000 odds to win Super Bowl LVIII, the 17th-best in the NFL as of December 9th.
Powell is scheduled to be a free agent in three months.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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