RENTON — Tyvis Powell made a confession.
Following the Seattle Seahawks’ practice at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center, Powell admitted that the bone-crunching block he made to spring Tyler Lockett on a punt return during Seattle’s 17-16 preseason victory over the Kansas City Chiefs came as a result of a mistake.
“What everybody doesn’t know is I truly messed up my assignment because I lost my dude at the line,” Powell said with a big smile on his face, acknowledging his primary responsibility was to hold up the opposing gunner on the outside.
“All the older people were saying, ‘You’re going to mess up, so when you mess up just do it at full speed.’ So once I messed up I just tried to come back with effort and tried to make a block for Tyler.”
It may have been a mistake, but it was the type of mistake that just may help Powell make the team.
The undrafted rookie safety is doing everything he can to convince he deserves a spot on Seattle’s final 53-man roster, and if Powell can continue to replicate his performance from last Saturday he’ll make it impossible for the Seahawks to leave him off.
Monster block, interception
Powell was a demon on special teams in his first experience in an NFL game. Not only did he make the big block on the punt return, he also made a tackle on kickoff coverage and nearly saved a ball from going into the end zone while on punt coverage. To top it off he had an interception on a tipped ball late in the game while playing safety.
Not bad for a player who wasn’t among the 253 who had their names called during the draft in April.
“I don’t remember a first-year guy having a first game that was that obvious like that, so it’s very impressive,” Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said.
“He had a terrific game,” Carroll added.
“You’re first time out as a rookie and you know special teams is a big deal. He makes a great play on kickoff coverage on the 12-yard line, he has a classic block on the punt return, the ball he almost kept out of the end zone was an extraordinary play too, and he has a pick.
“It’s a great day, I was really fired up for him. He’s looked really good at practice and he made a big statement.”
Powell came to Seattle with a better resume than the typical undrafted free agent.
At 6-foot-3 and 211 pounds he has the physical tools to play in an NFL secondary.
He was a standout at Ohio State, being named the Defensive MVP of the Buckeyes’ 42-20 victory over Oregon in the national championship game in January of 2015.
He left Ohio State following his redshirt junior season and was rated a latter-round draft selection.
But when Powell unexpectedly went undrafted it gave the Seahawks the chance to pounce, and they hit Powell with a full-court press in the moments following the draft.
“[The Seahawks] definitely called me a lot,” Powell said.
“My phone was definitely buzzing with them.
“The No. 1 selling point was the fact they had 26 undrafted players on their roster [at one point last season], and then I went and thought about some of the people I look up to like Richard [Sherman] and Kam [Chancellor],” Powell added.
“They weren’t even drafted that high, but they worked for what they got and became the best corner and safety in the league. Now I feel I have motivation right in front of me. They weren’t drafted high and they’re still seen as the best, so I’m just looking at them every day to see the things they do and I just try to mimic that.”
Powell’s best avenue for earning a roster spot is to continue excelling on special teams, as a spot in Seattle’s vaunted Legion of Boom secondary isn’t likely to open up soon.
However, Powell’s potential versatility on defense could help his cause. Powell saw time at both safety and cornerback Saturday, and his length is just what the Seahawks look for in their corners.
It’s possible Powell could take the same path as DeShawn Shead, who made the team as a special teamer, went through the conversion from safety to big corner, and now is a prime candidate to start opposite Sherman.
“He’s certainly physically capable of [playing cornerback],” Carroll said.
“He’s really fast, he’s really tall and long, he’s very coordinated, comfortable in the movements and stuff, good hand-eye stuff. It takes longer to learn our system at safety, but physically it takes a long time to figure out the corner stuff. He’s going to be going back and forth and we’re going to try and do the same format we did with DeShawn and see what happens. That makes him more valuable to us, that makes the spot on the roster more available.”
But Powell isn’t just limiting himself.
“Whatever it’s going to take me to make this 53-man roster is what I’ll do,” Powell said.
“I don’t care if they tell me, ‘Tyvis, we need you to get the water for everybody.’ I’m going to be the best waterboy in America.”
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The [Everett] Daily Herald is a sister paper of the PDN. Sports writer and columnist Nick Patterson can be reached at npatterson@heraldnet.com.
