By Ross Jackson
Two things were emphasized during the NFL Draft and undrafted free agency on the defensive side of the ball by the New Orleans Saints.
Experience and tackling.
Undrafted free agent linebacker Tyreem Powell exuberates both. The former Rutgers player joined the Saints following the 2025 NFL Draft among a class of 11 undrafted rookies. Powell may be the one of those 11 players with the most direct path to a roster spot.
New Orleans has a linebacker room that could be in flux this offseason. It’s a relatively young room behind the top starters and along with fourth-round selection Danny Stutsman, this year’s new defensive coaching staff has elected its candidates to join the group.
Powell is an intriguing prospect in that he can rush the passer and has been a solid tackler throughout his collegiate career. He piled on a whopping 201 career tackles over his 43 games of experience. 11.5 of those tackles were for a loss, and he also wrangled five sacks in his career.
— Tyreem Powell 🫶🏾 (@TyreemPowell) January 27, 2025
He has unteachable traits that coaches covet. He’s a natural leader, voted a team captain in 2024. He has great size at 6-foot-4 and 239 pounds. He also has tremendous reach. His 34.75-inch arms and 84.63-inch wingspan outpace many offensive and defensive lineman in this year’s NFL rookie class.
With that reach, experience and tackling ability, he also brings extensive special teams experience. He covered punts all four years at Rutgers.
That might not seem like much, but it’s the kind of love for the game that head coach Kellen Moore pointed out after day two of the draft when discussing safety and third-round pick Jonas Sanker.
“Eight special teams tackles his senior year,” Moore said of Sanker. “I think that’s really cool stuff. You’re a big time player at Virginia, you’re going and playing special teams as a senior. Eight tackles. Says a lot about him.”
Powell checks the same box.
He also checks a lot of the other boxes an undrafted player must check in order to make a roster. He plays at a position in flux, has unteachable traits, contributes to special teams, has held leadership roles and has experience. Not a bad place to start for Powell.
