Apparently Bilal Powell is generating some buzz; http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/49358/five-things-we-learned-at-combine-jets Bilal be seeing you? To the public, Jets running back Bilal Powell isn't a high-profile pending free agent, but he's generating buzz in league circles. I spoke to coaches from two teams that described Powell as an underrated talent who will draw interest on the open market. With Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson splitting most of the carries last season, Powell was the forgotten man. He finished with only 44 touches. If anyone had a right to complain (pay attention, Chris Johnson), it was Powell. Opponents were aware of him. In Week 12, he was an 11th-hour scratch due to an illness, prompting the Buffalo Bills to alter their game plan. They called more blitzes than usual, knowing the Jets would miss Powell's pass-protecting ability. The Jets could lose Powell, especially if they make a run at the Bills' C.J. Spiller. ESPN NY JETS. Surprised no one has started a thread yet. On the one hand, - I'm pissed that somehow Bilal got lost in the RB shuffle last year. No good explanation why. We threw away some good cash to acquire Chris Johnson & t he only return on our investment was finalization on whether or not he is washed up. But then again, he was working in a dysfunctional offense, misutilized by Marty Morningwheg,......so who knows. On the other hand, Bilal stats were down & we held him back from any kind of a breakout year. This allows us the opportunity for an affordable re-sign. AND WE SHOULD TAKE IT. With so many position needs on this roster, - we certainly dont need to add another one. Especially after we drafted him!
He's cool, I've always liked him. He's a third string RB, and if the Jets re-sign him, he'll probably be a third string running back again. The draft is stacked with quality running backs, and I expect the Jets to get one of them.
He moves laterally well, he runs hard, he doesn't fumble, he catches the ball out of the backfield, and he's shifty with a nice burst. We'd be pretty dumb to let him walk as him and Ivory + a late round rookie makes for a nice trio, in my opinion. We tried the veteran free agent route it didn't work. The guy just need a chance and as 1985 said the Cotchery comparison seems very much there if he's given a chance.
i would rather have powell than a rookie as the third down back. His blitz pickup is a quality rookies usually struggle with.
He's a marginal NFL talent in my opinion. The receiving ability is nice and we probably underutilized if only because Ivory can't catch and CJ0K had a down year as far as drops. But I doubt NE is licking its chops its chops to go after him. He isn't 1/2 the player Vereen is.
This was interesting to me. I would have liked to see him more last season. I wonder what kind of money he'll be offered on the market. If he gets a legitimate shot to be a #2 back I'm sure he'll take it. Just a thought, but what if this regime liked his potential and decided to make him the #2 behind Ivory and perhaps drafter another back on Day 3. Could be an option if this team thinks highly of him. But ultimately my guess is that he'll sign elsewhere and it'll be a better opportunity for him. Especially in light of this report
I like Powell but I wouldn't go as far as to compare him to crotchety. He's had some opportunities and played ok, last year he got really pushed aside with the signing of cj(was a shame) so he didn't play enough at all and lost carries to Johnson he should have gotten. With the lack of value teams have on rbs theses days, I don't see the jets fighting to keep him. They have there big bruising back in ivory and problem want a true speed change of pace back to compliment that. Powell a tweener who does allot of little things well but isn't exceptional at one. The jets probably let him walk.
could be a steal for another team, he makes a fine complimentary back, a jack of all trades master of none type, and will likely come at an efficient price. I'm up in the air over wether the jets should retain him, its really more a matter of what their draft plans are and how many roster spots will be allocated to RB. If 4, its obvious, bring him back. But I can see there being 3 and a FB, with two vets and a rookie. does Powell make more sense than Spiller there? he'd probably cost HALF of what Spiller would get, so theres that... or maybe we don't go RB at all in the draft and Powell gets the easy spot… at this point I see him being gone, probably off to one of our neighbors to the north too...
For the most part I agree but he is an exceptional pass protector. That's something the Jets would still need to address even if they sign Spiller because Ivory and Spiller are poor in that area.
thats a great point… theres also not a lot of tread on those tires either for a four year vet, and when he was heavily used in 2013 he got something like 36 rec's and 272 yards receiving in addition to nearly 700 on the ground … and once again, he won't make a lot, probably 2 million a year, 2.5 at most in this devalued RB market. a lot of compelling reasons to keep him around. Spiller's got flash and big time results, rookies have cheap contracts and upside, but Powells got steady production…
+1 Good heady player. A solid veteran. Hope he stays. Ivory sticks his nose in there too, but Powell is an excellent depth guy. Nothing worse than watching breakdowns on the front by dumbasses....cough, cough, 'Terminator'.
This guy is pretty well rounded but is just OK at a lot of things and not special at anything. I wouldn't be upset if he went elsewhere.
I wonder who we could have drafted in the 4th round that year had Rex not personally requested taking the Denominator.
To me, Powell is just one of those guys whose very solid. But not great at any one thing. He's upgradeable. He's a great guy to have on your roster, but not at the expense of overpaying.
I think CJ Spiller has a lot to do with Powell's return. I wouldn't mind if we passed on Spiller unless he signs cheap, bring Powell back and make sure to draft one of Jay Ajayi, Amir Abdullah or Tevin Coleman. If we sign Spiller I'd see the FO still wanting to draft another RB which would mean letting Powell walk to make room for the rook.
