Texans keep poaching Chiefs wideouts in low-risk roster moves

The Houston Texans have already given one former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver a place to call home for the 2025 NFL season—with as much security as most football players can have at this stage of the preseason at least—and now they've signed another.

Former Chiefs wide receiver Cornell Powell has found his path backk into the NFL after working out in Houston, per reporter James Larsen.

Powell spent the winter and spring in the UFL with the D.C. Defenders. The hope was to leverage that experience away from the league as a platform for a broader showcase. As it turns out, it was a brilliant strategy as Powell led the developmental league in receiving touchdowns with 7.

The Houston Texans now have two former Chiefs WRs on their preseason roster.

The Chiefs drafted Powell in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Clemson. For three seasons, Powell would find himself cut before active rosters were due only to re-sign with Kansas City's practice squad. Powell did play in 3 games for the Chiefs in 2022, but managed only 28 special teams reps.

A late-bloomer in college, Powell never truly broke out as a wideout at Clemson until his fifth and final year of eligibility. It's possible that might hold true at the professional level as well. The Chiefs waived him for the final time last November and then came his UFL success. Perhaps that will be revealed as the turn toward positive momentum in the NFL.

Earlier this offseason, the Texans also signed former Chiefs WR Justin Watson to a two-year deal to bring an experienced pass-catcher into the mix. Watson remains on the roster and a solid bet for a spot in a young WR corps that includes two draft picks, Nico Collins, Tank Dell, and Christian Kirk.