It was not an inscription but a premonition.
On Father’s Day in 2012, Todd Powers received a book from his children. They thanked him and wished him well, but one sentence remains etched in his memory. It read: “I want you to know I will never stop being your kid when I am the best offensive lineman in the NFL” – Bennett.
Bennett is now Ben and he’s a big deal, one of the linchpins of an offensive line that is being counted on to form the F-around-and-Find-Out identity of the 2024 Broncos regardless of when Bo Nix starts.
“Ben already had in the back of his mind what he wanted to do,” Todd said on Wednesday. “He was ready to work to make it happen.”
What makes Ben’s vision surprising is that he was the only one who saw it. Looking at the 6-foot-4, 310-pound left guard now, it is hard to believe he was a late bloomer. His entire family played basketball for decades, including his father and seven aunts and uncles at Friends University. Prior to his sophomore season at Kapaun Mount Carmel Catholic High School in Wichita, Kan., Powers’ body began to look wrong for hoops.
“The coach said he didn’t need me on the team,” Power recalled.
This watershed moment ushered Powers into his pro football future. He took up wrestling, learning footwork and the art of physical confrontation that translated seamlessly to the gridiron. As a senior, he lost the state championship in overtime, which “remains one of the biggest regrets of my athletic career,” Powers said, shaking his head.
The thing is, the Powers kids were raised to compete. “And you know what makes competition fun?” Todd asked rhetorically. “Winning.”
With his athleticism improving and his body growing, Powers was determined to earn a college scholarship. One problem. None arrived. Pittsburg State, a Division II powerhouse, offered, but Powers was bent on playing D-I and elected to go the JUCO route at Butler Community College. He wrote a diary of havoc in one semester – “I bet on myself,” he said – before accepting a full ride from Oklahoma.
He was not expected to play much in his first season with the Sooners. Then in the third game of the season, he landed in the starting lineup because of an injury and was told to not “(bleep) it up,” by a line coach with a wicked sense of humor.
Powers became one of the team’s most reliable pieces. The writers covering the team referred to Powers as “The Accountant” because he reminded them of Ben Affleck’s movie character — a quietly trained, unassuming snatcher of souls.
Powers morphed into an All-Big 12 performer, blocked for two Heisman Trophy winners (Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray) and began to realize that Father’s Day message was not just bravado, but possible.
As a fourth-round draft choice of the Ravens in 2019, Powers was slowly developed, playing sparingly his first two seasons before emerging as a standout. Coach Sean Payton targeted him as his first free-agent addition in Denver as he began an HGTV makeover of the offensive line.
“He’s smart and he’s tough,” Payton said. “He’s one of our leaders and is very consistent. You know what you are getting day-to-day from him. And he’s a great teammate.”
Powers plays football like he’s in an old Western, throwing down sawdust in a bare-knuckle brawl. He understands and embraces the responsibility placed on the offensive line. Just follow the money. Right tackle Mike McGlinchey, right guard Quinn Meinerz and Powers have $126 million in guaranteed money. Those paid well must play well, and give the Broncos an edge.
“You can tell where a team cares and where they want to be great based on where they invest. And clearly with our unit, they did that,” Powers said. “With that being said, we have to do every bit of our job to carry this team where it wants to go and we take a lot of pride in that.”
Powers knows he must improve at pass blocking, which is expected in his second year in Payton’s scheme and with a quarterback not coloring outside the lines. He is a force in the run game. Powers relishes in the physicality offered on a weekly basis, traced to his days sparring as a boxer in his father’s gym.
“I love football, and at this level, it’s as competitive as it gets. We are fighting for our livelihoods out there. And to be able to win a football game on Sunday is the greatest feeling in sports I have ever had,” Powers said. “I love being in the trenches, in the mud. Why? Well, I am good at it. And getting dirty, man, there’s nothing like it. I take pride in doing my job for my teammates.”
As Powers talks, the juxtaposition remains jarring. He is nice, polite, and soft-spoken. When reporters are in the locker room, McGlinchey is the Mayor and Powers is the margins, moving quietly in the shadows. Affable before practice with teammates, he goes through a transformation that would make The Incredible Hulk blush.
“I am a big joker in the locker room. Then guys will say what’s wrong? And I will remind them that I am locking in. You will get that side of me after practice,” Powers said. “What we do is so physical you can’t have that switch on all the time or you will be in a dangerous headspace. You have to be able to turn it off.”
The offense did not play well Wednesday, a reminder of the challenges facing a team that has not posted a winning season since 2016. The line takes this personally. There are several reasons why nobody outside the building believes in the Broncos, from a lack of weapons to residing in the wrong conference and division.
Powers refuses to flinch. He confronted longer odds as a fledgling basketball player with NFL dreams 12 years ago. His father has a gift to prove it.
“Sean Payton has us right where we need to be. We are young and hungry. I have full confidence in this team,” Powers said. “I think we are going to surprise a lot of people.”
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