Though he has taken on a bigger role in the offense over the past month, Vikings receiver Brandon Powell still knows his bread and butter is being a reliable punt returner.

That starts with simply catching the ball whenever it’s in the air. Former Vikings fan favorite Marcus Sherels literally made a career out of it.

No matter if it’s a missile with a ton of hang time, or a shank with very little hang time, Powell never wants to let a punt hit the ground.

“You always hear about hidden yardage,” Powell said. “You know, if it’s a mishit, and I can run up 10 yards and catch it, that’s basically a first down for our team. You’ve got to catch everything. That’s something I’ve been working on in practice.”

Asked about Powell this week, special-teams coordinator Matt Daniels lauded his ability to get under seemingly every punt.

“He has that aggressive mindset to go and get it and gain as many yards as possible,” Daniels said. “It’s been a huge luxury, to say the least, with what he’s been able to do.”

There’s a fearlessness required to stand back there and catch a punt that isn’t lost on Powell.

“It started in high school,” Powell said. “My pops was my coach and he used to always get mad at me for not catching the punt and letting it hit the ground.”

That served him well once he got to the NFL. As an undrafted player, Powell knew he was either going to have to embrace being a punt returner, or run the risk of being out of the league.

“I had to learn,” Powell said. “I had no choice.”

He credited fellow punt returner Jamal Agnew for showing him the ropes when he played for the Detroit Lions.

“He never threw a fair catch,” Powell said. “That gave him a lot of opportunity to return the ball.”

That’s a mentality Powell now carries with him everywhere he goes.

Dobbs is QB2

It’s been a whirlwind for journeyman quarterback Josh Dobbs since being acquired by the Vikings at the trade deadline. Nonetheless, head coach Kevin O’Connell confirmed that Dobbs will be the backup on Sunday afternoon when the Vikings play the Atlanta Falcons.

“You can tell he’s been through this before,” O’Connell said. “We’re going to be getting some extra work in with him, and he’s going to go into the game active.”

Lowry ruled out

After missing practice this week, defensive tackle Dean Lowry (groin) won’t play for the Vikings on Sunday.

Meanwhile, linebacker Brian Asamoah (ankle), receiver Jalen Nailor (hamstring), and offensive guard Chris Reed (foot) are questionable. Notably, if Nailor and/or Lowery are active, the Vikings will need to make a corresponding move in order to activate them from injured reserve.

As for cornerback Akayleb Evans (neck), receiver K.J. Osborn (chest) and receiver Brandon Powell (shoulder), they will not have an injury designation despite being limited participants in practice earlier this week.

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