Power Echols

Power Echols (born January 20, 2003)^[1] is an American professional football linebacker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Power Echols

Echols with the North Carolina Tar Heels in 2024
No. 57 – Chicago Bears
Position:	Linebacker
Personal information
Born:	(2003-01-20) January 20, 2003 (age 22) Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:	225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school:	Vance (Charlotte, North Carolina)
College:	North Carolina (2021–2024)
NFL draft:	2025: undrafted
Career history
Chicago Bears (2025–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
Third-team All-ACC (2023)
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

Echols's father, Brian Echols, played college football at Michigan State. His mother, Astarlove Robinson-Russell, played college basketball at Western Michigan; she named him after the actor Powers Boothe.^[2][3] Echols began playing football at age six, originally as a running back. Before high school, his family moved from Arizona to Charlotte, North Carolina.^[4]

Echols attended Vance High School in Charlotte, where he played three seasons for the football team.^[2] He changed to defense for his freshman season when his high school coach offered him a starting position at linebacker, and his performance drew national attention including from North Carolina linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen.^[3][4] He led Vance to the NCHSAA 4A state championship game as a sophomore before winning the state championship in his junior season in 2019, being named MVP of the championship game with 6.5 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a touchdown.^[5][6] In those two seasons, he was named all-state and the Charlotte Observer Defensive Player of the Year.^[2][5] A four-star recruit, he committed to North Carolina over offers from Clemson and Penn State.^[7]

College career

Echols appeared in all 13 games for the North Carolina Tar Heels in his true freshman season in 2021, recording 25 tackles and one interception.^[2] He became one of the team's captains and started all 14 games as a sophomore in 2022. Defensive coach Gene Chizik described him as a "tremendous leader on the sideline ... a calming force".^[8] He finished his sophomore season with 103 tackles (including a team-high 70 solo tackles) with five going for a loss, two sacks, and one interception, earning an All-ACC honorable mention.^[2] His only interception of the season came during a 28–27 loss to Oregon in the 2022 Holiday Bowl, when the ball bounced off Cedric Gray's leg and Echols kept it up with his toe before securing it and running 35 yards.^[9]

Echols started all 13 games in his junior season in 2023. He had 102 tackles (including 60 solo) with 5.5 for loss, two forced fumbles, and one interception, earning third-team All-ACC honors.^[2] However, North Carolina's defense gave up the fifth-most points per game in the ACC.^[10] He recorded 11 tackles in a 30–10 loss to West Virginia in the 2023 Duke's Mayo Bowl.^[2] He took on further responsibility in his senior year in 2024, being asked to fill not just NFL draftee Cedric Gray's position on the field but his mentorship role in the locker room.^[11][12] He started 12 games and recorded 76 tackles with 1.5 for loss, 0.5 sacks, and one interception, being named All-ACC honorable mention.^[2] He did not play in the 2024 Fenway Bowl in order to prepare for the NFL draft.^[13]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
5 ft 11+3⁄8 in (1.81 m)	237 lb (108 kg)	30+5⁄8 in (0.78 m)	9+1⁄8 in (0.23 m)	4.73 s	1.59 s	2.81 s	4.46 s	7.38 s	37.0 in (0.94 m)	9 ft 7 in (2.92 m)	13 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[14][15]

Echols signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent on May 8, 2025.^[16]