Vikings have been oh-so-close to ending a punt return drought. Can Brandon Powell do it?

The Vikings haven't had a punt return for a touchdown since Oct. 16, 2016, a drought that's reached 197 attempts over 114 games.

"I bet it was Marcus Sherels," said current Vikings punt returner Brandon Powell.

You win, BP.

Sherels, the greatest punt returner and perhaps the quietest player in Vikings history, notched the fifth of his team-record five career punt return touchdowns in a 31-13 win over Houston on Oct. 9, 2016. His fourth one came two weeks earlier in a 22-10 win at Carolina.

"When I came into the league in Detroit in 2018, I didn't even know how to catch punts, so I found out quick who Marcus was," said Powell, who averaged 3.6 yards on 17 tries at Florida.

Powell was an undrafted rookie trying to learn under Jamal Agnew, who was injured for part of 2018 after leading all NFL punt returners in yards (447), average (15.4) and touchdowns (two) in 2017.

"Jamal would sit me down and we'd watch a lot of film," Powell said. "We looked at all the smaller returners. Marcus was one of the guys I watched a lot. Man, that guy was smooth. Great hands and he got north and south quick."

Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels spoke last week about the heightened importance of special teams at a time when a team has lost its franchise quarterback for the season.

"You kind of got to reshape your thinking on everything you're doing when that happens," Daniels said. "We'll do everything we can as a special teams unit to gain those hidden yards."

Punt returns would be a great place to start this week. Sunday's opponent, New Orleans, ranks second in punt returns with Rashid Shaheed averaging 15.4 yards with a 76-yard score.

Dead last a month ago, the Vikings have climbed to 22nd with Powell bumping his average from 4.9 to 7.9. He turned the corner nicely on a season-high 24-yard return in the closing seconds of the first half of Sunday's win in Atlanta.

"We're this close to breaking one," Powell said a couple of weeks ago. "We're getting lousy punts, so we haven't had the opps. But it's coming."

Powell's role on offense has grown as injuries at receiver have mounted. He had two catches against the Falcons, including the game-winning touchdown — his first score since a 61-yard punt return for a touchdown while playing for the Rams against the Vikings in 2021.

"Easiest punt return I ever had was that touchdown against the Vikings," Powell said. "The guys blocked it great. All I had to do was run."

Returning punts successfully has been anything but easy since Sherels led the team for a record eight consecutive years from 2011-18. He holds team records for career average (10.5) and season average (15.2 in 2013). His 13.9 average in 2016 ranks second.

Powell's 24-yard return Sunday was the third longest the Vikings have had since Sherels' 70-yarder in 2018, and it came with only 10 men on the field. Dede Westbrook had a 45-yarder in 2021, and Jalen Reagor had a 25-yarder last year.

"I think guys on punt return are starting to truly understand what their roles are, who their matchup is," Daniels said. "At the end of the day, it's a matchup-based type of play."

The play starts with the "zeros" — the guys who block the outside gunners. Daniels and Powell have been impressed with rookie safety Jay Ward on the left and second-year cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. on the right.

"It starts with trust in those guys," Powell said. "A guy can never tackle me in the open space. All I need is those jammers to give me that split second to make a move."

Twenty-two other teams have returned punts for touchdowns since the Vikings last did it. The team's leading punt returners have changed every year since 2019 — Mike Hughes (7.4), Chad Beebe (4.7), Westbrook (8.3), Reagor (6.4) and Powell, whose 7.9 average includes a 20-yarder that ended with a lost fumble at Philadelphia.

Two defensive starters — Josh Metellus and Ivan Pace Jr. — are on the punt return team. So are key backups Theo Jackson and Pat Jones II and top special teams players NaJee Thompson and Troy Dye.

"All the guys are getting comfortable with their assignments," Powell said. "I know I should have scored on the one I fumbled on at Philadelphia. The blocking was there. And it's gotten better. It's coming. You watch."