Bryon Pringle’s emergence would be an ideal development for Chiefs

ESPN recently released a list of “surprise standouts” of the offseason, and wide receiver Byron Pringle was picked for the Chiefs.

The Kansas City Chiefs are placing a lot of eggs in Mecole Hardman’s basket. The rookie wide receiver out of Georgia was the team’s second round pick in April’s draft, and head coach Andy Reid has not shied away from loading him up with expectations and the playbook.

Fortunately, Hardman is reportedly a sponge so far in offseason training activities and minicamps. He’s also still an incoming rookie hoping to avoid the obvious learning curve most rookie wideouts face.

There’s a good reason why the Chiefs are pressing Hardman like they are. The team could use some more security at the position to start the 2019 campaign. Tyreek Hill, the team’s top wide receiver, seems destined to face a suspension of some length. Sammy Watkins is always going to be an injury concern until he proves he can stay healthy for a full year. Chris Conley is now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and De’Anthony Thomas is still a free agent.

The Chiefs have potential help in prospects further down the depth chart, but it’d be nice if some of those names erased the question marks behind them. One such name is Byron Pringle.

Last year, Pringle, a local product at Kansas State, joined the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent and excelled when given the chance to show what he could do. Reid took notice last summer and Pringle showed what he could do in preseason games. Unfortunately he also ended up injuring his hamstring, and the Chiefs placed him on injured reserve for the season.

Now Pringle is back again among dozens of prospects hoping to make the final roster, and he’s once again a cut above the rest. In fact, ESPN’s Adam Teicher recently touted him as the surprise standout in the preseason so far for the Chiefs.

"He was on the verge of making the team last year as an undrafted rookie before an injury in the final preseason game ended his season. Pringle continued to make plays after returning this offseason. The fact that he played well at camp and in the preseason last year is an indication Pringle isn’t just an offseason phenomenon but indeed has staying power."

While Pringle has yet to work his magic in the regular season, his emergence during the preseason would give the Chiefs more of a sure thing on the back end of the active roster than they have now. There are plenty of other potential contributors, to be sure, but Pringle will make it a tough call, which is a great problem for the Chiefs to have.

Pringle had 30 catches for 724 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns during his final season with the Wildcats, a ridiculous average of more than 24 yards/catch.i