Jerrion Ealy among UDFAs with best shot to make KC Chiefs roster

The 2022 NFL Draft has finally come and gone and while the draft is always exciting for fans, teams, and prospects who get the call that their dreams have been made reality. That said, not every player gets to hear their name called during any of the seven rounds of the draft.

However, the UDFA market always serves as an exciting “after-party” of sorts to the actual draft as many players slip through the cracks for whatever reason. While most UDFA signings never become much more than perennial practice squad guys there are always a few that seem to stick around the league and go on to have nice careers.

The Chiefs have even made do with a handful of UDFAs such as wide receiver Byron Pringle and cornerback Charvarius Ward in recent years. We tend to overhype many UDFA prospects and again, most never become anything, but it is fun to dream about them all reaching their full potential and being a diamond in the rough.

The Chiefs have made a flurry of UDFA signings over the last couple of days. While everyone is raving about Clemson receiver Justyn Ross, who probably does have the highest ceiling of their UDFA class and was among the top of his position at one point in his college career, a signing that has flown relatively under the radar is Ole Miss running back Jerrion Ealy.

Jerrion Ealy has an outside shot to make the KC Chiefs roster this fall.

Ealy was never a top 100 prospect in this draft but he was a five-star recruit coming out of high school. He just plays a position that is valued much lower than any other position in running back, so it isn’t a total shock that he went undrafted. On top of everything, Ealy is undersized at just 5’8″, 190 lbs.—even slighter than current Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Those reasons combined are likely ultimately why Ealy wasn’t selected.

Despite that, Ealy is a formidable athlete at the position and he ran a 4.4 second time in the 40-yard dash at his pro day. Ealy was an absolute gamer at Ole Miss, scoring 24 touchdowns in three seasons and accumulating over 2,700 yards from scrimmage. He produced at a high level in the SEC and won reps against really good competition that did get drafted.

Watching Ealy play, his play-making ability jumps off the screen and he is a serious weapon out of the backfield. He averaged 5.8 yards per carry over his career at Ole Miss and has plus receiving ability. When he runs he pinballs off defenders and always keeps his legs churning.

While Ealy is obviously undersized and has some limitations to his game such as pass-blocking he has home run ability and plus athleticism. For a Chiefs running back room that needs an injection of explosion and only has Ronald Jones and Edwards-Helaire as locks right now, there is an open competition to make the team and maybe even leapfrog 7th round draft pick Isiah Pacheco. Running back will be one of the more intriguing position group battles of training camp.