Deneric Prince is UDFA to keep an eye on for KC Chiefs

Deneric Prince vs. South Florida

If you decide to watch these games for yourself, check out Prince’s run at the eight-minute mark of the first quarter. An underrated aspect of his game is the ability to string together moves. On this play, he created something out of nothing with a pair of jump cuts, a spin move and the finisher (dragging a defender for a few additional yards at the end of the play). On the very next play, he used another jump cut, gathered himself quickly to evade a lunging defender and stayed on his feet to gain another first down. Despite his size, he’s much more graceful than he looks.

Late in the first quarter, Prince took a handoff and blasted through the middle of the USF defense for a gain of 66 yards. It was another well-blocked play, but he took full advantage and again showed how dangerous he can be in the open field. The best part of the play was his ability to stay upright after a defender caused him to stumble by getting ahold of his foot. He gained what appeared to be another 20 yards with the contact balance that has shown up throught my dissection of his game tape.

The end of the play reminded me of another minor gripe I have with Prince’s game: he is not at all consistent with switching the ball to his outside arm. He’ll need to clean that up in the NFL. Defenders are adept at trying to pry the ball out of a runner’s hands at the pro level. If there’s one thing that’ll earn you a trip to Andy Reid’s doghouse, it’s ball security issues.

I just can’t say enough about Prince’s balance. On a mid-second quarter drive, he twice shows how he can stay on his feet even when defenders try to cut his legs out. He’s a bigger back so smaller defenders often try to hit him low. Prince in this quarter has twice shown up a diving defender with nifty pirouettes to escape tackles. He has remarkable body control for a man with his build and running style.

Concluding Thoughts About Deneric Prince

It’s tough to project how well talent will translate to the NFL even with a player as talented as Deneric Prince. There’s a lot to like about the kid, but there are certainly some things that also concern me. He’s the kind of running back that can be successful in a system that plays to his strengths. He’s not an east-west runner who can stop and restart quickly. He thrives when he’s decisive and committed to exploding through the hole.

He’ll need to prove that he can be a valuable pass-catcher in Reid’s offense. Prince simply was not tasked with catching the football very often at Tulsa, but I saw enough in these four games to think he can do more in the NFL. There’s also work to be done as a pass protector if he has real hopes of being an every down back at the next level.

As it stands, he’s my favorite member of the Chiefs UDFA class and I’m excited to see what he can contribute given opportunities in camp and in the preseason. I suspect Jerick McKinnon will eventually return to the team, but I think he has a shot to stick with a solid offseason campaign.