Kansas City Chiefs: Four dark horse roster candidates for 2019
By Kole Berrey
Dark Horse Candidate #2: Byron Pringle, WR
The name Byron Pringle is being floated around enough that most Chiefs fans will be surprised that I have him listed as a dark horse candidate.
The hype around him and his offseason performances is similar to what fans used to experience when Jonathan Baldwin was in town. The difference is Pringle hasn’t had a chance to prove his worth in the regular season yet. He went undrafted last year out of Kansas State, and was trending as a roster option before an injury landed him on injured reserve heading into the season.
Pringle has a chance to make the roster his second go around, and a big reason for that is his specialty as a deep threat. Pringle is 6’1″ and ran a 4.46 40 yard dash in college.
That doesn’t scream elite speed, but that is because the Chiefs employ Sammy Watkins, Mecole Hardman, and Tyreek Hill at the receiver position at the moment. Pringle makes his money working downfield, as he averaged a staggering 24.1 yards per catch his last season at K-State.
I see the Chiefs having five wide receivers on the roster in 2019. It appears the Chiefs will be keeping Hill on the roster, even though a potential suspension from the league looms large.
It seems the suspension is going to be in the two-six game range, which means the Chiefs will have an extra roster spot for that time period. Watkins and Hardman are virtual locks. Demarcus Robinson is an easy choice for the third receiver. That leaves two spots open.
Those two spots, in my opinion, will be held down by Gehrig Dieter and Byron Pringle. Dieter is going to be Pringle’s biggest competition. His friendship with Mahomes and ability on special teams will be tough for Pringle to beat out.
My guess is whoever produced more on offense during Hill’s potential suspension will get the fifth and final spot moving forward, and I’m giving the edge to Pringle.