Kansas City Chiefs: Byron Pringle needs to build on 2019 campaign

By Leigh Oleszczak | Jun 13, 2020

Byron Pringle #13 of the Kansas City Chiefs (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images) /

Byron Pringle wasn’t a star for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019, but he had his moments. Now it’s time for him to build on that in 2020.

When looking at Byron Pringle‘s stats from the 2019 season, one might think that he isn’t a shoe-in to make the Kansas City Chiefs‘ 55-man roster in 2020. They would be right.

Pringle did have one big game for the Chiefs in 2019, however, and also had a key reception in the nail biter comeback victory over the Lions. Both of those show that there’s potential there with Pringle, but the opportunities weren’t always there for him last year as a WR5 (which is to be expected).

Pringle’s big game came in week five against the Colts, where he hauled in six receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown in a losing effort on Sunday Night Football. His 2019 totals were 12 receptions for 170 yards and a touchdown, meaning that yes, that Colts game WAS pretty much his entire 2019 campaign. That performance is still impressive no matter how you swing it though.

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Pringle appeared in all 16 regular season games last year and even though he might not have been the big time playmaker that Travis Kelce or Tyreek Hill are, he’s a solid depth piece to have on the roster. Patrick Mahomes was comfortable throwing to him (especially in that Colts game) and now it’s time to build on that connection for 2020.

A big thing the Chiefs will want to consider heading into 2020 is that they were lucky not to lose much talent on the offensive side of the ball, barely losing any of their offensive playmakers. Why break up the party if you don’t have to? Pringle was on the team last year, stepped up when he needed to, and was a serviceable WR5 on a pretty stacked depth chart.

That kind of stuff matters to a team who are the reigning champs and did so because of their offensive weapons. The majority of the targets are still going to go the direction of Hill, Kelce, Sammy Watkins, and others, but there’s going to be those big moments in games where those big time players are well-covered and that’s where someone like Pringle steps in and makes a play.

It shouldn’t be hard for Pringle to have more than 12 catches for 170 yards in 2020, especially now that he has a full year of the offense under his belt, and the Chiefs know what he can do now. He was a great depth option in 2019, had the big game when Hill was out, and now it’s time to see what else Byron Pringle can do in 2020 and beyond.

What expectations do you have for Pringle in 2020?

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