Kansas City Chiefs: Could Byron Pringle be the answer for WR2?

The Kansas City Chiefs are searching for someone to step up at wide receiver outside of Tyreek Hill. Could Byron Pringle be the answer?

The Kansas City Chiefs offseason has been all about the offensive line makeover and the 2021 draft picks who will either start week one or see a good amount of snaps throughout the season. However, more attention should be paid to the vacancy that still exists after Sammy Watkins headed east for Baltimore.

Currently the depth chart at wide receiver seems to be in the order of Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, Byron Pringle, and Demarcus Robinson. Although Pringle is listed here as the third wide receiver, his potential is continuing to show throughout this year’s preseason.

In two games of preseason action, Pringle has six catches for 73 yards on seven targets and a touchdown from Chad Henne game one against the San Francisco 49ers.

Meanwhile, Hardman has seen more targets but has fewer receiving yards so far this preseason with four catches for 39 yards on nine targets and a touchdown from Chad Henne against the Arizona Cardinals in game two.

Kansas City Chiefs: Byron Pringle makes the most out of his opportunities

Interestingly enough, Watkins has shown his support for Pringle to see more opportunities in the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense. In a tweet after the second preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals, Watkins made it clear that he believed Pringle should get the ball more often.

And as it turns out, Pringle led all Chiefs receivers with 4 catches for 64 yards in that game.

Through two games so far this preseason, Hardman has a 44.4% catch rate. It’s a small sample size, but that should be compared to Pringle’s catch rate of 85.7%. And sure, it’s only preseason action, but keep in mind that Pringle did have a higher catch percentage compared to Hardman for the 2020 season as well.

After the 2020 season, Pringle finished with a 75.6% catch rate and Hardman finished with a 66.1% catch rate. Considering all of that, the Chiefs should have a wide receiver battle brewing for the No. 2 spot in a potent Mahomes/Reid offense.