3 Biggest Surprises From First Week of Chiefs Training Camp

1. Deneric Prince, Running Back

The Chiefs used a first-round pick on Clyde Edwards-Helaire in 2020 but have had much more success with lesser-known prospects.

While Edwards-Helaire had 803 yards as a rookie, he's seen his total drop each season since. He also lost his starting job to Isiah Pacheco in 2022. The seventh-round pick had 830 yards as a rookie and then put up 935 in his second season.

He remains the starter but they had hopes Edwards-Helaire would provide a decent No. 2 back. After one week of practice, Edwards-Helaire appears to be in danger of losing his job as another candidate surpassed him on the depth chart.

Deneric Prince, who was signed in 2023 as an undrafted free agent out of Tulsa, has been the second back thus far. He's even been on the field with the first team when Pacheco wasn't able to go. Prince wasn't on the radar entering the offseason. As a rookie, he was active in just two games and never took a snap on offense. In all, he had 15 snaps all year — all on special teams.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 216 pounds, Prince is a well-built back who began his collegiate career at Texas A&M. He ran the ball just twice as a freshman before transferring to Tulsa. He never topped 1,000 yards in a single season but put up 1,723 yards and 14 touchdowns in three years.

The running back position as a whole will be interesting for Kansas City. In addition to Prince, they also have Louis Rees-Zammit, a former rugby star, who is trying to make the switch to football.

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