Why Kansas City Chiefs receiver Byron Pringle deserves a closer look in prime-time
.JPG "Receiver Byron Pringle. left, celebrates with Chiefs teammate Demarcus Robinson after hauling in a first-half touchdown reception against the San Francisco 49ers Saturday evening at Santa Clara, Calif.")
First things first: Even if it was the Chiefs’ first preseason game in two years and semi-theoretically a Super Bowl LIV rematch against the San Francisco 49ers, any intrigue or entertainment value for the television-viewing audience on Saturday night from Levi’s Stadium was such that the most memorable moment was seeing defensive lineman Chris Jones lured into a modified downward dog yoga pose during a sideline interview with the NFL Network’s Kay Adams.
Not that there was anything wrong with highlighting Jones, who had a doozy of a sack in his brief first action after an offseason that included yoga and pilates workouts.
But dull is the inherent nature of these simulated games, even with the slate mercifully whittled down to three of them with the advent of the 17-game regular season.
While the Chiefs prevailed 19-16, the biggest victory was in what doesn’t happen, particularly in the sense of avoiding injuries to key players as they limber up for the grind ahead while also revealing little of interest to opponents.
Hence, Patrick Mahomes completed one of two passes for 4 yards, accounting for Travis Kelce’s one catch on a night Tyreek Hill’s lone reception went for 5 yards.
Other than some communications rehearsals and reminders of game speed, these affairs are most useful, really, for the evaluations of up-and-comers and potential reserves. Vital, yes, but mundane.
So other than some individual flashes here and there, you’d have to squint to see anything truly instructive about this season to come in the pursuit of a third straight Super Bowl berth … and even those glimpses won’t necessarily be confirmed before the benefit of hindsight later.
Just the same, if you wanted to see a glimmer of a flicker of potentially promising data on Saturday, it could be found in a few meaningful places.
Like on that extreme makeover of an offensive line, which featured three rookies (center Creed Humphrey, right guard Trey Smith and right tackle Lucas Niang) and blasted open the way to a 10-yard run by Clyde Edwards-Helaire on the first play from scrimmage. On the next series, it flexed some grit to pave his path to a 3-yard run on a third and 2 at the San Francisco 8-yard-line to set up the Chiefs’ first touchdown.
Also like in the play of Byron Pringle, the recipient of the ensuing 5-yard touchdown pass from reserve quarterback Chad Henne. The play was relatively routine, as was his unflappable 5-yard reception across the middle.
But each also was affirmation of something Pringle has demonstrated repeatedly over the last two seasons of limited offensive snaps while excelling on special teams, including a 102-yard kickoff return last season against Denver.
He has been extremely dependable, even downright clutch, virtually every time the Chiefs look his way.
And while his stats (25 receptions for 330 yards and two touchdowns) have been eclipsed by Mecole Hardman (67 for 1,098 and 10 touchdowns) and Demarcus Robinson (77/915/7) the last two years, that’s also a function of far less playing time.
That might change this season as the Chiefs seek a bone fide third receiving threat behind Hill and Kelce in the wake of the departure of Sammy Watkins.
Because the answer could well be hidden in plain view in the form of Pringle, the former Kansas State star.
Filling that role isn’t the glaring, conspicuous need that resetting the offensive line was. And coach Andy Reid isn’t committed to declaring any one receiver “the guy.”
“When Sammy was here, he was that guy,” Reid said earlier this week. “But we’ve also done it by committee, which we did when Sam couldn’t play. We moved people around. And we’ve got skill at different spots. We’ve got these tight ends that are catching well, running backs that catch well, so fill in the blanks.”
But it also bears mention that this particular blank is pivotal in how this offense flows and perhaps could be filled deftly by Pringle, who has shown none of the occasionally mercurial tendencies of Hardman and Robinson but plenty of upside.
(For what it’s worth, Robinson wasn’t targeted on Saturday; Hardman had no catches after seeming to drop a third and 4 pass from Mahomes on which he appeared to be held along the way.)
Maybe this optimistic perception of Pringle would change with more reps.
But maybe more play would simply confirm that he has the “it” factor in ways the Chiefs need, as he did in the 26-17 win at Buffalo last season with a 37-yard reception on a key third and 12 that reflected a certain essential chemistry with Mahomes.
Flushed from the pocket to his right, Mahomes scrambled as Pringle kept running after starting the play lined up on the left.
“On that one, he was not even in the read,” Mahomes said after that game. “I looked at Tyreek, then Kelce. The safety drove him pretty well. I extended the play and Byron kept working like he always does, and I found him at a big time.”
Or maybe you remember what happened at Detroit two seasons ago, when beyond his role on special teams Pringle had appeared for just one offensive snap into the final minute of the game. Pringle’s whirling, churning 13-yard reception set up the game-winning touchdown in the 34-30 victory, all enabled by a tough catch in a tight space while occupying the same page as Mahomes.
Afterward, Reid playfully employed a term he’s used occasionally, saying, “Pringle was about 2 inches away from getting a potato chip commercial.”
But maybe what Mahomes said at the time was more telling: “We have ultimate trust in him.”
Trust that’s certainly worth exploring more deeply this preseason … and perhaps well beyond, into games that count.
This story was originally published August 14, 2021 at 11:52 PM with the headline "Why Kansas City Chiefs receiver Byron Pringle deserves a closer look in prime-time."