Getty Kansas City Chiefs running back Deneric Prince.
The Kansas City Chiefs have yet to play a preseason game, but some players are still proving better than others that they deserve to be on the 53-player roster come September. Take second-year running back Deneric Prince and undrafted rookie Carson Steele, who Arrowhead Pride’s Pete Sweeney believes “more and more” will make Kansas City’s regular season roster.
“Believing more and more [that] both Deneric Prince and Carson Steele will be on this initial roster,” Sweeney wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on August 6.
What to Know About Deneric Prince & Carson Steele
Prince entered the NFL undrafted in 2023 and signed with the Chiefs on May 6 of that year. Though he showed flashes during the team’s offseason program and the preseason, Prince couldn’t do enough to outperform veteran La’Mical Perine, who made the regular season roster over Prince in 2023. However, the Chiefs did keep Prince around by signing him to the practice squad for the season and elevated him to the active roster for two regular season games.
Steele’s case to make the initial roster is intriguing simply because he could make the team as a fullback, which is a position head coach Andy Reid kept alive — and was one of the very few in the NFL to still be doing so — in his offense until last season. Yet Steele’s versatility paired with his physicality has him earning reps alongside Pacheco and Prince with the first- and second-team units during training camp.
It’s possible that the Chiefs could opt to keep three tight ends instead of four this season, which would leave open an extra roster spot for Steele. The team could then decide to keep Pacheco, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and one or two from the remaining pool of backs: Prince, Louis Rees-Zammit, Keaontay Ingram, and Emani Bailey.
Deneric Prince Focusing on Pass Protection in Camp
With veteran Jerick McKinnon no longer on the team, Kansas City doesn’t have a surefire third-down back, though Reid believes Pacheco and Edward-Helaire can absorb that role collectively. Because of that, Prince has a chance to make the Chiefs’ initial roster by being valuable on third down, which starts with pass protection.
Speaking to the media on August 6, Prince detailed how blocking has been an emphasis for him during training camp.
“Pass protection — that’s been my biggest emphasis this camp,” Prince said during his media availability. “So I’ve just been trying to work on that. My hands (pass catching), growth, and taking things from Pacheco… he’s been a great leader, so I’ve just been following him.”
Prince also admitted that he feels more comfortable at training camp this year compared to his rookie year when he was in a completely new environment, playbook, etc.
“I feel like now I have more of an understanding, I’m getting more comfortable in the offense and just steadily growing.”
The second-year back will get his first crack at live action this season when the Chiefs travel to face the Jacksonville Jaguars for their preseason opener on Saturday, August 10.
Pacheco and CEH likely won’t play much if at all in the game, which will give Prince and the other backs plenty of opportunities to make their mark.
