The 2021-2022 fantasy football season rolls on into Conference Championship weekend. With Kansas City Chiefs WR Byron Pringle set to be an unrestricted free agent, let’s explore some 2022 landing spots and analyze the fantasy impact his arrival would have on those teams.
Byron Pringle’s landing spots
Pringle’s path to relevancy is an extremely unlikely one. The Chiefs signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He was already 25 years old at the time. Pringle didn’t play a snap during his rookie year. He made his NFL debut at age 26 but was barely part of the offense. During his age 26 and 27 seasons in 2019 and 2020, Pringle caught a total of 25 passes for 330 yards.
In 2021, Pringle’s role expanded. Although he only played about 47% of the snaps and had just 568 receiving yards on 42 receptions, he proved to be a useful player worthy of a spot on an NFL roster. Based on his boost this season, where are potential landing spots for Pringle next season?
The Kansas City Chiefs could bring Pringle back
The most likely scenario is a return to Kansas City. For as nice as Pringle’s story is, he’s still nothing more than a real-life rotational WR3/4. Pringle’s season-high in receiving yards was 75. He had 35 receiving yards or fewer in 10 games. His 70% catch rate is impressive and proves he’s a reliable set of hands. With that said, he’s just not a special player.
For fantasy purposes, the best case for Pringle is a return to the Chiefs. It’s really not possible for him to find a better offensive environment than playing with Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs still have a complete void at WR2 opposite Tyreek Hill and have been using some combination of Pringle, Mecole Hardman, and Demarcus Robinson all season. If Pringle returns, he would have a shot at WR4 value, but that’s his absolute ceiling.
Pringle could be headed to Cleveland
After releasing Odell Beckham Jr., the Cleveland Browns were without anything resembling a true WR1. Jarvis Landry has always been more of a WR2, even with Beckham struggling in Cleveland. By the time OBJ left, Baker Mayfield was throwing to Landry, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and a medley of tight ends.
Pringle would not solve the Browns’ WR2 problems, but he could serve as nice depth behind whoever else they add to the roster. On the Browns, Pringle would compete with Anthony Schwartz and DPJ for snaps behind Landry and presumably a yet to be determined player. Pringle would have no fantasy value in Cleveland.
Anywhere else
When it comes to a player like Pringle, the reality is he really fits in anywhere. It’s a blessing and a curse for him. He will have a lot of options because he’s proven to be a capable NFL receiver that won’t be expensive. However, the reason he has so many options is because no team is looking to sign him as a starter.
Regardless of where Pringle ends up, I would be stunned if he was drafted in standard-sized 12-team fantasy leagues. If he returns to Kansas City or ends up in a similarly high-powered offense, he will likely have a moment or two during the season. Yet, Pringle is never going to become a consistently reliable fantasy producer. That doesn’t mean I’m not rooting for him, though!