Kansas City Chiefs RB Deneric Prince is experiencing an unfortunate case of déjà vu during the team's final week of practices in St. Joseph, Missouri.
After a standout performance during preseason Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, RB Carson Steele has seemingly supplanted Prince on the depth chart. According to beat reporters in attendance at practice over the past three days, it has been Steele and not Prince, who is getting repetitions with the first-team offense after starting RB Isiah Pacheco.
Fans will recall that last season, Prince had quite a bit of hype heading into training camp from OTAs, but he was quickly surpassed on the depth chart by RB La'Mical Perine for the No. 3 RB job . Now it appears something similar might have happened after preseason Week 1.
Steele appears to be ahead of Prince on the depth chart after a single preseason game
Prince didn't exactly have a bad game himself in preseason Week 1, outside of a pretty large gaffe on special teams that ultimately led to Mecole Hardman's safety. On offense, however, he posted a respectable performance . It just wasn't quite as flashy as what we saw from the rookie Steele.
Chiefs OC Matt Nagy spoke about Steele's performance in preseason Week 1 and training camp, pinpointing what sets him apart.
"He's been progressively getting better and better by the day," Nagy said on Tuesday. "And then you saw that with some of the runs he had, we're staying on top of these guys, making sure that they're good with the details, with footwork, understanding assignments, where they're at. But he's, what I like about him is, right now, he's doing a lot of good things and being in the right spot at the right time, and you can trust him."
Trust was a big factor in the decision to go with Perine over Prince in 2023, and it might be playing into Steele getting opportunities ahead of Prince during practice this week. We'll see if that translates to more opportunities for Steele with the starting offense in preseason Week 2 against the Detroit Lions.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire hasn't been practicing due to an illness, but Prince may be the No. 4 running back in the rotation when the former first-round draft pick returns to the field.
Related: Chiefs position coach thinks WR Xavier Worthy's rookie season could get off to a better start than Rashee Rice's in 2023
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