Why Rashee Rice is 2025 Fantasy's Ultimate Ceiling Raiser

The NFL and the fantasy football world were shaken up when word broke of the most recent news on Rashee Rice and the Kansas City Chiefs. At first, it was expected that the league would hand down a suspension for Rice following Week 4 at his hearing scheduled for September 30. However, he and the NFL came to an agreement before season kickoff, stipulating that he would instead miss the first six games of the upcoming campaign.

The good news for the Chiefs and Rice's fantasy owners and prospective drafters was that they now had concrete information to work with regarding his status. But a six-week mandated furlough isn't anything to brush off. That severely impacted his fantasy prospects and average draft position.

Still, Rice's potential as Kansas City's WR1 upon his return makes him too enticing a value to pass up entirely, especially with the Chiefs' expected offensive resurgence this season. The only question now is, how impactful can he be with a six-game suspension to start the year?

Rashee Rice, Isiah Pacheco, NFL, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers — Oct 22, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice (4) celebrates with running back Isiah Pacheco (10) after scoring a touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Rashee Rice will win fantasy leagues

According to FantasyPros, Rashee Rice currently has an average draft position of 71, 31st among wide receivers for the 2025 NFL season. That number is likely buoyed by early leagues that conducted their drafts before his six-game suspension was announced, too. The Kansas City Chiefs' wide receiver is probably going even lower in the last days before Week 1.

Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke believes that Rice will be one of the greatest values in fantasy this year:

"A savvy owner will draft Rice, absorb six weeks of down performance, and reap massive rewards the rest of the season, including fantasy playoffs."

"Historically, Reid and Mahomes have produced elite fantasy WR seasons, as Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce both topped 290 PPR points in multiple years. While it’s premature to compare Rice (or Worthy) to future Hall of Famers, that level of upside is exactly what this KC situation can offer."

"Rice was a top-two fantasy wide receiver last season prior to injury. His suspension will slow him down, but his upside is very high given his talent when he was healthy."

Screw fantasy football team chemistry. We draft Rashee Rice AND Jordan Addison. Rice covers Addison's suspension, Addison covers Rice's. Hell, throw Jameson Williams in there too. You never know. pic.twitter.com/UbIq0nrtWA
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) August 14, 2025

Jahnke predicted that Rice will be a top-five fantasy scoring wide receiver upon his return in Week 7. If he can stay healthy and produce at that pace, he'll be a tremendous boon for his drafters, especially in the playoffs. There's no better value in the range of his current seventh-round ADP.

Find us on X (Twitter) @KCChiefsOnSI and @Domminchella to follow along with Rashee Rice's 2025 season.

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