Rashee Rice Film Review: Looking at the Chiefs’ Newest Weapon
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Many thought the Kansas City Chiefs would add a wide receiver in the 2023 NFL Draft's first round. Instead, they waited until round two to pick up their newest weapon for Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid. In a trade-up for the 55th pick, they selected Rashee Rice out of SMU.
Shortly after the pick, reports mentioned how Rice was in Texas with Mahomes and other Chiefs weapons for offseason throwing. Rice's college tape gives a look into what the Chiefs' front office and Mahomes saw in him to feel confident that he can add to the already explosive offense.
The best trait of Rice's game is his ability to win at the catch point. He had the best vertical jump at the 2023 NFL Combine, which translates to on the field. The former Mustang is incredible at winning contested catches, whether it's a pure "50/50" jump ball, a back-shoulder fade or a tough catch in traffic. His ball tracking is a great skill, and he uses it to put himself in the best position to win. Rice also has excellent body control. His ability to stay steady while in the air is exceptional, making him one of the best ball-winners in the class.
Rice also does a nice job using his thicker frame to box out defenders from making a play on the ball. He'll square his hips on routes to get between the ball and the defender, giving the quarterback a spot to hit where only he can catch it. Rice's willingness to work back to the ball shouldn't go unnoticed, either. Sometimes receivers will wait for the ball to come, giving the defense more time to make a contest.
Once the ball is in Rice's hands, he immediately gets upfield and has a physical running style — almost Deebo Samuel-like. That isn't a projection of who Rice will become because that's awfully lofty, but it's the running back nature after the catch that Rice possesses that is similar to Samuel. He isn't afraid to embrace contact and fight for extra yards. One thing that stands out is the instant want to turn upfield. Rice doesn't have great speed and knows he can't dance around trying to make people miss. Instead, his goal is to turn upfield as soon as possible and pick up those yards after the catch.
Lastly, the trait that may be most important for Rice's NFL transition is his feel for zones. In college, he did a great job sitting in the proper spot to give his quarterback a window to get him the ball. His feel of where to stop to create space showed on his tape and was backed up by advanced metrics. He was one of the best in the 2023 wideout class in yards per route run (YPRR) against zone coverage, averaging nearly four yards per route against that coverage type:
Conversely, Rice had trouble against man coverage and was near the bottom of the class in terms of YPRR. He dealt with a toe injury during the 2022 season that could explain the lack of ability to separate against man but in 2021, his YPRR against man defenses was a mere 1.37, worse than his 2022 clip. This causes concern for the next level. When defenses are lined up in man looks, they won't be threatened by him, instead allowing them to focus their attention on the other weapons on the field. They will gladly let Rice try to win contested catches every play over giving a good separator one-on-one looks.
The ability to beat press or physical coverage is where Rice needs to continue to improve in the NFL. It's odd to think that he struggles against press because of how physically he plays downfield, yet he seems to have difficulty when defenses present him with that look. It should be coachable because his issue is more about technique than being afraid of contact. He'll try to use his strength to outmuscle a defender instead of using the proper hand fighting to disengage.
Overall, Rice brings a different type of receiver to Kansas City than the Chiefs have traditionally had. His big-bodied, physical ball-winning style is something the Chiefs haven't fielded during Mahomes's time as the starting quarterback. Last year they implemented more jump and back-shoulder balls into the offense, but they were still few and far between. The rookie should open up more opportunities for those plays, but it most likely won't become a predominant feature of the offense.
Rice should help the Chiefs' offense continue to be dominant against zone coverage. His feel for zone should help him get on the field and contribute if needed. After that, the question becomes against man coverage (which the Chiefs had a problem against last year). Travis Kelce was the only weapon who consistently beat man coverage but if the defense doubles him — as they usually do — someone else needs to be able to create separation, and that's not something Rice excels at.
As seen last year with Skyy Moore, it is difficult for wide receivers to get on the field in Reid's offense as rookies. Rice may fall into that same problem, at least for the 2023 season. However, if he is used a lot this year, expect him to have a similar role to JuJu Smith-Schuster's last year: a physical receiver who can win at the catch point in contested situations and eat against zone defenses, but someone who struggles to get open against man coverage consistently.
