Rashee Rice Suspended 6 Games: How It Impacts The Chiefs And Fantasy Football Drafts

Rashee Rice’s six-game suspension shakes up the Chiefs’ offense and fantasy football draft boards — see his updated projections, ADP impact, and best draft strategy.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice (4) warms up against the Cincinnati Bengals prior to a game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The ball has finally dropped on Rashee Rice’s suspension. He will sit out the first six games, leaving the fantasy market in a frenzy, similar to MapQuest when missing a turn, recalculating his new expected value to pair with the change in his ADP. 

Rashee Rice Receives Six-Game Suspension & Falls Down Draft Boards

Chiefs WR Rashee Rice is expected to be suspended six games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, per sources. pic.twitter.com/R8sEZM9ARE

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 27, 2025

In the last version of my projections, I had Rice missing four games, resulting in 73 catches for 871 yards and seven touchdowns, which ranked him 37th at wide receiver. In one high-stakes contest over the past week, he came off the board as the 32nd wideout of the board.

After adjusting for two more missed games, Rice slipped to WR52 by projections (61/735/5) while scoring 164.87 fantasy points in PPR formats. Based on my outlook, there is still value in drafting him if he falls into the WR5 range. His new expected fantasy points divided by 11 games deliver a top 10 wide receiver weekly average (14.98).

The Chiefs have a bye in Week 10, giving Rice only seven games to help fantasy teams make a run at the postseason. When thinking about drafting him, a fantasy game manager must also factor in the replacement value of a wideout replacing him in the starting lineup. In his case, I would use WR4 data to make this evaluation.

Shawn Child

Based on the above grid from the WR4 groupings over the past two seasons, Rice’s replacement floor should be about 9.50 fantasy points per game (57.00 fantasy points total), giving his combined roster potential about 220.00 fantasy points of value.

Updated Kansas City Chiefs Fantasy Football Projections Following The Rashee Rice Suspension

Here’s a look at the Kansas City Chiefs' updated projections:

Kansas City Chiefs 2025 Fantasy Football Projections | Shawn Childs

Click here to view all team-by-team fantasy football projections.

Rashee Rice Suspension Fantasy Football Implications

I downgraded Patrick Mahomes by two touchdowns. Xavier Worthy moved from WR23 (75/1,053/9) to WR18 (82/1,137/9). 

Over the next couple of days, the fantasy market will have a better idea of the impact of the Rashee Rice suspension. I’m hoping for an overcorrection in his ADP, making him a more manageable player to draft. Another concern with waiting six weeks on a player is the potential for additional missed time due to an injury. It crushes the reason for investing in this buy-and-hold type of investment. 

I’m much more motivated to target Xavier Worthy in drafts, but his best days may come over the first half of the season. Travis Kelce should see more attention from defenses with Rice out, potentially being a tie-breaking factor for a drafter, coin-tossing him with another tight end. I didn’t change his projections.