Kansas City Chiefs WR Rashee Rice joins a crowded pass-catching room, but one that lacks a clear alpha. He has as good of a shot as anyone to emerge as Patrick Mahomes’ top option after Travis Kelce. Should fantasy football managers draft Rice at his ADP this season?
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Rashee Rice’s Fantasy Outlook for the 2023 NFL Season
No one can accuse the Chiefs of not trying at wide receiver. Just one year after using a second-round pick on Skyy Moore, they used another one on Rice.
The rookie from SMU has good speed and size. At 6’0″, 200 pounds, he can definitely win outside. While he wasn’t overly productive until his final year in college, it was a truly dominant season, with Rice commanding a 30.6% target share.
Rice now joins a Chiefs WR room that really couldn’t be more wide-open.
The projected starters are Marquez Valdes-Scantling and the aforementioned Moore, with Justin Watson in the slot. Kadarius Toney fits in somewhere during the rare occasions when he actually plays football.
The thing is, none of these players are particularly talented. That leaves the door open for Rice to earn meaningful work. Given that he gets to play with the most talented QB in NFL history, there’s undoubtedly upside here.
With that said, I’m not particularly fond of Rice as a talent. I don’t think he is anything special, nor do I think he can make an immediate impact.
Recently, Patrick Mahomes apparently compared Rice to Sammy Watkins.
Rashee Rice was asked by @pgsween about Patrick Mahomes comparing him to Sammy Watkins…
Rashee Rice, “Pat said it? Then yes.” pic.twitter.com/zf5CTf7fKk
— McKenzie Nelson (@McKenzieMNelson) August 21, 2023
This is not exactly a ringing endorsement. Maybe Mahomes specifically meant 2014 Watkins, but I doubt it. When your own QB is saying things like this, it’s not ideal.
Is Rice a Good Fantasy Pick?
Rice’s ADP sits at WR63, No. 185 overall. He’s going to be one of the very last wide receivers drafted, if he gets taken at all.
I have Rice ranked as WR94, which is really just a placeholder so I don’t forget he exists during drafts. Anything outside the top 72 is all the same. Rice is also the WR94 in our PFN consensus rankings.
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Obviously, I am not interested in Rice. However, I would not fault anyone for taking a shot at a guy catching passes from Mahomes. Rice is free in fantasy drafts. It costs nothing to throw the dart.
And despite my feelings about Rice, there is objectively upside here. It’s really not possible to make a bad pick in the final round or two of your draft. So if you want to take a chance on Rice, go for it.