Rashee Rice put together a dominant final year in college at Southern Methodist University that resulted in him being selected in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft to the Kansas City Chiefs. While he didn’t make much of an impact over the first few weeks of the season, we’ve slowly seen Rice move higher and higher up the fantasy football rankings. Is he locked into starting lineups in Week 8?
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Rashee Rice’s Fantasy Football Outlook in Week 8
While the target volume for Rice has not been jaw-dropping up to this point of the season, he’s producing in a big way with his limited opportunities. The rookie WR has five games so far where he’s finished with at least 55 receiving yards or a touchdown, and Patrick Mahomes is beginning to trust him more and more.
We’ve seen his snap share increase steadily as the season has progressed. Rice ended last week playing 59% of the snaps for the Chiefs, which was the highest mark of his young career.
The biggest advantage Rice has currently, despite his limited playing time, is that Mahomes looks his way frequently in the red zone. Through seven weeks, Rice has the ninth-most fantasy points at the WR position inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.
The Chiefs’ WR room has proven to be incredibly inconsistent and unreliable for Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid this year. So if Rice can continue to string together solid performances, he could be in line for an even larger role as Kansas City gets ready to make another deep playoff push.
Looking ahead to Week 8, Kansas City draws a matchup against a Denver Broncos team that they just faced in Week 6. In that matchup, Rice reeled in all four of his targets for 72 yards and finished as a top-36 WR for fantasy purposes.
This Broncos team is on the verge of a complete teardown, and Mahomes and Co. could deliver the final blow here in this one. The risk is there of Kansas City getting out to a big lead early on and running the ball in the second half. Nonetheless, Rice has shown enough involvement in the red zone to be a solid swing-for-the-fences play in Week 8.
Should You Start Rice in Week 8?
Rice comes in as a low-end WR3 in my Week 8 rankings due to the possibility that he finds the end zone, but also mixed with the projected low-target floor due to game script.
There are other options at the WR position that carry a higher floor with them than Rice, which leads me to leave Rice a little bit lower in my rankings in this one.
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If you have Rice on your fantasy football roster and you’re wondering whether you should start him, make sure to enter his name into our free Start/Sit Optimizer that we have here at Pro Football Network to help you decide!
Kyle Yates’ Week 8 Fantasy Football WR Rankings
1) Stefon Diggs | BUF (vs. TB)
2) A.J. Brown | PHI (at WAS)
3) Cooper Kupp | LAR (at DAL)
4) Keenan Allen | LAC (vs. CHI)
5) Tyreek Hill | MIA (vs. NE)
6) Ja’Marr Chase | CIN (at SF)
7) Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET (vs. LV)
8) Davante Adams | LV (at DET)
9) Brandon Aiyuk | SF (vs. CIN)
10) CeeDee Lamb | DAL (vs. LAR)
11) Puka Nacua | LAR (at DAL)
12) Adam Thielen | CAR (vs. HOU)
13) Mike Evans | TB (at BUF)
14) Chris Olave | NO (at IND)
15) Jaylen Waddle | MIA (vs. NE)
16) Christian Kirk | JAX (at PIT)
17) Zay Flowers | BAL (at ARI)
18) DeVonta Smith | PHI (at WAS)
19) Jordan Addison | MIN (at GB)
20) Nico Collins | HOU (at CAR)
21) Jakobi Meyers | LV (at DET)
22) Terry McLaurin | WAS (vs. PHI)
23) DJ Moore | CHI (at LAC)
24) Garrett Wilson | NYJ (at NYG)
25) George Pickens | PIT (vs. JAX)
26) DK Metcalf | SEA (vs. CLE)
27) Courtland Sutton | DEN (vs. KC)
28) Calvin Ridley | JAX (at PIT)
29) Joshua Palmer | LAC (vs. CHI)
30) Chris Godwin | TB (at BUF)
31) Amari Cooper | CLE (at SEA)
32) Michael Pittman Jr. | IND (vs. NO)
33) Tee Higgins | CIN (at SF)
34) Drake London | ATL (at TEN)
35) Diontae Johnson | PIT (vs. JAX)
36) Marquise Brown | ARI (vs. BAL)
37) Tyler Lockett | SEA (vs. CLE)
38) Rashee Rice | KC (at DEN)
39) Josh Downs | IND (vs. NO)
40) Gabe Davis | BUF (vs. TB)
41) DeAndre Hopkins | TEN (vs. ATL)
42) Tank Dell | HOU (at CAR)
43) Michael Thomas | NO (at IND)
44) Romeo Doubs | GB (vs. MIN)
45) Kendrick Bourne | NE (at MIA)
46) Jerry Jeudy | DEN (vs. KC)
47) Curtis Samuel | WAS (vs. PHI)
48) Rashid Shaheed | NO (at IND)
49) K.J. Osborn | MIN (at GB)
50) Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA (vs. CLE)
51) Josh Reynolds | DET (vs. LV)
52) Brandin Cooks | DAL (vs. LAR)
53) Michael Gallup | DAL (vs. LAR)
54) Wan’Dale Robinson | NYG (vs. NYJ)
55) Jayden Reed | GB (vs. MIN)
56) Elijah Moore | CLE (at SEA)
57) Christian Watson | GB (vs. MIN)
58) Odell Beckham Jr. | BAL (at ARI)
59) DJ Chark | CAR (vs. HOU)
60) Tutu Atwell | LAR (at DAL)
61) Jahan Dotson | WAS (vs. PHI)
62) Allen Lazard | NYJ (at NYG)
63) Michael Wilson | ARI (vs. BAL)
64) Tyler Boyd | CIN (at SF)
65) Jameson Williams | DET (vs. LV)
66) Darius Slayton | NYG (vs. NYJ)
67) Rondale Moore | ARI (vs. BAL)
68) Jalin Hyatt | NYG (vs. NYJ)
69) Kadarius Toney | KC (at DEN)
70) Nelson Agholor | BAL (at ARI)
71) Jauan Jennings | SF (vs. CIN)
72) Marvin Mims Jr. | DEN (vs. KC)
73) Marquez Valdes-Scantling | KC (at DEN)
74) Darnell Mooney | CHI (at LAC)
75) Treylon Burks | TEN (vs. ATL)
76) Skyy Moore | KC (at DEN)
77) Brandon Powell | MIN (at GB)
78) Quentin Johnston | LAC (vs. CHI)
79) Rashod Bateman | BAL (at ARI)
80) Demario Douglas | NE (at MIA)
81) Braxton Berrios | MIA (vs. NE)
82) DeVante Parker | NE (at MIA)
83) Trey Palmer | TB (at BUF)
84) Jake Bobo | SEA (vs. CLE)
85) Jonathan Mingo | CAR (vs. HOU)
86) Alec Pierce | IND (vs. NO)
87) Robert Woods | HOU (at CAR)
88) Donovan Peoples-Jones | CLE (at SEA)
89) Kalif Raymond | DET (vs. LV)
90) Cedrick Wilson Jr. | MIA (vs. NE)
91) Allen Robinson II | PIT (vs. JAX)
92) Nick Westbrook-Ikhine | TEN (vs. ATL)
93) Mecole Hardman Jr. | KC (at DEN)
94) Tyler Scott | CHI (at LAC)
95) Ray-Ray McCloud III | SF (vs. CIN)
96) Mack Hollins | ATL (at TEN)
97) JuJu Smith-Schuster | NE (at MIA)
98) Deonte Harty | BUF (vs. TB)
99) Olamide Zaccheaus | PHI (at WAS)
100) Khalil Shakir | BUF (vs. TB)
101) Van Jefferson | ATL (at TEN)
102) Tre Tucker | LV (at DET)
103) Jamal Agnew | JAX (at PIT)
104) Isaiah Hodgins | NYG (vs. NYJ)
105) Calvin Austin III | PIT (vs. JAX)
106) Randall Cobb | NYJ (at NYG)
107) Brandon Johnson | DEN (vs. KC)
108) Terrace Marshall Jr. | CAR (vs. HOU)
109) Deven Thompkins | TB (at BUF)
110) Deebo Samuel | SF (vs. CIN)
111) Noah Brown | HOU (at CAR)
112) Dontayvion Wicks | GB (vs. MIN)
113) Laviska Shenault Jr. | CAR (vs. HOU)
114) Marquise Goodwin | CLE (at SEA)
115) Hunter Renfrow | LV (at DET)
116) Trenton Irwin | CIN (at SF)
117) Tyquan Thornton | NE (at MIA)
118) Kyle Philips | TEN (vs. ATL)
119) Dyami Brown | WAS (vs. PHI)
120) Chris Moore | TEN (vs. ATL)
121) Justyn Ross | KC (at DEN)
122) Julio Jones | PHI (at WAS)
123) Sterling Shepard | NYG (vs. NYJ)
124) Samori Toure | GB (vs. MIN)
125) Derius Davis | LAC (vs. CHI)
126) Tim Jones | JAX (at PIT)
127) Trent Sherfield | BUF (vs. TB)
128) Andrei Iosivas | CIN (at SF)
129) John Metchie III | HOU (at CAR)
130) KaVontae Turpin | DAL (vs. LAR)