As Rashee Rice continues to establish himself as one of the NFL’s most dangerous playmakers, he has earned some lofty praise from one of the league’s greats.
The second-year player from Southern Methodist University was the 55th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and has quickly earned the approval of three-time Super Bowl champion and starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“He’s a complete receiver,” Mahomes told reporters. “He’s getting better and better and he can do it all. I think people see the short stuff and they get enamored by it because it’s so special when he catches the ball, but he can catch the ball down the field, he can block, he can do whatever — everything it takes to be a good receiver in this league.
Rice averaged 59 yards per game last season while finding the end zone for seven touchdowns.
As the next man up due to Marquise Brown’s injury, Rice is proving he belongs on the reigning Super Bowl champions, especially considering Travis Kelce’s slow start.
“He is able to run more and more routes and then the way he’s able to catch the ball and make stuff happen after the catch, he is a hard guy to tackle,” Mahomes said. “And so being able to do both those things, I think it helps that the speed out there is kind of helping spread out the field for him and then there’s a lot of attention on Travis.”
With opponents focusing on last season’s leading receiver for the Chiefs, Rice has already recorded two 100-yard games and is averaging 96 receiving yards per game.
Rice will look to extend his hot start on Sunday as the Chiefs face the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium.