*****The Rashee Rice Thread*****

[Dante84]

More to come!

Mahomes knew Rashee Rice was his guy after throwing with him in Dallas.@AdamLefkoe with the scoop �� pic.twitter.com/X8ZAab22kM

— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) April 29, 2023

Rashee Rice | WR | SMU

One of the best WR prospects at the catch point and winning leverage mid-route. He consistently sets up defenders to put them on his back, locates the ball, and attacks it at the highest point.

Skill set is wild for a 6' 200lb WR. pic.twitter.com/ClxW4SJvi5

— Matt Lane (@Matty_KCSN) February 16, 2023

Rashee Rice was drafted with pick 55 of round 2 in the 2023 draft class. He scored a 9.53 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 145 out of 3062 WR from 1987 to 2023. https://t.co/lwD9tvVPvv pic.twitter.com/YjucxErSE1

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 29, 2023

[O.city]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

He lines up outside and does it against safeties.

Remember, the DC doesn't know where he's going to line up when he puts his sub package out there. He's not sending NCBs out there to man up on Kelce every time just in case he splits out wide.

I mean just look at the traits. He's probably not even a 4.8 guy anymore. The leaping ability is...nominal at best.

Just watch the guy and tell me he's winning through innate athleticism. He just isn't. I've mentioned this before but the times he's left guys grasping at air are because he's using his feet/hips to make his next move before he's even caught the ball. It's really amazing shit.

True

But he did have that at one time and we still didn't really utilize it.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by O.city

Yeah, I'm gonna disagree with you guys on this. We've seen him line up outside and do it. It's just not something they ask him to do, nor have they really ever asked guys to do it here. With Kelce's size, paired with what he possesses athletically, it would make sense to do it with him alot more if it were something they valued.

Maybe it's because they haven't had anyone who could, but they also haven't gone out of their way to get someone that does it.

How did the Chiefs beat the Bills in overtime in the 2021 playoffs again?

Was it a back-shoulder throw to Kelce?

It's hard to throw back shoulder jump balls to a guy who is bracketed/double-teamed.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by O.city

True

But he did have that at one time and we still didn't really utilize it.

He hasn't really had it since Alex Smith.

These are different times...

[tredadda]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

He actually threw a few to Gray, of all people, last season. And he absolutely attempted a couple to MVS, but (as I said at the time) the guy just doesn't have the body control to bring those in. Never has and it was silly for people to slam him for not being able to do so. It's just not a club in his bag.

Rice can. Because body control, like speed, is innate. Either you have it or you don't. Rice has it in spades.

I think the Chiefs would like to have that ability in their arsenal. As you noted, Mahomes DID throw them to Hill and frankly Hill is the only guy we've had since maybe Bowe with that kind of body control. Even Maclin didn't have it; it was essentially a better version of MVS - very graceful and fluid in his cuts and in creating separation, but not a guy who was going to turn, leap, locate and rotate to a ball in one motion.

Even Bowe's body control wasn't that type - it was more physical in nature.

But Rice brings something we haven't had since Hill and when we had it, we put it to use.

How would you evaluate it in comparison to Toney? I do remember not long after we signed Toney he made a catch after stopping, fixing his gloves, and then going up and snatching the ball. Just trying to see where Rice stands using Toney as a comparison.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by tredadda

How would you evaluate it in comparison to Toney? I do remember not long after we signed Toney he made a catch after stopping, fixing his gloves, and then going up and snatching the ball. Just trying to see where Rice stands using Toney as a comparison.

Similar in terms of pure body control, but Toney is more explosive so I think he can put it to a little better use.

Where Rice can potentially close that gap up, though, is through physicality. There are plays Rice goes up and contorts to get a ball that, frankly, I'd just as soon see Toney not attempt. He just isn't built in a way that allows him to take those kinds of hits.

I think Toney's best use of that skill is on the sideline where he can use the boundary to protect himself. Whereas Rice's best use will be in between the hashes where he can use the open field to create room to work and throwing lanes then use his body/strength to get the ball.

But you make a good comparison in that it just demonstrates another area where this WR group is becoming EXTREMELY complementary. So many traits that dovetail nicely together.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by tredadda

How would you evaluate it in comparison to Toney? I do remember not long after we signed Toney he made a catch after stopping, fixing his gloves, and then going up and snatching the ball. Just trying to see where Rice stands using Toney as a comparison.

I don't see that Rice's is quite as quick-twitch. He's more smooth and has more size.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Rice has plus size, is very physical and has elite 10 and 20 yard splits.

He gets to 4th gear quickly and then just doesn't have a 5th gear. That's pretty much EXACTLY how Michael Thomas succeeded.

It is uncanny just how much I see Brandon Aiyuk in this kids game. I’m not sure he’s going to be as good as Aiyuk but the similarities just pop off the screen to me.

His size is the same, his ball ability in the air seems similar and his versatility with YAC is very similar too.

Juju’s best feature last year was breaking tackles and having spurts of YAC where guys just got tired trying to tackle the guy in the 2nd half.

Rice is a lot more explosive than Juju was. Man if Rice is even 75% of what Auyik is then we are in business.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by RunKC

It is uncanny just how much I see Brandon Aiyuk in this kids game. I’m not sure he’s going to be as good as Aiyuk but the similarities just pop off the screen to me.

His size is the same, his ball ability in the air seems similar and his versatility with YAC is very similar too.

Juju’s best feature last year was breaking tackles and having spurts of YAC where guys just got tired trying to tackle the guy in the 2nd half.

Rice is a lot more explosive than Juju was. Man if Rice is even 75% of what Auyik is then we are in business.

Yup - that's the target.

And I just don't see anything at all from a physical standpoint that should keep him from hitting it. Moreover, from what we've heard about his time at SMU (the work ethic, toughness and versatility) I don't see what would hold him back from it developmentally.

I think he's gonna be awfully good.

[The Franchise]

Interesting part of Rashee Rice's game is how many penalties he forces to be called.

The toe injury made his explosion off the LoS inconsistent but on reps it's there, he mixes up his releases & fires off. Once on top, he stacks DBs & forces the flag if a CB tries to fight thru pic.twitter.com/VgKwCGYrJ1

— Matt Lane (@Matty_KCSN) May 2, 2023

[Boxer_Chief]

Originally Posted by RunKC

It is uncanny just how much I see Brandon Aiyuk in this kids game. I’m not sure he’s going to be as good as Aiyuk but the similarities just pop off the screen to me.

His size is the same, his ball ability in the air seems similar and his versatility with YAC is very similar too.

Juju’s best feature last year was breaking tackles and having spurts of YAC where guys just got tired trying to tackle the guy in the 2nd half.

Rice is a lot more explosive than Juju was. Man if Rice is even 75% of what Auyik is then we are in business.

Man I would take that comp 100 times over and he does seem similar from what I see. Much better to hear the positivity over listening to Petro crap all over the draft 4 hours a day to try and drum up listeners.

[RaidersOftheCellar]

Originally Posted by morphius

What true number 1, or hell true number 2 WR have they drafted? Many teams are bad at drafting certain positions. I'm just going on history and watching Mahomes scramble to get someone open instead of trying to force it as often as possible. I'm hoping Rice is awesome, and I'm even willing to give him time to do it, but I'm not crazy enough to ignore 6 years of drafting meh and run out and buy this guys Jersey either. I'm assuming you already ordered yours?

When has Mahomes had a receiver with the size, body control and leaping ability of this guy?

I don't think it's fair to say they're bad at evaluating WRs. They just rarely invest a high pick in one. They found one of the greatest WRs of all time in the 5th round. Jury's out on Moore. We all know that rookies don't tend to make a huge impact in Reid's offense.

By your logic, Mahomes could have Hopkins on the roster and he wouldn't throw jump balls to him. Laughable.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by RaidersOftheCellar

When has Mahomes had a receiver with the size, body control and leaping ability of this guy?

I don't think it's fair to say they're bad at evaluating WRs. They just rarely invest a high pick in one. They found one of the greatest WRs of all time in the 5th round. Jury's out on Moore. We all know that rookies don't tend to make a huge impact in Reid's offense.

By your logic, Mahomes could have Hopkins on the roster and he wouldn't throw jump balls to him. Laughable.

Me and DJ discussed this, but even a team like the Steelers, who I'm sure most would agree do a good job in terms of drafting WRs, have had to take a lot of shots to get their big hits.

[Woogieman]

Originally Posted by Boxer_Chief

Man I would take that comp 100 times over and he does seem similar from what I see. Much better to hear the positivity over listening to Petro crap all over the draft 4 hours a day to try and drum up listeners.

If Aiyuk had 1,000 yd season with Lance and Mr. Irrelevant throwing to him, I would expect even better numbers within a year or so...why would you crap on that?

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by staylor26

Me and DJ discussed this, but even a team like the Steelers, who I'm sure most would agree do a good job in terms of drafting WRs, have had to take a lot of shots to get their big hits.

Yup - the amount of capital the Steelers have plowed into WRs over the Reid era has more than doubled what KC has, especially when you start to factor in the 'draft value chart' figures.

Gotta pay to play. And just like the LB position, if/when the Chiefs start to target the area, they'll start to get results. It won't be a 100% hit rate, but if they just keep taking swings, it won't have to be.

I'd be fine taking a 2nd round WR every single year. Maybe some years a 1st, some years a 3rd, but if you put roughly 2nd round draft capital into your WR room on an annual basis, you're gonna to have a strong, deep WR corps that is more than enough for Mahomes to work with.

The position just isn't as unstable or unpredictable in the draft as some others are. It's pretty projectable, especially if you have a smart HC and capable QB...

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Woogieman

If Aiyuk had 1,000 yd season with Lance and Mr. Irrelevant throwing to him, I would expect even better numbers within a year or so...why would you crap on that?

Eh - Petro is just taking his orders from up top.

Once KK got 810 cut off at the knees, the only chance they had at relevance was counter-programming. They need to wear the black hat because lord knows they won't be getting back in the franchise's good graces while Reid is here.