Arguably the biggest need that the Kansas City Chiefs had heading into the 2023 NFL Draft was at wide receiver. The team lost JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman in free agency to the AFC East; Smith-Schuster signed with the New England Patriots while Hardman joined the New York Jets.
Leading up to the draft, Kansas City was involved in plenty of trade rumors to bring in a veteran to help replace the production they had lost. DeAndre Hopkins of the Arizona Cardinals was mentioned most prominently, but he ultimately remained in the desert.
Instead of bringing in a veteran, the team added a wide receiver in the draft. With the No. 55 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Chiefs selected SMU wide receiver, Rashee Rice. The team liked Rice enough that they traded up in the second round to select him.
Rice was very productive in his final season with the Mustangs. He caught 96 passes for 1,355 yards and 10 touchdowns as one of the most productive wide receivers in the nation. Chiefs general manager Brett Veach is very excited to have him on the team.
Veach believes that Rice will be a big part of filling the void left by Smith-Schuster’s departure. He believes the SMU product is capable of bringing some similarities to the field as Smith-Schuster did in 2022.
“Certainly excited to add Rashee to this mix here,” Veach said, via Charles Goldman of USAToday.com. “He was a guy that the contested catch and the run after the catch really stood out. And we did lose JuJu, so I do think it makes sense to find a guy who can do some of the same things on the inside game. He’s almost like a running back after the catch.”
Contested catches are something that Smith-Schuster excelled in as he isn’t afraid to work underneath and over the middle of the field. The run-after catch is something that Hardman excelled at, so Rice provides a little bit of something to replace both of the pass catchers who departed.
In addition to Rice, the Chiefs have high hopes for Skyy Moore, a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, to step up this season. They also acquired Kadarius Toney from the New York Giants ahead of the trade deadline in November, providing Patrick Mahomes with a talented young trio to grow with.
While the wide receiver room is relatively inexperienced, the No. 1 option in the passing game remains veteran Travis Kelce, Defenses are going to assuredly divert a ton of attention to him, so the Chiefs are going to need some of their wide receivers to step up and Rice is certainly capable of helping right off the bat.
