The Kansas City Chiefs enter the holiday weekend with the task of beating the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas day and clinching an eighth-consecutive AFC division title while cleaning up some offensive woes that have plagued the team all season. Although the club’s wide receiver room has vastly underperformed and failed to reach the high expectations that were set before them this year, one positive has been the emergence of rookie Rashee Rice.
Rice is coming off his best game so far as a pro, with nine receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown in a 27-17 victory over the New England Patriots. The rookie is also the Chiefs’ leading receiver (not named Travis Kelce) with 68 catches for 754 yards and seven touchdowns. Rice has slowly earned the trust of quarterback Patrick Mahomes. But despite him being a bright spot for Kansas City’s offense, the team leads the league in dropped passes, and negative plays that result from players’ inability to catch the football continue to hurt them.
The Chiefs WRs have heard an ear-full from media and fans, who have complained about their overall poor performance that has led to four of the team’s five losses in 2023. Rice gave a little insight into where the receiving core’s mindset is inside the lockerroom when he appeared on the latest episode of FUBO’s “Airing It Out” and stood up for his teammates, including Kadarius Toney when he spoke with former NFL receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
Rice explains that the heat the position group has felt all season has given them an “us versus the world” mindset, which brought him and the other receivers closer together.
“To be honest, I feel like just from us, hearing that we ain’t got a good receiver room, stuff like that, it just makes it easier for us to lean on each other and not be the people that’s bringing each other down because we already got that on the outside,” Rice explained. “So as long as our room is tight, nah, we’re not worried about it.
Against the Patriots last week, Kadarius Toney failed to catch a pass that hit him square in the hands, which resulted in Mahomes’ second interception of the game and left the two-time Super Bowl MVP frustrated on the sideline. Rice says he wants to be more vocal and lead as an example that reminds the other receivers to catch with their eyes.
“We know that he knows that he (Kadarius Toney) should have made the catch,” he acknowledged. “I’m saying, and we didn’t lose the game, so when we get to practice, we’re going to be heavy on catching the ball with your eyes. Like, even [though] you know, I’m a rookie, but I’ve got [to] sometimes to be a little more vocal, but with little stuff like, I work every day, you know, catching a tennis ball, so I can, you know, lock in on catching with my eyes,” Rice explained.
Rice’s development has taken a significant step forward over the last few weeks, and approaching Chiefs rookie receiver records, previously set by Dwayne Bowe in 2007, with three regular-season games left to go. But the rookie understands that all the talent in the world means nothing without a good work ethic.
“But some players probably don’t focus on all the fundamentals because they got… everybody got talent,” said Rice. “But you know it’s talent, and it’s work ethic. You know, work ethic keeps you in the NFL, and I’m learning that early.”
Rice’s work ethic has led to him seeing more snaps as the season goes on, and he’s easily the team’s most reliable receiving option. Eventually, opposing defensive coordinators will begin to take notice as his stock rises and will start game planning for him.
