The Kansas City Chiefs will have an intriguing battle at wide receiver this season, especially since they used a premium pick on the position in last week's draft. Kansas City selected Rashee Rice with its second-round pick, adding him to a wide receiver room that already consists of Skyy Moore, Kadarius Toney, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Wide receiver is going to look different for Kansas City with the loss of JuJu Smith-Schuster, which makes the Rice pick even more interesting. Rice may be in line to receive significant playing time in his rookie year.
"Certainly excited to add Rashee (Rice) to the mix here," Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said. "He was a guy that the contested catch and the run after the catch was something that really stood out. We did lose JuJu (Smith-Schuster) and I think it makes sense to find a guy that can do a lot of things that he can do on the inside game, and he's almost like a running back after the catch."
Could Rice crack the lineup with the three wideouts who played last season? The Chiefs don't have a set starting lineup at wide receiver, so there will be opportunities for Rice. He did led the FBS in receiving yards per game (112.9) last season, and the 1,355 receiving yards and 8.0 receptions per game were top five in the nation.
Now Rice will get to catch passes from Patrick Mahomes, so he should continue to remain productive in Kansas City.
"I can't complain about a great quarterback. I'm going to be able to build my relationship with (Patrick Mahomes) and just improve my game on the field with him," Rice said. "You're getting a playmaker. You're getting someone who really wants to be a part of the Chiefs' program. We're going to go win another Super Bowl, there's no doubt about it."
Veach is anxious to see how the wide receiver battle will play out, as all four are certain to see significant snaps. The Chiefs took a flyer on Moore in the second round last season and Toney at the trade deadline, and both paid dividends for Kansas City in Super Bowl LVII.
Both players are developing as planned.
"Skyy (Moore) has done a tremendous job of getting better and improving. We saw that throughout the course of last year and (he) went through a lot of adversity but the kid -- his mental resiliency is awesome," Veach said. "Look forward for him to take the next step.
"Everyone knows about Kadarius (Toney) and how talented he is. Kadarius can do anything on the field. He can line up inside, outside, running back, quarterback. He can do it all."
Could the Chiefs have actually improved at wide receiver from the Super Bowl LVII championship team. The depth is certainly there, but the next task is seeing all four wideouts perform on the field.
"We just like to put talent out on the field and Coach (Andy Reid) will find ways to put these guys in different positions and different formations and different sets," Veach said. "You throw that group in there with a bunch of talent we have at tight end, let the coaches do their thing, but you know all three of those guys we're really excited about."
