Kirk Herbstreit applauds development of Rashee Rice
In a season where they didn’t have the most reliable receiving corps, Kansas City got a massive boost from Rashee Rice, the rookie wideout from out of SMU. Now, as he watches him and the Chiefs in the AFC Championship, Kirk Herbstreit can’t help but give credit to where it’s due for the second-round selection.
Herbstriet tweeted about Rice and his first campaign as a pro in the midst of the conference title game between Kansas City and the Baltimore Ravens. He sees a clear improvement in him as a player and noted how important that has been for the Chiefs’ offense.
“It’s incredible how much rookie Rashee Rice (SMU) has improved this year,” wrote Herbstreit. “The WRs as a group were the big question mark most of this year and Rice and his growth and development has given Mahomes more options especially on 3rd downs besides Kelce and the RBs. He’s clearly gained Mahomes trust more and more each week.”
Rice caught 233 passes in college for over 3,100 yards and 25 touchdowns. He improved in each of his four seasons with the Mustangs as he built up to a senior season where he finished with 96 catches for 1,355 yards and 10 scores.
Rice then came out in the 2023 NFL Draft and was the No. 55 pick for Kansas City as the franchise’s second selection.
As a rookie for the Chiefs, Rice finished behind only TE Travis Kelce for reception statistics on the year. He caught 79 of his 102 targets for 938 yards in his 16 appearances. His seven touchdowns led the offense with two more than Kelce. He also proved himself to be reliable for QB Patrick Mahomes with equal drops to the rest of the receivers even though he saw twice as many targets.
That trust has carried over into the postseason for Kansas City. Through two wins over Miami and Buffalo, Rice has caught 12 of 16 targets for 177 yards and a score. That led the team heading into their matchup today against the Ravens. He currently has six more catches for 41 yards in Baltimore. However, with a big first half, Kelce has since overtaken him in receiving production in the playoffs for the offense.
Still, over the course of the season, Rice has proven himself to be incredibly valuable to the Chiefs as an option. That’s why Herbstreit gave him some much deserved flowers with him a half of football away from potentially making the Super Bowl as a rookie.