Kansas City Chiefs Draft Southern Methodist WR Rashee Rice 55th Overall

The Kansas City Chiefs' offense is always in a good position -- and will be while the team has Patrick Mahomes under center -- and that should bode well for their newest addition: Southern Methodist wide receiver Rashee Rice, whom the Chiefs selected 55th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Rashee Rice NFL Draft Profile

Rice is coming off a 1,344-yard, 10-touchdown season at SMU and earned himself a career-high 85.9 PFF grade in 2022.

Rice led the nation in downfield catches (18) and was fifth in screen catches (35), via PFF, as well, evidencing some clear versatility in his usage.

The draft model from Next Gen Stats actually ranked his production eighth in the class. Paired with the sixth-best athleticism, Rice ranked third overall in the class, via NGS.

Rashee Rice Top Comparables

According to my NFL prospect database -- which accounts for athleticism, production, size, draft capital, age, and more historically important variables -- here are Rice's top five comparable players.

1. Torrey Smith - 96.5%
2. Davante Adams - 92.0%
3. Brandon Lloyd - 90.5%
4. Leonard Hankerson - 90.4%
5. Quinton Patton - 90.1%

Rashee Rice in Kansas City

The Chiefs' lost both JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman in free agency this season.

Recent additions of Skyy Moore (2022 NFL Draft) and Kadarius Toney (in-season trade in 2022) as well as the presence of Marquez Valdes-Scantling (and, of course Travis Kelce) might mean a slow start to Rice's NFL career.

But if the team can use his on-field versatility to the max, then he's going to be a very fun addition to this offense.

Kansas City Chiefs 2023 Outlook

The Chiefs (+600) are the favorite to win this season's Super Bowl, according to FanDuel Sportsbook's NFL odds.

They're a heavy -385 to make the playoffs, odds just under 80%.

Kansas City's win total is also 11.5 -- with -128 odds on the over.

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