Last season, the Kansas City Chiefs somehow won their third Super Bowl championship in five seasons despite being saddled with a group of young and unproven wide receivers. However, by the end of the season, one of those wideouts seemed to perhaps have star potential.
Rashee Rice, a rookie out of Southern Methodist University, caught 79 passes for 938 yards and seven touchdowns during the regular season. He was second on the team in receptions by far, and there has thus been hope that he could be their next offensive lynchpin.
However, Rice has gotten himself into trouble this offseason off the field.
The 24-year-old was involved in a multi-car crash that has resulted in him facing eight felony charges, and even if he is found not guilty on all counts or is found guilty but faces no jail time or probation, he could be disciplined by the NFL.
Rice pledged to become better after that incident.
“I’ve learned so much from that. All I can do is mature and continue to grow from that. This is a step in a better direction for me,” Rice said.
The Chiefs have bolstered their receiving corps this offseason
The days of Tyreek Hill flying downfield on go routes and catching long passes from Patrick Mahomes are long gone.
Hill was unexpectedly traded two offseasons ago, yet the Chiefs have won it all in both seasons that have followed, which has taken Mahomes from a great quarterback to an all-time great one who now has an aura of inevitability that resembles the one Tom Brady used to have.
While Rice will need to be available and continue to develop for the Chiefs to accomplish a historic Super Bowl threepeat, he will have a little more help this fall.
They signed Marquise Brown this offseason as a free agent. While he isn’t an alpha wideout, he did post a decent 574 yards and four touchdowns in 14 games last season with the Arizona Cardinals.
Kansas City also drafted Xavier Worthy, a speedster wide receiver out of the University of Texas, in the first round of April’s draft. While there are concerns about his modest frame (he’s 5-foot-11 and just 165 pounds), he broke a scouting combine record by running the 40-yard dash in just 4.21 seconds.
As always, it will be up to Mahomes to carry the Chiefs to the promised land once again.
If Rashee Rice does indeed mature and grow from his car-related incident, he should be able to provide Mahomes and crew with the support that will be needed as the rest of the league looks to topple them from their lofty pedestal.
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