The Kansas City Chiefs are in Super Bowl 58 for a few reasons, but one of those is the emergence of rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice.
The Chiefs made a necessary but genuine gamble over the off-season when they let JuJu Smith-Schuster walk in free agency. Smith-Schuster had just put up 933 yards and 3 touchdowns in Kansas City's Super Bowl winning season, but what he brought beyond those numbers was stability.
While tight end Travis Kelce was lighting teams up, quarterback Patrick Mahomes often found himself in need of a reliable second option to turn to.
Smith-Schuster provided exactly that, with solid route running ability and trustworthy hands, the veteran proved his value last season, the Chiefs just couldn't afford to pay it.
That set the team up to enter this season with a totally unproven group at wide receiver. It might seem like a long time ago now, but in September it looked like the Chiefs would be relying on Skyy Moore, Kadarius Toney, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling as their top three wideouts.
Then Rashee Rice stepped up.
Rashee Rice's Impact on Chiefs Offense
The Chiefs took Rice in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft with the 55th overall pick. The expectation among fans at the time was that Rice would likely provide some depth.
I'm not sure about the front office, but I doubt many Chiefs fans expected Rice to emerge in the way that he actually has.
Head coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy made it clear very early in the season what they saw in Rice, as he caught 3 passes for 29 yards and a touchdown in the season opener against Detroit.
Rice saw about five targets a game for much of the first half of the season, but things got ugly for Kansas City at wide receiver in a hurry.
Toney and Valdes-Scantling were absolutely plagued by drops. Moore was injured for much of the season, and didn't perform well when he was in. Justin Watson was asked to become more of a receiver than his usual run blocking role.
The football world saw a much more frustrated Mahomes than it was used to seeing, and it looked like the Chiefs just didn't have enough at receiver to overcome all these struggles and get where they are now.
Then Rice emerged as a legitimate top option, finishing the season with consecutive yardage totals of 107, 64, 72, 91, 57, and 127 to close the year.
In the Wild Card round, Rice overcame the far-below-freezing temperatures to deliver 130 yards and a touchdown.
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What Can Rashee Rice Do in Super Bowl 58?
Ironically, Rice's rise has been made slightly less significant by Kelce's sudden return to form in the playoffs. The conversation about the Chiefs being doomed at receiver was heightened against the backdrop of Kelce finally appearing to have lost a step. He was getting lots of attention from the teams' best defenders, and wasn't able to overcome it like he had in years past.
That changed in a hurry in the playoffs, as Kelce dominated injury-plagued Miami and Buffalo units, then delivered an even stronger performance against Baltimore's loaded and healthy defense.
The challenge stays high this Sunday, though, as Kelce will likely draw quite a bit of attention from all-world San Francisco linebacker Fred Warner.
The 49ers aren't really weak anywhere defensively, so Mahomes will need as much good work as possible from his weapons to get open and make sure he can get rid of the ball in the face of San Francisco's fearsome pass rush.
What might work the best is quick game throws to both Rice and Kelce. We saw some of this against Baltimore, and as the league has shifted to throwing two-high at Kansas City almost every passing down, the Chiefs have been more content to play the short game.
Rice's ability after the catch is fairly strong, and he's a good zone beater. Look for him to get some targets behind the line of scrimmage as well as some looks on hook and sit routes over the middle to try to draw attention away from Kelce.
If Rice delivers one more big performance on Sunday, it will be definitive proof of Kansas City's roster-building genius, even as it looked like a total disaster for much of the season.
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