3 worst moves of the KC Chiefs offseason

The Chiefs' Rashee Rice draft pick

The more I've contemplated it, the less enthusiastic I am about the Chiefs' decision to select wide receiver Rashee Rice where they did (55th overall). While Rice had an impressively productive final season in college, he currently lacks the speed and separation skills typically seen in starting-caliber wide receivers.

Even during his college career, Rice consistently struggled against man coverage and relied more on contested catches than he should have. He excelled against zone coverages but had difficulties creating separation when faced with man-to-man coverage. In my view, a wide receiver's inability to consistently separate against man coverage is a significant issue, especially at the college level.

Rashee Rice might be a popular choice in dynasty drafts or considered a "sleeper" in traditional fantasy drafts this year, but personally, I would avoid selecting him. We witnessed how Skyy Moore struggled to earn playing time throughout his rookie season, and I anticipate a similar outcome for Rice. If anything, I believe Rice will receive even fewer targets as a rookie compared to Moore, unless there are injuries. Moore possessed certain attributes that allowed him to be productive early in his career, whereas Rice does not.

I'm not suggesting that Rashee Rice will be a bust. I believe he has the potential to become a starting-caliber wide receiver, but he is a significant project who requires substantial time to develop and grow. As an exercise, I reviewed every wide receiver selected within the next 40 picks after Rice (a total of six), and I would have preferred any of the other six at the 55th overall pick instead of Rice.

I sincerely hope that by expressing my reservations about Rashee Rice, I am actually reverse-jinxing him, and he goes on to prove me completely wrong, blossoming into a legitimate number-one wide receiver. However, my confidence in him as a prospect has definitely diminished. The Chiefs have faced challenges in developing young wide receivers, and I'm not yet convinced that Rice will be the one to break that trend.