Chiefs news: Rashee Rice describes his learning curve

The Kansas City Chiefs allowed a couple of newer faces on the roster to speak to reporters on Monday from training camp after the completion of another day of practice. One of those was wide receiver Rashee Rice who is becoming an important young face in a room filled with potential.

Rice was the Chiefs' second-round pick out of SMU after putting up an incredible year of production for the Mustangs with 96 catches for 1,355 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. With 9 touchdowns the previous year, Rice has proven he can be a weapon where it matters most: in the end zone.

Coming into training camp, the Chiefs weren't expected to depend too much on Rice out of the gate because of his rookie status and the presence of other options. However, John Ross's retirement thinned out the competition a bit more and Kadarius Toney has been injured for the length of camp, giving greater opportunities to younger players like Rice.

The Chiefs wide receiver spoke with reporters about his growth from training camo

"It’s going pretty good. I think OTAs have helped me be able to adjust just because you kinda have the same mentality at OTAs as we have now," said Rice. Although when asked the difference in padded practices now that camp is underway, Rice added, ""Not too much different. I love football and you can’t play football without pads, so it’s just another part of the game."

Rice also says it's good to get in front of fans knowing the reputation of playing at Arrowhead on Sundays. "Pretty cool, honestly. I know Arrowhead has a huge fan base, so to see a little glimpse of it right now gives me a bit of a headstart to prepare for the games."

Rice has been working with Patrick Mahomes even before the draft, as a few of the better rookie options in this year's receiving class decided to catch passes from Mahomes in the offseason—including Quentin Johnston and Zay Flowers. Rice says he's learned a lot from having a quarterback like Mahomes, who is also a "great" teacher.

When describing what he's learned so far from catching throws with Mahomes, Rice said, "He expects his receivers to be in a specific spot at a specific time and he’s going to bomb the ball, so don’t look back and run. Look up and run.

"He’s a great coach, a great brother off the field. He’s going to let you know exactly what he’s thinking so you can be in his head on and off the field."

Rice is also well aware of the details he needs to work on to move forward to the next level in Chiefs training camp. "Honestly just certain snap counts and being able to adjust as far as when the defense is moving, I need to adjust certain routes."

While the opportunity might be greater for Rice at this stage, however, he says he's not feeling any pressure from persons in the organization to get ready any faster—at least not compared to the demands he already places on himself.

"Honestly I put pressure on myself every day just to come to practice to get better. There’s not necessarily pressure from Pat or Travis or anything like that. They’re real welcoming. They know I’m new to the system so they’re just going to help me catch up to their speed so that I can be a vet as fast as I can."