Chiefs HC Andy Reid downplays Rashee Rice's preseason drops

Justin Churchill — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer

Aug 26, 2023 8:59 PM EDT

The Kansas City Chiefs have one of the deeper receiver rooms in the league and one of the deeper units they have had in quite some time. A lot of that has to do with the guys they have drafted the last few years.

Rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice is already showing he will be a cornerstone of the offense in the future, and he hasn't even played a snap in the regular season. But he does have some issues he needs to fix.

Rice was drafted in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, so the Chiefs obviously saw something they liked in him. However, he is showing one of his flaws that caused some teams to pass on him, but Andy Reid isn't too worried about it.

Chiefs HC is not worried about Rashee Rice

He had three drops in the first half against the Cleveland Browns, including the drop on what would have been a wide-open long touchdown. Also, Rice had drops in each of the first two preseason games. That's not a good look, but Reid actually praised the young receiver after the Chiefs' 33-32 win over the Browns.

"He's got a lot of talent," Reid told reporters. "He's just got to hang on to the ball. I mean, he's got good hands. You've just got to focus in on it, squeeze it, and catch it first. And you can go do your thing after that. So it'll be alright. He's just got to keep working through it."

For his size, Rice is a very strong receiver. His hands weren't a huge issue in college, but it was something some teams were aware of. His YAC ability is what has been catching people's attention. Rice has made more than his fair share of defenders miss tackles in the preseason.

Rice needs to figure out what it is that is causing the drops. Maybe it's his mentality, and he is still getting used to the NFL. Maybe he is just thinking too much about getting hit as he catches the ball. These things happen, especially to rookies.

It's looking like Rice will have a bigger role in the offense as a rookie than Skyy Moore did last season, which isn't normal in an Andy Reid offense. However, if he continues to have this issue, you better believe the Chiefs will find someone else to have some of his snaps.