What are Chiefs expecting from Justyn Ross, Rashee Rice in 2023?
For the first time since 2013, the Kansas City Chiefs kept seven receivers on the 53-man roster. The team has big plans for all of those players, but they're particularly excited about what two of the newest additions bring to the table.
Rashee Rice and Justyn Ross won't be considered starters in the offense right away during the 2023 NFL season, but they'll be involved in various packages that utilize their skill sets to the fullest. Chiefs GM Brett Veach explained that it's all part of the learning process for young players and getting them acclimated to the NFL game.
"These young guys – as all of you guys know there’s so much verbiage in this playbook and so much dialogue and there’s so many tweaks to every assignment in regard to where they align and how they look at coverage and how they alter routes," Veach said. "It’s super complicated and these guys over time start to figure it out. . . I think what you’ll see from both Justyn Ross and Rashee (Rice) as the games go on, you’ll see them probably have certain packages and that will bleed into – hopefully they continue to grow and progress and produce on the field. That will lead to more utilization within the offense and graduating from a package player to an every-down receiver. The hope with all these young guys is to gradually make that transition."
Veach mentioned Ross as a "size guy." He'll be filling a role similar to that of Jody Fortson in both the red zone and short-yardage plays. We've heard all offseason about how deadly Rashee Rice is with the ball in his hands. Look for the team to get him involved on some of the designed touches they lost with Mecole Hardman's departure, plus screen passes, slants, and drags.
"I don’t think there is ever a shortcoming in creativity with our coaches," Veach said. "We have a talented deep receiving core. They’re all different in their ways, and Coach (Reid) just does a great job of trying to maximize what they can do and implementing packages for guys. We’ll have a core group of guys that can handle every package and be involved in every package. Then we’ll have a group of guys that are tailored and tweaked to what they can do and they’re going to highlight what they can do and their skillset. I think having those seven receivers gives us a variety of different ways to attack a defense. (I) certainty trust our coaching staff to maximize their abilities as they’ve done in the past with different types of wideouts.”
Ultimately, everyone is going to have a role to play early on in the year, starting with Week 1 against the Detroit Lions. How those roles develop throughout the course of a 17-game season is up to how they perform week in and week out.
"(Head) Coach (Andy Reid) does a great job in finding what they do and putting them in a position to gain their confidence and to help us on game day," Veach said. "Like I said if they are able to do that and naturally progress over the volume they can handle for the course of a season.”
Featured image via Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
