Patrick Mahomes: Chiefs WR Rashee Rice hasn't reached his ceiling
Kansas City Chiefs WR Rashee Rice might already be breaking franchise records, but that doesn't mean he knows all there is to know about playing the wide receiver position in the NFL. With three games left to go, the rookie has a chance to be the most prolific rookie receiver in franchise history. He's tracking to […]
Kansas City Chiefs WR Rashee Rice might already be breaking franchise records, but that doesn't mean he knows all there is to know about playing the wide receiver position in the NFL.
With three games left to go, the rookie has a chance to be the most prolific rookie receiver in franchise history. He's tracking to break the franchise reception record by a rookie in Week 15, and he only needs to average 81 receiving yards over the next three games to break the franchise rookie receiving yards record.
As impressive as the 23-year-old has been during his first season in the NFL, his quarterback helped check his ego a bit during Thursday's media availability. Asked about the ceiling of his rookie wideout, Mahomes says that there are a lot of things the youngster can still improve upon.
“He’s still got a lot he can improve on which is crazy to say," Mahomes explained. "He’s had such a great season. The little things that NFL receivers do – he’s got the explosiveness, he knows how to run the routes – but the nuance and the how you run the routes, how you set one route to run up another one.
"I’ll say this, he’s taken from the veterans Marquez (Valdes-Scantling), Justin Watson and Travis (Kelce). He listens and he learns as much as he can and tries to take that in. I think that’s why he’s gotten better and better as the season’s gone on.”
It's probably not so crazy to believe that a 23-year-old rookie has plenty upon which he can improve, even with the added context of Rice's great 2023 NFL season. What might be the actual crazy part about all of this is that the rookie agrees with the take from his star quarterback. Rice knows that there is always something to work on and get better at in the NFL.
“Truthfully speaking, everything," Rice said, when asked what he can improve on. "I’m young and I feel like every time I’m out there, there’s vets on the field all the time so every time I’m out there, I’m looking to learn something from all those guys so if it’s the smallest thing, or even if it’s the biggest thing, I’m going to try to put it into my game as soon as possible.”
Perhaps that's why Rice has seen such success as a rookie — he's already wise beyond his years.
Mahomes is hoping that things continue to snowball in the right direction for the second-round draft pick. He's quickly established himself as a trusted target, and fresh off a game with career-high offensive snaps, he'll be a heavy focus for the Las Vegas Raiders' defense in Week 16.
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