How did Chiefs rookie WR Rashee Rice perform in Week 2 of the preseason?

The Kansas City Chiefs head into the 2023 NFL season looking to defend their Super Bowl crown and they’ll do so with a talented but inexperienced wide receiver group. That means the preseason takes on additional importance to see who can line up in Week 1 of the regular season and immediately be a reliable target for Patrick Mahomes on the boundary.

Here we’ll take a look at the workload for Chiefs rookie Rashee Rice in Week 2 of the preseason and how he performed during his reps.

Rashee Rice’s Week 2 stat line

Rice finished with eight catches for 96 yards on nine targets. He had three catches for 30 yards on four targets in the opening week of preseason play.

How did Rice perform in Week 2?

This performance makes Rice an enticing late-round fantasy option, especially in this offense. The Chiefs did exceptionally well without Tyreek Hill, but losing JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman in the offseason means there’s more targets up for grabs. Kansas City can tout Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Skyy Moore all it wants, but the team did use a second-round pick on Rice.

The rookie is coming off a monster season as SMU and could become a key option for Mahomes over the middle of the field. He doesn’t have the speed of Hill or Hardman, but his possession skills and size in the red zone mean he could have a strong fantasy season even with limited looks. If you’re looking for a player to break out in this offense, Rice is as good a candidate as any of the other receivers.