The Kansas City Chiefs offense seemed back on track during Sunday’s victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. Various Chiefs receivers made an impression aside from the superstar outing from tight end Travis Kelce.
Chiefs rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice has been a fixture in recent games as one of Patrick Mahomes’ top targets. He has been on the field for more plays as the weeks have gone on and has seen success within the system. Mahomes opened up about Rice’s development and his pride in his growth during the post-game press conference.
“Yeah, he’s just learning, not only from me but from Travis (Kelce), from Marquez, he takes in information well, he learns,” Mahomes explained. “We continue to give them more, and he continues to get better and better, and so he’s obviously a physical player, I think y’all can see that.
“But the way he’s able to start recognizing coverages and get himself open, and starting to really translate, and then we’ll continue to get better and better. And if I can hit him on that one route. It’s an even bigger game. So, I think he’s done a great job. He can’t be satisfied. Gotta continue to get better if he wants to be the player I think he wants to become.”
Rice finished Sunday’s victory with five catches for 60 yards and a touchdown, becoming a consistent target for Mahomes this season. Mahomes and Rice have been linked since the infamous offseason throwing session that many critics believe pushed Rice to be drafted to Kansas City.
“I think the biggest thing I can tell – I mean obviously you see the physical stuff and everybody has the physical stuff,” Mahomes said. “When I have those passing sessions in the offseason, I think y’all know, I’m talking through stuff with the receivers, I’m talking about recognizing coverages and stuff like that. I can tell that even though he didn’t know, because he hasn’t played in the NFL, he had a good grasp of [the] feel.
“He understood how to kind of settle in certain areas and if he made a mistake, he would fix it the next time. I think that was the biggest thing that I saw with him. I mean obviously, the physical stuff is there but the way he was able to comprehend and do stuff and adjust on the fly, I think that stuff is what is going to – what makes you great in this offense and I think he does of it.”
Rice has quickly ascended the depth chart and may have earned the trust of the coaches and his teammates.
