Rashee Rice Ranked Among Top Five 2023 WRs in This Interesting Stat

Rice broke out as a rookie thanks to his in-season development and the Chiefs' usage of him, with the mix recently being highlighted by PFF.

Jan 28, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice (4) runs with the ball against the Baltimore Ravens during the first half in the AFC Championship football game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Chiefs' wide receiver room was the story of their 2023-24 season, and not for good reasons. An obvious lack of talent and consistency held the team back during the regular season, making things more difficult than necessary for the eventual champs.

Luckily, the emergence of second-round NFL Draft pick Rashee Rice helped salvage things down the stretch. The SMU product emerged as a legitimate force over the course of his rookie campaign, partially due to development but also because of Kansas City's utilization of him.

Rice answered the call in year No. 1, hauling in 79 passes for 938 yards and seven touchdowns during the regular season. He finished fourth among all wide receivers in open-target rate as well, which was recently highlighted by Pro Football Focus.

Lauren Gray dove into the data and revealed that Rice, one of three rookies in the top 10, was open on 93.1% of his overall targets.

"Rice was the only Chiefs receiver to see more than 100 targets last season, and he gained separation on all but nine of them," Gray wrote. "Rice led the team in target rate (29.7%), recording 1,200 yards with 14 catches of 20-plus yards. He finished in the top 15 among all receivers in touchdowns (eight) and first downs (59), and he averaged 2.21 yards per route run."

The true beauty of Rashee Rice's 2023 open-target rate is in the eye of the beholder

First and foremost, Rice does deserve credit for doing a good job as a rookie. Getting open in general is difficult, let alone for a first-year man adjusting to life in the NFL. Against man coverage, he averaged 1.79 yards per route run and 11.4 yards per reception. His average depth of target was also higher than his figure against zone.

With that said, the Chiefs made a concerted effort to make Rice get open targets. Statistics like his overall aDOT (4.8) and his zone splits (48 receptions, 2.92 YPRR, 4.4 aDOT) point to that. Additionally, a whopping 78% of his rookie targets during the regular season were either behind the line of scrimmage or within 0-9 yards of it. Kansas City didn't ask him to stretch the field or embrace a full intermediate workload, instead feeding him on screens and quick "smoke" routes that got the ball in his hands and allowed him to amass yards post-catch.

Thus, Rice's open-target rate can paint multiple pictures depending on how it's used. On the surface, it makes him look like a route-running maestro who's capable of creating separation against sticky man coverage. In reality, his role was rather simplified last season and the 93.1% mark is equal parts a coaching or teammate number.

Even if Rice doesn't replicate that percentage in 2024-25, he very well could – and should – still be a better overall player.

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