• The Chiefs crushed the Ravens defense with the help of Rice’s closing speed: Rice tHe recorded 12 receptions from the slot that yielded 15-plus yards during the entire 2023 regular season, but had 15-plus yards on three receptions in the season opener alone.

• Kansas City’s wide receiver room could push Rice into a prominent slot role: With the rise of the first round pick Xavier Worthy and the eventual return of the injured wide receiver Marquise Brown — both of whom have played primarily outside during their careers — Rice could see more playing time in the slot this season.

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Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice has already proven himself as a very good young receiver in his rookie season in 2023, ranking in PFF grade (84.9) at the position. He also showed his versatility, playing nearly as many snaps on the wing as he did in the slot and also lining up on both ends of the court with roughly equal points.

That trend continued in the 2024 NFL season opener against the Baltimore Ravens — a 27-20 win for Kansas City. Rice lined up 22 times in the slot and played 20 snaps at wide receiver. He logged 10 snaps at the outside left and right wide receiver positions. His numbers in the slot, however, suggest he would be even more effective if lined up inside more often.

Rashee Rice | Week 1 Snap Alignments

Of Rice’s 103 receiving yards against Baltimore, 75 came from the slot, where he had six targets and four receptions. While he has 12 total receptions from the slot that have yielded 15-plus yards during the entire 2023 regular season, Rice has had 15-plus yards on three receptions in the season opener alone. He was targeted on 37.5% of the snaps when he lined up in the slot after hitting a 23.2% clip last season — an already relatively high number.

While Rice’s 4.69 receiving yards per route run from the slot isn’t a sustainable number, it stacks up well against individual games from last season. In 2023, there were 177 instances in which a receiver saw at least five targets from the slot in a game — Rice had six against the Ravens — and the former SMU receiver’s 4.69 receiving yards per route run would rank 14thand among those performances. His 18.8 receiving yards per catch would rank 16thand last season. Yet Rice’s average depth of field goal of 7.2 yards would have been just 100and last season, highlighting how well he did after catching the ball in midfield against Baltimore.

With the rise of the first round pick Xavier Worthy and the eventual return of the injured wide receiver Marquise Brown — both of whom have played mostly outside of their careers — Rice could see more playing time in the slot this season. And if the season opener was any indication, he would not only play well in that role, but could take his game to a new level as one of the NFL’s best slot receivers.