Has Chiefs’ Rashee Rice earned more playing time? What Matt Nagy said Monday

The Chiefs offense might not have a true No. 1 receiver all season outside of tight end Travis Kelce, offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said Monday.

However, rookie receiver Rashee Rice could still be in line for an expanded role, especially after another strong effort Sunday.

Rice, who played 20 of 66 offensive snaps in the Chiefs’ 27-20 road victory over the Minnesota Vikings, was KC’s second-leading receiver with four catches for 33 yards and a touchdown.

When asked Monday if Rice was earning more snaps moving forward based on his recent production, Nagy said, “Yeah, I absolutely think he is.”

“What I think we’re seeing right now with Rashee is somebody that’s slowly gaining confidence in himself. He knows that we as coaches are slowly gaining more and more confidence in him,” Nagy said. “And there’s immense growth ahead of him, and I think that’s the exciting part that we all see.”

Nagy singled out two plays from Sunday where he saw development from the Chiefs’ 2023 second-round pick.

One was a 13-yard gain on the Chiefs’ first possession of the second half, as Rice split zone defenders, then secured a reception in the middle of the field.

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“The throw was a little bit behind him, but he was able to maneuver himself and make a strong-handed catch and still get vertical,” Nagy said. “To me, that’s immense growth from him where, Week 1 in preseason, we may not have seen that.”

Rice also hung in on a slant route through contact at the end of the same drive, coming down with an 8-yard touchdown. Nagy said the receiver was both “physical” and “fast” on that play.

“I think it’s a growth process for him,” Nagy said. “And just as we’ve talked about and I’ve talked about, this process for these wide receivers — learning these positions and learning what they’re supposed to do within the route — does take time.”

Nagy reiterated all the adjustments Rice has had to make at the NFL level.

It starts at the beginning with the play call; Rice was in a no-huddle system at SMU, so even hearing words in the huddle instead of receiving a sideline hand signal is a change.

After that, Rice must run the correct route and adjust it based on what the defense shows post-snap. If he does break open, he must then concentrate on making the catch.

Even working through all that, Rice has been one of KC’s top offensive threats.

His 17 catches rank second on the team behind Kelce, while his 173 receiving yards trail only Kelce and Justin Watson. Those numbers have come without extended playing time, as Rice has played 123 of the Chiefs’ 345 offensive snaps (36%) through five games.

Pro Football Focus has been plenty impressed with Rice, too. Among 172 NFL receivers with at least 12 targets this season, Rice’s overall grade ranks 11th.

The 10 in front of him include a who’s who of the league’s top receivers: Tyreek Hill, Brandon Aiyuk, AJ Brown, Justin Jefferson, Nico Collins, Davante Adams, DJ Moore, Ja’Marr Chase, Puka Nacua and Stefon Diggs.

Overall, Nagy said Monday to expect the Chiefs to continue to lean toward “the committee approach” with their receivers instead of trying to force someone to become a true No. 1 wideout by season’s end. Nagy said the Chiefs believe their six current outside guys have diverse skill sets, which provides KC with an offensive advantage.

“I think it probably makes it difficult for defensive coordinators to go into a game and say, ‘Hey listen, this (No. 1) guy, we’re going to shut him down. And they can’t throw it to these other two or three guys, because they’re just guys,’” Nagy said. “We feel like we’ve got a bunch of really good players at the wide receiver position that all have different strengths, and we just want to utilize them to the best of our ability.”