It’s not a matter of if, but when, Lachie Rice will be suspended by the NFL following his arrest on suspicion of high-speed hit-and-run for causing a chain-reaction crash in Dallas. It is unclear what punishment the league will take, but Some officials predict it could take as long as half a season for the second-year receiver..
Rice was considered one of the Chiefs’ most important offensive players in 2024. After a stellar rookie year with 938 yards and seven touchdowns, Rice was poised to break out and become Kansas City’s true No. 1 receiver. That’s on the back burner now, but somehow the Chiefs are even more dangerous than they were a year ago — even without Rice on the roster.
It’s important to remember that despite their Super Bowl success, the Chiefs had major challenges with their passing offense in 2023. Mahomes was great as usual, but the time-honored tradition of “relying on Travis Kelce” wasn’t as effective last season as it usually was. This is largely because teams don’t have anything else to fear, which is why teams don’t rely on tight ends. Because I knew how to wrap it up.
Last season, aside from the emergence of Rice, the rest of the receiving corps was a huge failure.
- Justin Watson: 27 catches for 460 yards
- Marquez Valdes-Scantling: 21 catches, 315 yards
- Skye Moore: 21 catches, 244 yards
- Kadarius Toney: 27 catches, 169 yards
With Rice out of the equation, this group is arguably the worst receiver room in the NFL, rivaled only by the 2023 Carolina Panthers. They were marred by inconsistent hands, and even Mahomes’ brilliance couldn’t make them better. Without Kelce and Rice, there’s no way the Chiefs would win a second straight Super Bowl.
So what has changed?
The biggest factor that makes the Chiefs look much better this year (even without starting pitcher Rice) is the additions of Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy.Two receivers with similar styles, but the Chiefs. Really need.
There’s no question Brown had a down year with the hapless Cardinals in 2023, and much of that was due to the injury to Kyler Murray. Even at his best, the truth is he just never clicked in Arizona. But there’s every reason to believe the 26-year-old can become a 1,000-yard threat again with Mahomes under center.
Brown’s outside speed and separation is something the Chiefs were seriously lacking. These were great for separating packages for specific routes, but the units were inconsistent at best. Brown has been a stable and reliable separator in the NFL, so much so that even with Rice on the roster, he’s likely to be the No. 1 target other than Kelce this season.
From there, it’s all about Worthy and his declared 4.21 speed. The plan is to put him in the slot. The goal would be to make him a monster in the YAC, similar to Tyreek Hill’s role when he was in Andy Reid’s offense.
Why does this work?
Oddly enough, if there’s one player who can carry the team without the Chiefs, it’s Lachie Rice. Don’t mistake that for saying he’s disposable. Because he’s not. However, if running 11 personnel (the NFL’s preferred grouping), Worthy would be stuck with Rice on one side of the formation and Brown on the other side.
Brown’s job will be to be primarily read in isolation, Rice will be an intermediate route runner, and Worthy will be responsible for the shorter routes YAC intends. With this group, you could easily trade Rice and Justin Watson and at least get by. Kelce also covers that intermediate route range, making the No. 2 receiver role more redundant than other teams that don’t have the best tight end in the world.
That means you can run the same basic offense with the same principles, and you’ll be less degraded by losing Rice than any other weapon in this offense.
This also has a wildcard
When the Chiefs’ offense faltered in 2023, they went even further to a 13-man system. This was a group that avoided the focus on receivers entirely and ran a three-tight end package of Kelce, Noah Gray, and Blake Bell.
The 13-man lineup has been very difficult to defend, but it will get even better in 2024 with the addition of free agent Irv Smith Jr. That 13-man lineup would add more talent and take some pressure off Rice until he returns from suspension. .
Rumors of Chiefs death were greatly exaggerated
So if you’re scheduled to play Kansas City in the first half of the season and believe it will be easier because the Chiefs don’t have Laci Rice, don’t get your hopes up too much. Andy Reid and his Co. built this roster to have multiple redundancies in case one piece is unavailable.
The Chiefs could very well start this year in even better shape offensively than they ended 2023, and from there, the Chiefs will only get progressively better each time Rice returns. Bad news if you supported the fall of the dynasty. Good news if you are a KC fan.
