The Chiefs will waste no time and expect wide receiver Rashee Rice to have a heavy workload versus the Raiders.
The Chiefs are 3-3 in 3rd place in the AFC West. In their attempt to reach the Super Bowl for a 4th straight season, they now get back the highly talented Rashee Rice at wide receiver. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Rice will go “full bore.”
Much was made of the lack of receiver depth when Xavier Worthy suffered a dislocated shoulder on a crossing route where he collided with teammate Travis Kelce. The injury brought back bad memories from when Rice collided with quarterback Patrick Mahomes on an interception where he hurt his LCL and hamstring. Having been without Rice, the Chiefs offense has ironically been missing some extra juice for fantasy purposes.
Rice will immediately be in contention as a top-5 WR on a weekly basis as Mahomes has bounced back as the QB1 overall in fantasy football. Rice gets a juicy home matchup versus the Raiders. If Rashee Rice is on a roster, he needs to be started.
Author: Jeremiah Retzlaff (@coachretzlaff1)
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (ankle) ...
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (ankle) is ...
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (ankle) was ...
With no Rashee Rice, the Chiefs will also be without rookie wide receiver Jalen Royals in Week 1.
The Chiefs will be without their rookie receiver when they travel to Brazil to play the Los Angeles Chargers. Royals is dealing with a knee injury. While injuries are never convenient, the timing does hurt as the Chiefs view Royals as an adequate replacement for Rice.
Royals’ skill set match would be perfect in the absence of Rice. Expect Patrick Mahomes to funnel targets to Travis Kelce and Xavier Worthy. A sneaky roster move is to pick up rookie running back Brashard Smith if he is available on the waiver wire. Smith ran with the first team offense plenty during training camp and drafters have aspirations of Smith filling the Jerick McKinnon role. Smith should be on benches everywhere as his role could grow into must start territory; a potential league winner.
Author: Jeremiah Retzlaff (@coachretzlaff1)
Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid clarified the team is dealing with injuries to receivers: Xavier Worthy (head), Hollywood Brown (ankle), and Skyy Moore (hamstring).
With the Chiefs looking at a possible suspension for Rashee Rice at some point this season, news of injuries to three of their other receivers is not ideal this early in training camp. Xavier Worthy and Hollywood Brown are significant pieces in their offense. One or both of them could be assets for fantasy with or without Rice in the fold.
Worthy’s injury is concussion-related, and hopefully, he’ll be able to return before too long. It’s unclear the severity of Brown’s hamstring injury. We’ll see how long the 28-year-old is forced to sit out, but his long injury history is cause for concern.
I like Worthy, especially in Best Ball. I think he could be a riser as the season approaches, depending on the Rashee Rice situation. Brown is going much later. But, again, his inability to stay on the field makes me wary of drafting him even at his current ADP.
– Blake Stachel (@bllakkay)
Wide Receiver Justyn Ross was waived by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Wide reciever Justyn Ross was waived by the Kansas City Chiefs right before the start of training camp. In what was a promising start as a freshman at Clemson, Ross was destined for success. Unfortunately a congenital neck condition before his junior season had completely derailed his football career. He went undrafted to the Chiefs in 2022, he only appeared in 12 games with 6 catches and 53 receiving yards. Injuries and an arrest for battery has all but shut the door on an NFL career.
Ross has no fantasy value in any format. It will be unlikely another team will add Ross to their 53 man roster to start the season. This does mean more reps for Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy and rookie Jalen Royals. With Rice recovering from injury, Worthy and Royals will have more opportunities to prove themselves. Royals will be a sneaky good late round choice in all formats.
Author: Jesse Baldwin @J_Baldwin51
With uncertainty at the wide receiver position, the Chiefs like what they have in rookie Jalen Royals.
On the surface, the Chiefs appear to have enough weapons for Patrick Mahomes. A more forensic look will identify just how tenuous their skill position players are heading into the 2025 season.
Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce is another year older and rising star Rashee Rice is coming off injury and potentially starting the season with a suspension. While Xavier Worthy came on late last season, it is easy to see how an injury or two could derail the Chiefs offense in 2025. This doesn’t even include the backfield which only added 7th round rookie Brashard Smith.
The Chiefs sneakily added wide receiver Jalen Royals from Utah State in the 4th round of the NFL Draft. Royals has a versatile skill set that has the Chiefs envisioning a duplicate role to Rashee Rice, particularly in the ability to generate yards after the catch. Should Rice get suspended, the Chiefs believe Royals can make an immediate impact.
Jalen Royals is 6’0’’ and 205 pounds and can run a 4.42 40-yard dash. In the FastDraft Origins Gamma tournament, Royals ADP is currently a 3rd round pick at 28 overall. Over on Underdog, Royals can be had at pick 200 in round 17. It is a great time to click on Jalen Royals in both formats before any bearish news presents itself for Rashee Rice or other Chiefs skill position players.
Author: Jeremiah Retzlaff (@coachretzlaff1)
The Chiefs select Jalen Royals in the 4th round.
The Kansas City Chiefs add to their wide receiver core as they select Jalen Royals from Utah State. The shift wide receiver will offer versatility that is needed in the Chiefs offense.
The Chiefs have been trying to replace the loss of Tyreek Hill for a few years now and have had differing results. Rashee Rice looked to be the next WR1 in Kansas City, but he was hurt for the season in week 4 and has a looming suspension into 2025. Xavier Worthy showed some flashes late in the season, but any injury or suspension would show to the lack of depth the Chiefs have.
With an aging Travis Kelce, adding Jalen Royals will help give Patrick Mahomes another much needed weapon. Royals looks to be a better best ball pick versus redraft as it will be difficult to know when to start Royals.
Author: Jeremiah Retzlaff (@coachretzlaff1)
