Is Rashee Rice A Good Fantasy Football Pickup For Week 7? Waiver Wire Outlook

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice was the 55th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Rice had an impressive college career, totaling 233 receptions for 3,111 yards and 25 touchdowns in four years at SMU. Furthermore, he finished second in the American conference with 10 receiving touchdowns last season.

More importantly, the former Mustang star was a popular sleeper candidate entering the year because the Chiefs lack a proven go-to wide receiver on the roster. After trading away Tyreek Hill during the 2022 offseason and losing JuJu Smith-Schuster in free agency this year, Kansas City didn’t add a veteran wide receiver before Week 1.

However, the rookie has played well this season. Rice has 21 receptions on 28 targets for 245 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He is second on the team in every category, only behind Travis Kelce.

• Quarterback fantasy football rankings
• Running back fantasy football rankings
• Wide receiver fantasy football rankings
• Tight end fantasy football rankings
• Kicker fantasy football rankings
• FLEX fantasy football rankings
• Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
• Superflex fantasy football rankings
• IDP fantasy football rankings
• Dynasty fantasy football rankings

What Did Rashee Rice Accomplish In Week 6?

The former SMU star had a solid performance on Thursday night against the Denver Broncos. Rice caught all four targets for 72 receiving yards, scoring 9.2 half-point PPR fantasy points in the win. He finished Week 6 as the WR34.

Is Rashee Rice A Good Fantasy Football Pickup For Week 7?

Rice is available in nearly 70% of ESPN and 55% of Yahoo leagues. Why fantasy players haven’t been more aggressive in adding the rookie wide receiver is puzzling. The former SMU star has two of the top four highest receiving totals by a Kansas City wide receiver this season.

Furthermore, Rice has significant upside for the rest of the year. The rookie is the top-scoring fantasy wide receiver on the team. Yet, he’s been a part-time player.

According to Fantasy Points Data, Rice is seventh on the team in routes run (78) and fifth in air-yards share (11.5%). However, he has a 36% target per route run rate, the highest among wide receivers on the team. More importantly, it is the same rate as Kelce.

Meanwhile, Rice faces the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 7. They have surrendered 38 fantasy points per game to wide receivers this season, the most in the NFL. The Chargers have given up at least 30 fantasy points and one touchdown to wide receivers in all but one game this year. Rice is a must-add in all leagues this week.

More Fantasy Football Analysis