Rashee Rice making an impression on Patrick Mahomes

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When you’re a youngster entering your rookie season in the NFL, you are keen to make a good first impression.

The Chiefs Rashee Rice seems to have done that so far, as he’s currently second on the team regarding catches and receiving yards behind Travis Kelce,

Being new to the league, not only making an impression important but who you impress as well, and Rice has made a believer out of Patrick Mahomes.

The reigning NFL MVP coincidentally got a sneak peek at Rice’s talent before Rice became a Chief, as the two happened to be at an April training session together in Texas before the draft took place.

“From the second I got drafted, I thought about what I needed to do and what I wanted to do coming in,” Rice told Andscape during a phone interview Wednesday. “I didn’t just want to be part of the team. I’m trying to have an impact.”

Making an impact

Early into his NFL career, it seems that Rice is doing precisely that.

In the first six games of the regular season, Rice picked up 23 receptions for 245 yards and a pair of scores.

When they squared off with the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football, Rice made a terrific impression, posting a personal-best 72 yards receiving on four catches.

“It has been really cool to get opportunities and just kind of just get in the loop,” Rice said. “With this being my first year and being around so many vets who really know the offense, it’s good to know I’m developing in the offense quickly and gaining that trust. It’s progress, and we’re winning, which is the most important thing.”

For a team that is comfortably in front of the AFC West, though, there are plenty of question marks surrounding their depth in the pass-catching department outside of Kelce.

Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore were vital contributors to their Super Bowl run a season ago but have been relatively disappointing through the first six games.

Rice’s contributions, meanwhile, have not gone unnoticed by his head coach Andy Reid.

“He’s getting better every week,” Reid said. “He’s explosive, strong after the catch.”

Through the first six games of the 2023 campaign, Rice had 148 yards after the catch, just one fewer than Kelce.

That’s on par with what Rice did during his college football days at SMU, with 96 receptions for 1,355 yards (1 14.1-yard average per catch) and 10 touchdowns in 12 games.

With the combination of size and speed, the second-round pick has shown plenty of promise in the early stages of the new season.

When Rice and Mahomes met at that SMU training session, the receiver assumed he was going to be catching passes with his old backup quarterback Shane Buechele, while the Chiefs pivot was there getting some work in of his own.

Rice said: “Obviously, I wasn’t expecting him to be there. He was just working out that day, too. Pat was real cool. I got a chance to work with him, which was great.”

“He’s doing a great job of just being in the right spot at the right time … that’s the biggest thing,” Mahomes said.

From their initial encounter until now, the Mahomes-Rice connection could be the beginning of another beautiful Chiefs friendship.