Rashee Rice, SMU (6’2”, 203)
What Scouts Say:
Strong frame, positive height, and length. Looks the part. Makes defenders miss after the catch and has great ball skills. He runs good routes but comes from a spread offense that didn’t ask him to have a diverse route tree. Some scouts are concerned that when not in a spread he will have to learn how to succeed with less space around him. Slot guy with low ADOT, behind the pace of expected fantasy relevance, when you consider his age + production combination, but with the potential to be an outlier. A good short-yardage WR who won’t be asked to take the top off the defense. Great ball tracking and will make catches all over the place with his ball skills and body control. Not a long-speed type of guy. Thrives in the intermediate and projects as a possession guy at the next level. Needs a better release package to be a real difference-maker at the next level.
What We Saw:
Tony:
Rashee Rice is an interesting prospect in this class because his athletic profile and play style scream that he’s a possession receiver, but a lot of his college separation was schemed and he really struggles with holding onto the ball. Rice plays the 50/50 ball really well for his size, and boxes out defenders, and then fumbles constantly. I watched him fumble four times in three games. If he can work in short space (something he didn’t really put on tape in college), and hold onto the ball (something he really didn’t put on tape in college), he could be a solid possession guy. He’ll need some coaching on his route tree, but he does have potential; I just don’t see it strongly enough now to warrant high draft capital, either in real life or fantasy football.
Shane:
For as much hype as I’ve read on Rashee, I just don’t see it. He looks and plays a lot bigger than his senior bowl measurables(he’s 6’) so that is a plus. Physical player for sure, not afraid to run through a guy when he is given the chance, we love the DAWG. He has the ability to make guys miss after the catch, with a decent acceleration to create separation but high-end speed is run of the mill. Drop issues, but that isn’t a permanent flaw, it’s a temporary red flag but not a nuclear warning. Seems like a fine WR2 ceiling/WR3 baseline that can gain some traction as he gains more experience in The NFL, buy the dip next year if you’re a believer. I’ll take him in the late 2nd/early 3rd depending on the situation, but overall won’t be too bummed about not getting him with my higher seconds I have across leagues.
Player Comparison:
Zay Jones/Jakobi Meyers
