Rookie Scouting Profile: Rashee Rice

FullTime Fantasy Rookie Scouting Profile: Rashee Rice

Rashee Rice (WR) SMU

Height	Weight	40-Time	DOB	NFL Draft	Dynasty ADP	NFL Comp
6-1	204	4.51	04/22/2000	Round 3-4	2.09	Roddy White

College Production

Rashee Rice was named to the District 8 all-first-team in 2017 after catching 39 passes for 768 yards and nine touchdowns for the Richland High Royals in North Richland Hills, Texas. Rice chose to stay in the lone star state and enroll at SMU over offers from Boise State, Virginia, BYU, and several Pac-12 programs. In his freshman campaign, Rice saw action in eight games, catching 25 balls for 403 yards and one score.

Beginning in 2020, Rice moved into the starting lineup and posted a 48-683-5 line. Was named to the 2021 Biltenikoff Award watch list and earned All-AAC honorable mention accolades after catching 64 of 79 targets for 670 yards and nine TDs. In his final season with the Mustangs, Rice made the All-AAC first team, AP All-American second team, was named a Biltenikoff semifinalist, and earned a Reese’s Senior Bowl invite after exploding for 96 grabs, 1344 yards (3rd in FBS), and 10 touchdowns.

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Strengths

• Good size/speed combo and an 86th percentile catch radius.

• Able to consistently create space and separation downfield.

• Tough competitor who will win in contested catch situations and make a lot of big plays downfield. Rice forced 19 missed tackles last season.

• In 2022, ranked top 10 in FBS with 3.05 yards per route run and had the second-most targets (156). Also boasted a massive 30.6% target share.

•95th percentile Burst Score of 133.7. Tested extremely well in Indy, posting a 96th percentile vert (41″), 92nd percentile 10-yard (1.49), and 89th percentile broad jump of 128″.

Concerns

• 9 drops in 2022 alone.

• Very limited experience running an NFL route tree.

• Transition from SMU’s spread attack and relative lack of elite competition could prevent Rice from gaining separation from stronger press corners in the NFL.

• Needs to improve feel for creating space and exploiting opening in zone coverage nearer the line of scrimmage.

Fantasy Outlook

Perusing Rashee Rice’s film is a mixed bag. On one hand, he looked dominant at times as an alpha option. However, it mostly came against lesser-quality opponents and there were times with lackadaisical effort and concentration drops that need to be cleaned up.

Still, he has a good combination of size, speed, and athleticism. Overall, Rice is fairly priced in rookie-only drafts but I would preach patience when it came to getting a good feel for his all-around NFL potential.

Rice has the potential to hear his name called on Day Two, which will make him fantasy-relevant as a late-round flier in redraft leagues. He also is a name to consider in the mid-to-late rounds of dynasty start-ups.