Chiefs Think Jalen Royals Is The Next Rashee Rice

Chiefs Think Jalen Royals Is The Next Rashee Rice

It’s safe to say the Chiefs are very high on their rookie wide receiver out of Utah State. Kansas City selected Royals in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and are already putting pretty high comps out there for him.

Chiefs director of player personnel Ryne Nutt said the name Rashee Rice, when speaking about Royals.

“His game is very similar to Rashee’s,’’ Nutt said, via Adam Teicher of ESPN. “He’s got big hands, strong hands, and he’s very good after the catch. [Run after the catch] is a big part of our offense. That’s something we look for in receivers. We look for speed. The kid had that 4.40 [40-yard dash at the scouting combine]. We look for strength, and he has that. Then we look for route running and that’s probably an area where Rashee had to kind of develop a little bit, so we kind of thought they were similar in that respect.’’

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If you have been paying attention to our site, you already know I’m not willing to go there for this. Rice was also taken in the second round, not the fourth round. I don’t hate, hate Royals, but I sure as hell don’t see Rice-level good stuff here. Here is the profile on Royals if you want to check that out.

If we’re being realistic, on the high end, this is insurance. Who knows when Rice is going to come back firing after his last knee injury? Royals may be asked sooner than expected for that reason to play a role.

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