The first round of the 2024 NFL draft is shaping up to look a lot different for the two-time reigning defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Like all teams, Kansas City has a few holes it will need to fill, especially if it wants to become the first franchise to three-peat in the NFL. Unfortunately, following the uncertainty surrounding offensive weapon Rashee Rice, the Chiefs’ need at wide receiver is more of a concern than previously believed.
With Kansas City’s wide receiver room in much need of improvement, Field Yates has them selecting Xavier Leggett from South Carolina with the final selection of the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
To some on the outside, that move seems understandable and respectable. To others, not so much. However, during the NFL draft special, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter explained what is going on with Rice and why his legal troubles potentially concern the Chiefs’ front office.
“Let’s start with, obviously, there are major legal ramifications that he’s going to have to go through here, and we’ll see what the court system plays out [and] how the process plays itself out. But from an NFL standpoint, there’s the very real possibility that at this point in time, Rashee Rice is going to be facing discipline from the NFL, a multi-game suspension.
“So the Chiefs have to know that they can’t count on having them and that there’s the real possibility you were right that they’re going to lose him for multiple games, at the very least,” said Shefter. “Before that incident, the Chiefs already had a need at the wide receiver position. Now, you look at the idea that Rashee Rice may not be there for the start of the season, possibly longer, and you really need to upgrade that spot in addition to the offensive line.”
“Donovan Smith is a free agent; probably not gonna be back in Kansas City. They don’t have, right now, a left tackle that they can depend on, at this point in time. So there are some real holes for a defending two-time Super Bowl champ as they try to three-peat at wide receiver ended offensive tackle.”
The addition of former Baltimore Ravens first-round pick Marquise Hollywood Brown, who most recently played with the Arizona Cardinals, does help the Chiefs’ wide receiver needs. However, Brown was added well before Rice found himself in trouble over an accident he was involved in in his home state of Texas, which injured seven people.
Only time will tell what the severity of rice’s suspension will be. However, unfortunately for Kansas City, it only makes the possibility of them capturing a third straight Super Bowl victory that much more. I’m an impossible task love next season. But maybe the addition of Legette will help the chiefs much more than they anticipated.
More must-reads: