2023 NFL Draft: Rashee Rice - SMU Wide Receiver

       

Rashee Rice - SMU

Strengths:

1. Contested Catches - His contested catches are the most impressive in the business. His athleticism, concentration, and ability to bring in any ball away from his body while leaping, diving, or dragging his feet along the sideline makes him the best there is.

2. Extended Catches - Despite having many easy drops on his tape, he rarely fails to pull in difficult catches. His one handed catches in traffic are among the most impressive plays in all of college football, and he does it enough to know it is not a fluke.

3. Competitiveness - Rice always goes for the block, attempts diving catches, and will fight his way through contact whenever he gets the chance. He plays with a ton of heart, and will do anything in his power to make the most out of every play.

Weaknesses:

1. Separation - While a broad weakness, Rice really does not manufacture his own separation regardless of coverage type.

2. Route Variance - His route tree, speed, and acceleration are all unimpressive. He has alleged 4.36 speed, but needs to learn how to use it on the field. His lack of varying speed throughout the route stem allows corners to dependably blanket him anywhere on the field.

3. Explosiveness - He needs a couple of steps to really accelerate, and does not have elite stop-start ability in the open field.

Grade: Late Second

While he is a risk to take in the second given his inability to reliably separate, he is an enticing prospect who will have grades varying significantly from team to team.

Pro Comparison: Denzel Mims

Rice has more competitiveness and is better at the catch point, but Mims had more route variance.

Film Notes:

UCF (10/05/2022): 12-122-0

No fancy footwork in open field. Clean release. Slow acceleration after curl. Fumble. Used as gadget, but needs two steps to accelerate. Good footwork on comeback. Decent linear acceleration from strong stance. Aggressive blocker, but lacks form. Too many steps on pivot will allow corner to adjust. Decent open field agility after catch, but nothing special. Limited route tree so far. Crosses corner's hips. Dropped easy pass. Incredible one handed contested catch out of bounds. Looks extremely comfortable catching away from body despite dropped pass off his chest. Second drop. Good catch in traffic behind LOS. Blanketed downfield over center. Rounded route over middle. Great concentration with defenders around him. No separation down sideline. Locked up corner on block with poor technique. Good footwork on pivot. Plays with a lot of heart. Basic route tree from the outside most of the game. Could not pull away from tight press, and is not accustomed to finding the soft spot in the zone over the middle.

Houston ( 11/05/2022): 9-86-2

Not the best RAC. Does not pick up extra yards after contact. Blown coverage on deep touchdown as a result of miscommunication stemming from play design. He is quick down the sideline, but the route was nothing special. Very quick pivots. Good mid route acceleration. Great at finding the hole underneath. Quick feet on stutters. Missed block inline that did not end up mattering. Can pivot quickly from full speed. Open for the touchdown for the same reason as earlier. Good feel for mid route moves based on what the defense gives him. Too many steps to decelerate, slowing down the route and decreasing separation at the catch point. Gets wrapped up easily in open space. Defense cannot stop this very simple route that has given Hyatt almost all of his production this game.

Maryland (09/17/2022): 11-193-0

Uses body well to gain advantage in contested catch situations. Quick out of break from slot, but not overly explosive. No separation, but incredible contested catch into double coverage. Concentration in contested catch situations is unparalleled. Best looking route yet, with outside push to turn the corner the wrong way. Lacks sudden burst to make the most of it, but was still effective. Contested catch monster. Diving catch. Does not vary route speed to pull away. Comfortable catching away from his body.

Attributes (Grade/10):

Separation	Short	4
	Medium	4.5
	Deep	1.5

Short: There are a couple of jabs throughout his tape that are rather effective, but Rice cannot consistently turn the defender's hips. His stutter attempts from the slot usually are not effective, and he does not sit all that well in zone underneath.

Medium: His single step cuts and footwork on pivots are usually effective. He does not vary his speed throughout the route and is not explosive out of breaks, frequently playing taller than he should. This makes him easy to stick with throughout a route. His lack of refined route running in combination with a rather small route tree for someone who lines up everywhere keeps this grade below a 5/10. With his speed and athleticism, any good coach should be able to help him significantly in this area.

Deep: He does not pull away from corners despite his alleged 4.36 speed. This grade would be excellent if it was deep ball success with his contested catch ability, but he usually has contact throughout the duration of his deep routes.

Release	Stance	9
	Acceleration	6
	Hip Control	5

Stance: Slightly wide base at times limiting burst from line, but usually little wasted movement.

Acceleration: His second step is usually where he derives most of his power. He lacks initial burst that would be expected from a 4.3 athlete, but it is still decent both linearly and laterally.

Hip Control: Rice typically plays higher than he should. He has the ability to sink and rotate his hips as seen occasionally on his pivots, but he needs to improve his fluidity off the line.

Hands	Catch Reliability	6
	Catch Radius	9.5
	Contested Catch	10

Catch Reliability: Nine drops on the season. Many of his drops were easy passes right to the chest.

Catch Radius: Diving and leaping catches are just natural for Rice. The only reason this is not a 10/10 is because he is 6'2" and not a couple of inches taller.

Contested Catch: His 48.5% contested catch rate is misleading because many of his unsuccessful attempts on rather poor throws. Rice is among the best there is at the catch point, and will certainly have highlight worthy plays at the next level. While contested catch guys usually are not quite as successful in the NFL against stronger and lankier outside corners, there is not much Rice could have done differently on tape to better show his strength, body contortion, and concentration at the catch point.

RAC	Athleticism	9
	Agility	6
	Contact Balance	3.5

Athleticism: If he shows better burst and hip fluidity, this could be a 10. Rice just appears as a natural athlete on the field with his body control, speed, and ability at the catch point.

Agility: There are flashes of lateral quickness throughout his tape, but agility is not a primary strength.

Contact Balance: 18 missed tackles forced is decent, but not as much so considering the amount of open field opportunities he had on 96 receptions. He rarely broke through tackles, and extended arms slowed him down more than they should have.

Blocking	Technique	5
	Willingness	10

Technique: Awful technique in most instances, flailing about and getting in the way when needed. There are reps with accidental good form, so a 5/10 is reasonable.

Willingness: Rice will always try to block, even when it may not be completely necessary.

Coverage	Press	3
	Off	4

Press: Tight press is his biggest weakness in terms of gaining separation. He rarely turns the defender's hips on his own, but has flashed the ability to do so a couple of times throughout the season. If he works on keeping his hips low and some basic footwork, he should improve quickly. He is better into soft press because he can use his speed out of a one-step cut to maintain a step on the corner.

Off: He is usually picked up, but his footwork on pivots is typically cleaner than his footwork on other routes. This allows him a second or so to sit in open space regardless of how well he can recognize soft spots in the defense. He does not gain separation downfield against off-coverage.

Full Report:

Rice may be the most fun receiver to watch in this class. His ability to win at the catch point is uncanny, and his one handed catches in traffic are wildly impressive. He is great at using his body to gain a positional advantage over his opponent, and can do so from the slot or out wide. He is a natural athlete who makes every reception look easy, despite his 8.6% drop rate in 2022. He has the raw skill and traits to easily be a day two pick, but there are glaring concerns throughout his tape. While his highlight reel is undeniably impressive with his ability to make contested catches away from his body, he is a scary prototype to draft in the first two rounds. He has a limited effective route tree, and will likely be more of a contested catch guy in the NFL. He may make a solid WR2 and red zone threat, but his lack of separation, varying speeds throughout route stem, and explosiveness out of breaks are frequently observed among athletic receivers who end up less successful in the NFL. He is certainly worth a shot on day two, but lacks the route running capabilities to be a successful X right off the bat. With his speed and athleticism, he could develop into something special, but he has yet to show any ability to separate on tape. This leaves him with a grade of a late second, although it could easily drift one way or the other depending on how much teams covet certain traits. He should likely be viewed more as a situation weapon and project upon entering the NFL. He can be used in the red zone right off the bat, but will need a lot of one-on-one coaching to overcome the bad habits he has developed in his route running. If he can learn to sink his hips, read the defense, implement more effective false moves, and burst out of breaks like his athleticism indicates that he can, Rice may actually become a great X receiver for the NFL. If he does not get adequate attention or is not able to refine this important part of his game, then he is more likely to bust than most of the other more twitchy receivers in this class.

NFL Projection:

Rice will likely be drafted in the second round, and end up becoming a fine second or third option for a team amassing some highlight-reel worthy touchdowns throughout his rookie campaign.