Chicago Bears Senior Bowl Scouting: Rashee Rice
The Chicago Bears have Luke Getsy coaching at the Senior Bowl, so he will get to see plenty of prospects up closer in a rare opportunity. One player to keep an eye on will be wide receiver Rashee Rice.
After slowing coming along during his first two seasons, Rice put up nine touchdowns as a junior, then has over 1,300 yards as a Senior. With an invite to the Senior Bowl, what does Rashee Rice bring?
Chicago Bears Scouting Rashee Rice
The best strength for Rashee Rice is when the football is in his hands. The team will run screens sweeps, slants, and any type of short passing that can get him the ball in his hands. Rice does a nice job of creating forward momentum as he catches the football.
After the catch, he was elusive and tough. At times he has shown to have a solid ability to track the football in the air, and he takes blocking seriously, which will obviously help the Chicago Bears.
Rice can move in and out of the slot, has versatility downfield and in the quick game, and is an interesting chess piece to add to an offense.
Some of the questions with Rahsee Rice come from just how extended his route tree is. The offense he ran did not ask for much, so there are questions. Beyond that, he can get ahead of himself at times, and when he is thinking of creating, he will drop the ball.
Rice has enough size and ball tracking, but there is not a lot of contested catch situations where he wins strength and his hands down the football field.
Where Rahsee Rice would fit Chicago Bears
Rice would be a nice fit with the Chicago Bears. Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool both have slot versatility, so adding another piece allows all three to move into every spot on the field. This is what Luke Getsy wants.
As we noted, his blocking checks another box. The Chicago Bears were definitely missing someone who could create after the catch, and when you figure that Mooney and Claypool will do most of their work downfield, Rice can soak up the quick targets that keep defenses guessing.
He is essentially what many wanted Velus Jones to be, but he is much more of a receiver and not a return man.
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An aggregate of mock drafts has him going in the mid-40s. The Chicago Bears pick 54. If he does fall to 54, it would be about the perfect time to take him. This is a name that may only gain more buzz as a tie to the Chicago Bears after the Senior Bowl.