Even after four years of playing college football at a high level, Kansas City Chiefs rookie receiver Rashee Rice admitted that there’s nothing quite like playing in the NFL.
When asked about his biggest surprise and/or takeaway from Kansas City’s Week 1 preseason loss against the New Orleans Saints, Rice noted that it was playing against new faces that posed the biggest challenge.
“I would say – not necessarily a surprise – just being able to go against another team,” Rice said during Tuesday’s presser. “I’m used to being in college and knowing exactly who I’m about to go against, but in the NFL, you can only really just watch film and try to understand the person that you’re going to be able to compete against. There’s a lot of guys I’ve never seen before on the field that I got to be in front of.”
It’s indeed a different beast going up against NFL talent versus the competition Rice was used to at SMU, mostly against American Athletic Conference teams. Not only was Rice facing fellow rookies in the preseason – he was facing NFL veterans as well.
With all that in mind, Rice did a solid job in his preseason debut. He earned three catches for 30 yards on four targets and even notched a tackle on special teams. The rook still has a ways to go before he fully becomes acclimated to NFL defenses, but he seems to be tracking well so far.