Rashee Rice was already coming off a brutal knee injury, making the waters a bit murky on his fantasy football value to begin with.
Now, the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver is looking at a multi-game suspension for his role in a multi-car accident, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
In the fantasy football world, that’s a whole lot of uncertainty for the player expected to be Patrick Mahomes’ top wide receiver.
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Rashee Rice fantasy update after suspension news
As of Thursday morning, Rice was going off the board as the No. 18 WR, according to FantasyPros ADP data.
That will surely start to drop, although how far will depend on his suspension length.
Rice could turn into a value play if he falls outside the top-35 or so.
If you’re drafting and get three WRs before Rice is gone, and you can stash him on the bench for a while until he’s back, that has the potential to be a winning move.
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How Rashee Rice’s looming suspension impacts Xavier Worthy, Jalen Royals, Marquise Brown
Expect Worthy’s ADP to rise from his current spot at No. 28.
A speedy No. 1 WR for Mahomes, even in a short window of time, is worth selecting up closer to the likes of Marvin Harrison Jr. (WR19).
The talented rookie Royals is the sleeper here. He’s all the way down at WR89 in the FantasyPros ADP data.
Even with Rice healthy, Royals deserves to go more like WR62, which is currently Raiders rookie Jack Bech. Royals is in a better spot to succeed than Bech is.
Hollywood Brown feels like he might not have ability left in him, but he’s going off the board at WR59 and will probably slide up 10 spots or so if Worthy indeed is going to miss two or more games. Don’t feel like you have to take Brown, though. Target Royals much later on.
How Patrick Mahomes’ fantasy value is impacted by Rashee Rice news
The problem with Mahomes isn’t Rice’s news. It’s that he’s fallen off his perch of a fantasy football sure thing.
He’s currently going as QB6 in the FantasyPros ADP data, behind Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Jayden Daniels, Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurts.
The four QBs right behind Mahomes are Baker Mayfield, Bo Nix, Kyler Murray and Caleb Williams.
It feels like a fair spot for Mahomes, but it’s not an immense value there. He has proven he can adjust in real-life actions to safer plays that still win games, but don’t necessarily win fantasy matchups.
If you aren’t taking one of those top few QBs, it’s fine to pass on Mahomes and pursue the position much later, like Justin Herbert, C.J. Stroud, Jordan Love and Drake Maye, who are currently going as QBs 15-18.
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