Chiefs WRs Fantasy Outlooks: Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown

The Kansas City Chiefs’ receiving corps presents one of fantasy football’s most intriguing risk-reward scenarios heading into 2025. With Rashee Rice facing suspension uncertainty, Xavier Worthy poised for a breakout second season, and Hollywood Brown returning from injury, each player offers distinct opportunities at varying price points.

Rashee Rice Fantasy Outlook

Rashee Rice’s ADP continues to drop amid uncertainty surrounding his incoming suspension. The Chiefs’ star is now being drafted outside the top 24 players at the position and will likely fall further before the start of the season. Still, he does offer WR1 value when on the field and should be available for the first four games of the season, before returning for the fantasy playoffs.

In the fifth round, rosters with two star receivers and two star running backs can take a shot on Rice and would have a great chance to start 4-0, given the bonus WR1 production. The Chiefs’ star was the WR2 over the first three weeks of the 2024 season before getting hurt, and has had a full preseason to ramp up.

Players like Tetairoa McMillan, Isiah Pacheco, and Calvin Ridley are far safer bets, and they are being taken just after Rice. However, Travis Kelce, Baker Mayfield, and George Pickens are also being taken near Rice and will all be replaceable later in drafts.

None of those six players offers more upside than Rice when on the field, though, and getting the Chiefs receiver back for the fantasy playoffs would be a huge boost when it matters most. The risk with Rice is obvious, but you can win games without your fifth-round pick, and there’s no point making the playoffs if you don’t win the title. 

 – Cameron Sheath, Fantasy Football Analyst 

Xavier Worthy Fantasy Outlook

Is Xavier Worthy worthy of his ADP? I say yes. I’m even surprised he hasn’t seen his stock skyrocket like other Chiefs weapons have in the past. That makes his price of ~WR23 in the Courtland Sutton, DeVonta Smith, Rashee Rice range very appealing to me. 

Worthy stepped into a tough situation last year after Rashee Rice was injured. With TE Travis Kelce aging and WR Hollywood Brown hurt early as well, Worthy had to speed up his development and play multiple roles as the offense needed them. The result was a solid rookie season, with only 638 receiving yards and nine total touchdowns with the added rushing work. 

XAVIER WORTHY, WELCOME TO THE NFL 🤯

1ST-CAREER TD.

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/AnHYFVR2OB

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 6, 2024

Now entering year two, Rice is likely to be suspended, Kelce is older, and Brown is hurt again. While the rest of the Chiefs’ weapons continue to swirl in uncertainty, Worthy should only improve heading into his second year. 

Better yet, I’d expect the Chiefs to become more aggressive in passing the ball. After a detour of a ground-and-pound and defensive play style, signs have pointed to Kansas City wanting to return to a more explosive offense.

That leaves Worthy as the primary beneficiary, as the others have questions. Add in Andy Reid’s creative usage of Worthy and his game-breaking speed, and he should be one of the higher ceiling players on a weekly basis.

– Mason LeBeau, Fantasy Football Analyst

Hollywood Brown Fantasy Outlook

This is a sneaky play for deeper leagues and someone to keep an eye out for on waivers in competitive leagues. I wouldn’t expect the world from Hollywood Brown, who missed most of last season due to injury, but that’s made the masses forget that he’s a capable player. Attached to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense, I believe they’ll return to a more aggressive passing attack in 2025. 

Brown won’t unseat Rashee Rice or Xavier Worthy, but he should play a more traditional role than the latter while the former awaits a suspension as he also returns from injury. Brown may even directly fill in Rice’s role while he’s gone.

I’d also assume the team will limit TE Travis Kelce’s targets and snaps to keep him as fresh as possible throughout the season. That means for at least a portion of the season, Brown could be their most traditional receiving option. 

That doesn’t make him a season-long play unless things really go wrong — he may not even expand past a usable FLEX/WR2 option for your team. But he makes an excellent upside play and could potentially work into both a reliable option for the Chiefs and a worthy bench/bye week option for you. Considering his cost, it doesn’t hurt to kick the tires. 

– Mason LeBeau, Fantasy Football Analyst