EGE, or "everybody gotta eat," has been the humorous rally cry for the return of Rashee Rice. While the nickname is fun and catchy, it might not be the most accurate description of the Chiefs' offense with Rice. Through three games last year, Rice was on pace for a staggering 164 targets on the season, which would be more than any player had in the league last year, including triple crown winner Ja'Marr Chase.
While that pace might not have been sustainable, the offense was very clearly centered around Rashee Rice last year. Now, as he returns to the Chiefs' offense after a 385-day absence, a lot has changed, and the Chiefs have to figure out how to best include him.
When Rice started coming into his own in his rookie year, the offensive skill players were a major weakness of the roster. Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, Justin Watson, Richie James, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling made up the WR corps. Now, he comes back to perhaps the best WR room Patrick Mahomes has had in his career.
For aura reasons- I’m going to need a photo like this from the Chiefs WR corps this week.. pic.twitter.com/aykY3yISE6
— Price Carter (@priceacarter) October 15, 2025
Chiefs Kingdom got to see three games of Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice together, but those were Worthy’s first career games. He’s obviously a much different player now, and his role in the offense has changed. Hollywood Brown has put together his best stretch as a Chief and has never been on the field with Rice. Tyquan Thornton has been a revelation for the Chiefs’ offense and has been a major part of the Chiefs pushing the ball downfield at their highest rate since 2018.
Finding the best roles for the Chiefs’ skill players might not be as easy as sticking Rashee Rice into JuJu’s role—especially when you factor in the resurgence of Travis Kelce this year and the Chiefs’ growth in under-center snaps this season, which is helping the running game. How can the Chiefs make all of the pieces fit together for this offense to reach its full potential? How can the offense make the most out of its improved protection this year as well?
It starts with the perception that the Chiefs have players who are "slot-only" receivers. Keep in mind that the slot is not necessarily a singular position on the field or one that can’t be replicated. Oftentimes, those who win best out of the slot do so because of the free release off the line of scrimmage that it creates. If the Chiefs run lots of empty sets (five receivers in the formation), they can have two functioning slots. That’s not including motion and stacks as other creative ways to get receivers free releases.
As for versatility, Rashee Rice took the majority of his snaps out wide in 2024. In 2025, both Worthy and Brown have taken the majority of their snaps out wide. All three can win from the boundary and the slot—it’s just a matter of using them at the correct time in that role.
Chiefs already have #EGE but call my man Tyquan Thornton Waffle House-cause he's always open©️ pic.twitter.com/Z4uUvhZgMK
— Price Carter (@priceacarter) September 24, 2025
What’s exciting about the Chiefs’ offense is that they have so many ways to scare a defense. If the defense wants to crash down on the short and intermediate passing game, the Chiefs have deep speed with Thornton and Worthy to throw the ball right over the defense’s head.
In the same breath, if the defense wants to put a shell on and play deep coverage, the Chiefs can just carve up the space underneath with Rice and Kelce. Hollywood Brown has been best in the intermediate field as a move-the-chains pass catcher. However, it feels like the Chiefs’ pass catcher most likely to lose snaps should be JuJu Smith-Schuster, as his role is most similar to Rice’s. Instead, it seems to be Thornton who has seen a decrease in snaps since Xavier Worthy’s return.
Despite Worthy’s reputation as a speed threat, we’ve already seen more downfield chemistry from Thornton and Mahomes. Worthy’s role might be best suited to some of what we saw from Mecole Hardman at his best, where he could be a wild card at the line of scrimmage but also threaten deep. While Thornton and Worthy have both shown downfield skills, it should be mentioned that Brown has a reputation as a speed threat, and even Rashee Rice has shown the ability to be a vertical threat.
Mahomes ➡️ Rice, what a connection!
📺: #CINvsKC on CBS/Paramount
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/5jkq5qhePc
— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
With the return of Rashee Rice, the most important thing is that the Chiefs’ offense continues to push the ball down the field. For Rice to be the best version of himself, defenses need to fear the downfield passing game, especially since the Chiefs seem to actually have the pass protection to hold up down the field. It’s a good problem to have, but at this point, a rookie like Jalen Royals is likely getting a redshirt year if all the options remain healthy and on the field. The Chiefs’ offense has a chance to be the best we’ve seen since 2018; they just have to figure out how to best utilize it.