Chiefs' Mahomes Explains 'Patrick Friendly' Term amid WR Rashee Rice's Emergence

Grasping the finer nuances of playing alongside Patrick Mahomes is what may have powered Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice to his best performance of the season in Week 12.

The 2023 second-round pick caught eight passes for 107 yards and a touchdown in the 31-17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Head coach Andy Reid explained how Rice is becoming more "Patrick friendly" in reference to the star quarterback:

Mahomes weighed in with his own definition of "Patrick friendly" and said it's broadly about "how you work."

"If guys continue to work and continue to practice, and I get a feel for how they run routes and a feel for how they're seeing stuff on the football field, it just makes my job easier," he told reporters. "Guys have done that throughout my career, and [Rice] has done a great job of that in Year 1, which doesn't happen a lot of times with receivers.

"The goal for him now is to keep working, keep getting better, don't be satisfied with where he's at and hopefully get him more bigger games as his career goes on."

The bill is finally coming due for the Chiefs after they traded Tyreek Hill ahead of the 2022 season. They lack a true No. 1 wideout and their 26 combined dropped passes are the most in the NFL.

Using a second-round pick on Skyy Moore hasn't paid off yet, and it has become clear there's only so much Mahomes can do to elevate replacement-level receivers.

It's obviously too early to say Rice is fully inheriting the mantle Hill left behind, but perhaps he's turning a corner and emerging as the steady target Mahomes has lacked behind Travis Kelce.