The Kansas City Chiefs received some tough news on Thursday morning – albeit an update they should have expected – as Rashee Rice was sentenced to five years of probation and a 30-day jail sentence to be served at a time of his choosing. Now that a judge has officially sentenced Rice, the NFL is free to suspend him, and the precedent is not in the Chiefs' favor. It's fair to expect Rice to receive a ban of at least three games, if not more.
Most teams might be able to sustain a passing attack without their top wide receiver for a few weeks, but the Rice punishment could expose an area of the Chiefs roster they have failed to address in the last few years. As FanSided's Chris Landers wrote earlier Thursday, drafting wide receivers seems to be Brett Veach's only weakness:
"But effort is one thing. Results are very much another, and Veach has missed far more than he's hit at the position in recent years. Hardman, Moore and Toney never panned out the way the team hoped they would, and while Worthy made strides down the stretch of last season, he's not yet the sort of complete receiver who can anchor a team's passing game (a fact that Kansas City almost certainly was aware of when it drafted him)," Landers wrote.
Chiefs may need to trade for their next wide receiver solution
As Landers noted, the Chiefs have tried to select top-tier wide receivers early in the NFL Draft. Either something is off with their scouting, or they just have some tremendously bad luck. Even when KC traded for a wide receiver, Kadarius Toney imploded after just a few years in a system that should've helped his strengths.
Now, the Chiefs are in a familiar position. If they are to trade for a wide receiver, they should not waste draft capital they'll need next year in Pittsburgh for a player like Terry McLaurin or Jauan Jennings. They are too expense for a reason. However, someone like Romeo Doubs, who has been unhappy with his role for months and is causing headaches in Green Bay, is a cheap alternative and a wild card who could thrive in Kansas City under less pressure.
I cannot imagine Doubs costing the Chiefs more than a fifth-round pick, if that. He has plenty of potential, entering just his fourth year in the NFL. However, he hasn't accumulated more than 700 yards receiving in a single season. With Patrick Mahomes throwing to him, perhaps he'll fare even better, but for now the Packers cannot demand much in return.