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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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Rashee Rice has yet to participate in live drills with the Kansas City Chiefs as he continues recovering from offseason arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, and one rookie wide receiver has made the most of the opportunity: fifth-rounder Cyrus Allen.
The Athletic's Jesse Newell reported that Allen made an impressive one-handed grab from Patrick Mahomes during 11-on-11s on Friday and followed that up by pulling in a contested catch deep along the sideline, noting that Allen has "become Mahomes' favorite target so far."
Pete Sweeney of the Kansas City Star echoed that sentiment, reporting that it appears Mahomes is "looking Allen’s way every time he’s out there," further cementing Allen's status as the veteran QB's top target through the early part of camp.
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Rice has been slowly ramping up his workload, but still isn't practicing with the team. Allen has taken full advantage, using the reps to establish a strong rapport with Mahomes.
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Allen was selected in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft after a standout senior season at Cincinnati, where he racked up 674 yards and 13 receiving touchdowns — the most of any player in the Big 12 — earning second-team All-Big 12 honors. Rice may be sidelined, but Allen's emergence as a go-to target ahead of names like Xavier Worthy, Tyquan Thornton, and Jalen Royals says a lot about where things currently stand.
Rice remains one of the league's most explosive weapons, but he's struggled to stay on the field due to injuries and issues away from football. Worthy himself missed multiple games last season with an injury of his own. That's left the door wide open for someone else to step up for a team that, right now, needs consistency and reliability at the receiver position more than anything else.
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Mahomes is working his way back from a torn ACL and LCL, and anything the players around him can do to make his job easier will be critical for the Chiefs' bounce-back push in 2026.
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