On Monday, Kansas City Chiefs Director of Player Personnel/College Scouting Ryne Nutt shared his thoughts on the results of the 2025 NFL Draft. He opened up about each of Kansas City’s selections, including wide receiver Jalen Royals, who reminds him of current standout Rashee Rice.
“First off, his (Jalen Royals) game is very similar to Rashee’s (Rice). Where you watch a kid who lines up primarily on the left side, that’s how some offenses in college work, they want to go fast, so they’ll have the receiver line up on the same side every time to do that.” said Nutt, “So, you’re wondering, ‘Alright, he’s always playing on the left side, is he going to be able to move around?’ and he does, he plays outside but he primarily plays inside in the slot. When I say he’s like Rashee in terms, he’s got big hands, strong hands, and he’s very good after the catch. You saw him downfield too on some of those clips, I’m sure you saw him and the kid had what, 15 plus touchdowns in 2023? He was on pace in 2024 to kind of smash the 2023 production before he got injured so we thought – RAC (Run After Catch) is a big part of our offense, that’s something we look for in receivers, we look for speed, the kid had that, 4.40 (40-yard dash), we look for strength, he has that, he’s got RAC and then we look for route running and that’s probably an area where Rashee had to kind of develop a little bit, so we kind of thought they were similar in that respect.”
In 2024, Royals was named second-team All-Mountain West. He led Utah State with 55 receptions, 834 receiving yards, and tallied six touchdowns while starting seven games. The scouting department can see a future with Rice and Royals sharing the field in Kansas City, making him an intriguing selection.
“He came on the scene, we watched his tape before the Senior Bowl, (General Manager) Brett (Veach) will kind of pick guys that you pick and choose, and we’re like, ‘Hey, this guy’s kind of interesting.’ Then, he goes to the Senior Bowl, and we thought he did well, so he got even more on the radar.” said Nutt “Then, he goes to the Combine and runs a 4.40, you know what I mean, and he jumps a 36 (inch broad jump) and we’re like, ‘Oh, this kid’s explosive.’ Then, you get the kind of coaches involved and we Zoom him, and we talk and we’re like, ‘Yeah, we could use this kid.’ With Rashee coming back from injury and trying to get right, the hopes are this kid can step in and try to get some playing time and help us out.”
Rice is expected to be healthy in time for the new season, and Royals will be looking to stay healthy after missing time in college due to a foot injury.
