Sidney Rice

After a breakout season with the Vikings in 2009, Rice simply hadn't been able to stay healthy – until last year. While Rice saw only 82 targets, he played all 16 games, averaged 9.1 YPT (13th among the league's 55 80-target WR) and scored seven touchdowns. Rice also had 11 catches of 20-plus yards and two for 40-plus, despite limited opportunities, so he can still make plays down the field. At 6-4, 203 and with good ball skills, Rice also makes a nice red-zone target though he converted only three of his 13 chances for touchdowns there last year. In sum, so long as Rice stays healthy, he'll likely produce when the team calls his number. Unfortunately, that might not be too often with Percy Harvin now in the fold and Marshawn Lynch still anchoring the offense.

After a hip injury limited Rice to just six games in 2010, a shoulder injury and two concussions last year cut short his season after nine. He wound up having offseason surgery on both shoulders, though he is expected to be completely healthy for the start of training camp. The Seahawks have big possession-target Mike Williams (assuming he makes it back from a broken left ankle) and a small, quick slot type in Doug Baldwin. But at 6-4, 203, and with good quickness for his height, Rice is the player with the size and athleticism to operate down field and in the red zone. The Seahawks acquired tight end Kellen Winslow this offseason, but they virtually ignored the position in the passing game for the second year in a row last season, so Winslow probably won't take much, if anything, away from Rice. With newly signed Matt Flynn the favorite to win the quarterback, the Seahawks could evolve into more of a downfield passing team this season, something that could benefit Rice.

After a 2009 breakout, Rice suffered a hip injury in the NFC Playoffs that lingered 10 weeks into last season. When Rice returned, he showed flashes of his old form (he had a 105-yard, two-TD game against the Bills in Week 13) but missed another game with a concussion. Rice's per-play numbers (in a 43-target sample) dropped off the table (6.7 YPT), though his robust 16.5 catch average shows it was a problem getting the ball (40 percent catch rate) rather than being productive with it. Considering the sample size and that Rice was playing mostly with the likes of Joe Webb and Tarvaris Jackson, we can largely write that issue off. Instead of re-upping with the Vikings, Rice agreed to a monster five-year, $41 million contract with the Seahawks, which guaranteed him $18.5 million. Interestingly, the Seahawks were also the team that landed Tavaris Jackson, which means Rice is already familiar with his starting quarterback, despite the new team. But regardless of who his quarterback is, Rice is a 6-4, 203-pound deep threat with good quickness for his height and the ability to function in the red zone.

With Bernard Berrian installed as the deep threat, Percy Harvin drafted in the first round and Adrian Peterson set to return as the offensive centerpiece, Rice was expected to play a bit part in the Vikings attack. But that’s because no one counted on Brett Favre playing at a Pro Bowl level and making Rice his favorite target. Rice was more than up to the task, leading all 100-target receivers with 10.8 yards per target. His 69-percent catch rate was third best, behind possession specialists Wes Welker and Hines Ward. But Rice’s was compiled while averaging 15.8 yards per catch. Rice isn’t a true burner, but at 6-4, 203, he moves well for someone his height and is able to beat smaller defensive backs down field — his seven catches of 40 yards or more tied him with Randy Moss and Steve Smith for fifth in the league. The Vikings looked to Rice a fair amount from in close (22 red-zone looks, 10 from inside the 10), but he had to share work in that area of the field with tight end Visanthe Shiancoe (also 10 targets from inside the 10). The good news is that Favre was third in the NFL with 41 inside-the-10 attempts. The bad news is Favre might not return for 2010, and in that case, the Vikings might once again be Adrian Peterson’s team. The bottom line — Rice turned the corner in his third season to establish himself as a legitimate No. 1 target. But unless Favre returns, it’s hard to see Rice having quite the same chemistry or efficiency with the other quarterbacks currently on the roster.

After spraining his PCL in 2008, Rice hopes to rebound from 15 catches, 141 yards in 13 games in '08. Rice currently is listed as the second right side wide receiver behind Bobby Wade. He will compete with rookie Percy Harvin for the slot receiver position. Rice is always a red zone threat, but do not expect big numbers from him in 2009 with the addition of Percy Harvin and the Vikings run based offense.

Were Rice on a team more capable of passing and less committed to the run, he'd have more upside in his second season. As it stands, the Vikings have to throw the ball sometimes, and we expect both Rice and newly signed Bernard Berrian to split most of the wideout targets. At 6-3, 208 (after adding eight pounds of muscle in the offseason), and with good speed, excellent leaping ability and reliable hands, Rice is ideally suited to catching jump balls in the end zone, and should the Vikings find nine men in the box on Adrian Peterson near the goal line, they could get Rice some looks from in close (Berrian only saw 18 red-zone targets in two years combined as a starter in Chicago).

We wanted to pick one Vikings receiver, and we couldn’t pull the trigger on possession journeymen Bobby Wade or Billy McMullen. Troy Williamson’s looked lost during his first two seasons, and we don’t buy that his work with vision specialists this offseason is going to fix the problem. That leaves the rookie, Rice, a second-round draft pick, who will compete with the aforementioned mediocrities for looks. Second-year quarterback Tarvaris Jackson isn’t going to be mistaken for Carson Palmer, but Minnesota’s going to rack up 2,400 passing yards at minimum, and they’ve got to go to someone. Rice has decent speed, stands 6-3 and can leap. He’s got excellent hands and excels in the red zone.