‘Confident’ Brenden Rice claims his dad Jerry Rice wants him to prove other teams wrong for passing on him
Rice claimed his dad Jerry Rice was 'very hot' when other teams kept passing on him as he fell down to the seventh round.
Chargers wide receiver Brenden Rice with father and Hall of Famer Jerry Rice (Image via IMAGO)
Brenden Rice was anxious during his draft day. After attending his best friend’s funeral, the young wide receiver was sitting patiently for the phone call that would change his life.
That call came from the Los Angeles Chargers in the seventh round. Despite the apparent relief, Rice was frustrated because of the massive drop-down.
However, the former USC starter wasn’t the only one fuming that day. His father, Hall of Famer and arguably the best receiver in NFL history, Jerry Rice, was visually annoyed by teams passing on Brenden.
At the end of the Chargers rookie mini-camp, Rice revealed that his father “was hot” on the day of the draft. After the Chargers formally announced that they were selecting Brenden, his dad had a message for him.
Time to go to work. I will be with you every step of the way. I will be involved with all your workouts from now on. We’ve got a lot of people to prove wrong.Brenden Rice revealed his father’s words at the Chargers’ rookie minicamp
Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh could make Rice Jr. his No. 1 receiver in the coming season. He will have free rein after the departure of veteran Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears and Mike Williams to the New York Jets.
To partner Rice up-front, Harbaugh added former Panther DJ Chark Jr. They also took Georgia’s Ladd McConkey in the second round as well.
Brenden Rice is looking forward to receiving passes from Justin Herbert
Maybe dropping down to the seventh wasn’t so bad after all for Brenden Rice. He will have less competition for the receiver spot than other franchises and receive passes from Justin Herbert.
Rice told ESPN.com that he was eager to start in the NFL.
I'm in the best position possible to go ahead and make my mark on and make my own legacy. I went from Caleb Williams to Justin Herbert and I'm in a room that's going to allow me to compete day in and day out.Brenden Rice said
The 22-year-old could prove to be an asset for Harbaugh’s team. He loves to have physical players on the front lines. With Rice’s 6 foot 3, 208-pound stature, Herbert can target him with deep balls. 7 of his 12 touchdowns during the 2023 season for USC were on vertical routes.
However, when asked whether training with his dad will help him in any way, Rice Jr. claimed that they may be related, but he doesn’t exactly model his playstyle on him. He believes that both of them are neck and neck, but he is much faster down the ground.
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Ishan Misra
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