49ers Legend Jerry Rice Had Strong Reaction To Son’s Draft Position

Brenden Rice was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in the seventh round of the NFL Draft late last month, and his father, San Francisco 49ers legend Jerry Rice, was not happy about it.

Not that Rice was upset about his son being drafted. That had to be an amazing moment for him. He was merely angry over how far Brenden had slipped.

“My dad was hot,” Brenden Rice said, via Kris Rhim of ESPN. “You guys get the flash like … the humble dude, right? Me, he’s like, ‘Hell no, we’re going to take this to a different level. These guys going to feel us.'”

Brenden was also disappointed by his draft position, but he is also grateful as he heads into his NFL career.

“I’m in the best position possible to go ahead and make my mark on and make my own legacy,” he said. “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.”

He also isn’t making any excuses.

“Everything’s upon me, so if you guys don’t see me coming fall, that’s on me,” said Brenden. “And if you guys see me out there, then I put in the necessary work to put my best foot in the door and go out there and produce.”

Rice began his collegiate career at the University of Colorado in 2020 and spent two years there before transferring to USC in 2022.

The 22-year-old broke out in his first season with the Trojans, catching 39 passes for 611 yards and four touchdowns. He was even better this past year, hauling in 45 receptions for 791 yards and 12 scores.

Brenden certainly isn’t the same type of prospect as his father, he is certainly an interesting player to monitor heading into 2024.

At 6-foot-2 and around 210 pounds, Rice has very good size for a receiver, and while he doesn’t have blazing speed, he isn’t a plodder, either, as he ran 4.5-second 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine.

Rice should also get a pretty solid opportunity with the Chargers considering Los Angeles subtracted its two top pass-catchers in Keenan Allen and Mike Williams earlier this offseason.

Right now, Joshua Palmer and Quentin Johnston are slated to be LA’s No. 1 and 2 receivers, and the club also took Georgia’s Ladd McConkey in the second round of the draft. Plus, the Bolts signed veteran DJ Chark.

While it may seem like Los Angeles has a lot of options at the position, it does not have a proven No. 1 guy, so Brenden should have a fair chance to break into the rotation.

That should make Jerry Rice happy.