Costa Mesa, California — Brenden Rice already has a lot to prove as the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice.
Not being selected until the 225th pick in the NFL draft two weeks ago added more fuel to the fire.
Many thought Rice would be a mid-range choice. Instead, he didn’t go until the seventh round, when the Los Angeles Chargers selected the Southern California wide receiver.
Rice told me not to go until late on the third day. “The first thing he said was, ‘It’s time to go to work.’ He said, ‘I will be with you every step of the way.’ He said, ‘From now on I will participate in all your movements and we have a lot of people to prove wrong and a lot of teams to get ahead.’ “It’s going to be one hell of a story.”
Rice watched a lot of his father’s tapes growing up, but his body type was different.
“I model my game after bigger type receivers like (the Raiders’) Davante Adams, (the Titans’) Calvin Ridleys and even (Tampa Bay’s) Mike Evans,” Rice said. “Being physical at the top of the routes, being able to create separation or going up and making jump ball plays, and being consistent for my quarterback as well.”
Instead of wallowing in the frustrating draft process, Rice is trying to look ahead. With the Chargers rebuilding at wide receiver, he will have plenty of opportunities to show that he deserves a spot on the roster.
“It all depends on me. “If you guys don’t see me coming this fall, that’s on me,” he said. “If you see me out there, I’m going to do my best to get out the door and do what it takes to produce.”
After transferring from Colorado, Rice showed during his two seasons at USC that he was well-developed as a physical receiver and route runner. He led the Trojans with 12 receiving touchdowns last season and career highs in catches (45) and yards (791).
In addition to having Caleb Williams as his quarterback, Rice felt like the transfer helped his game in other areas as well.
“When I went to USC, I felt like my IQ just happened to go up a notch,” he said. “This allowed me to continue to find holes in the defense, read the coverage, read the shadow techniques, read the DBs and what they were going to do, watch film and know what to get from them. And what to watch on game day.”
Rice moves from Williams, whom Chicago selected first overall in the draft, to another top quarterback in Justin Herbert. Rice is expected to be a valuable option for Herbert when working the middle of the field, especially after Mike Williams was released and Keenan Allen was traded to the Bears.
Rice was one of three receivers drafted by the Chargers. Ladd McConkey was selected in the second round, and Cornelius Johnson was selected in the seventh round.
“Brenden makes a lot of explosive plays on the field and has produced long touchdowns in games against Arizona State, UCLA, Stanford, and others. He can stretch the field vertically,” Chargers assistant general manager Chad Alexander said. “He does a lot of things that you really like. He blocks and does a really good job.”
Rice and the rest of the Chargers’ draft class and undrafted free agents are getting up to speed in rookie minicamp this weekend. Coach Jim Harbaugh praised the entire rookie class for their preparation after Friday’s practice. Harbaugh also realized he had little time. This is especially true for field activities where the entire team starts within a few weeks.
“Think of it this way. The veterans have been going for about five weeks now. I think this is my job,” Harbaugh said. “There are new faces coming up. I’m coming on (Highway) 405. Traffic is moving quickly. We’ll have new players here (this weekend) to get them to understand the system and learn the plays so they don’t slow down the veteran players when they come in on Monday.”
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