Jerry Rice 'hot' after son Brenden fell to 7th round
Legendary wide receiver Jerry Rice wasn't happy that his son, Brenden, fell to the seventh round in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The 22-year-old Brenden - considered a potential mid-round pick by multiple experts - wasn't called until the Los Angeles Chargers used the 225th overall pick to select him as the 32nd wideout off the board last month.
"My dad was hot," Brenden said Friday, according to ESPN's Kris Rhim. "You guys get the Flash ... 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.'"
Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said Los Angeles actually had a third- to fourth-round grade on Brenden, according to Rhim.
Although he was only a seventh-round pick, the USC product presumably will have a chance to earn snaps on a Chargers team that parted ways with its main wide receivers this offseason. Harbaugh's outfit traded Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears and released Mike Williams in March.
"I'm in the best position possible to go ahead and make my mark on and make my own legacy," Rice said. "I went from (quarterback) Caleb Williams to Justin Herbert, and I'm in a room that's going to allow me to compete day in and day out.
"Everything's upon me, so if you guys don't see me coming fall, that's on me. 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 set career highs with 45 catches for 791 yards and 12 touchdowns with USC in 2023 en route to earning a second-team All-Pac-12 nod. His father is regarded as the greatest receiver in NFL history, as he ranks first in career receptions (1,549), receiving yards (22.895), and TD catches (197). The Hall of Fame wideout - who was a first-round pick in 1985 - was also named Super Bowl MVP in one of the three times he lifted the Lombardi Trophy.
The wide receiver position was a priority for the Chargers in the 2024 draft. In addition to Rice, Los Angeles selected Ladd McConkey in the second round and Cornelius Johnson in the seventh.
L.A. also rosters 2023 first-round wide receiver Quentin Johnston, Joshua Palmer, Derius Davis, and DJ Chark, who signed with the team last week.
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