Jerry Rice 'hot' over son Brenden Rice falling in NFL Draft

Brenden Rice couldn’t keep his Hall of Fame father Jerry being “hot” over a slide to the 7th round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Of course, it’s all love because the GOAT of wide receivers wants to see his son respected. Well, Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers respected Brenden Rice to draft him out of USC and get him on the roster.

Now, the younger Rice gets a chance to prove himself.

“My dad was hot,” Rice laughed to reporters. “The first words he said was, ‘Time to go to work.’ He said, ‘I will be with you every step of the way.’ He said, ‘Now, I’m going to be involved within all of your workouts from now on, and we have a lot of people to prove wrong, a lot of teams that go ahead.’ It’s going to be one hell of a story, that’s all that I’m going to say.”

Rice upped his production when he transferred from Colorado to USC ahead of the 2022 season. While with the Trojans he finished with 84 catches for 1,402 yards, 16 touchdowns and 16.7 yards per catch.

The transition from one top quarterback to another is intriguing.

“I’m in the best position possible to go ahead and make my mark and make my own legacy,” Rice 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. Everything’s upon me. If you guys don’t see me coming on this Fall, that’s on me. 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 has a lot to live up to on the field. His father is considered one of the best players regardless of position in the history of the game.

But it’s a blank slate going into 2024.

“Rookie season in the NFL, I feel as though we’re neck-and-neck,” Rice said. “I’m faster, and I heard that his rookie season in the NFL wasn’t good [laughter]. I have to go top.”

How will the son of a legend make the roster despite being a late pick? Just showing up and putting in the work and effort.

“My work ethic will separate myself,” Rice said. “There are a lot of great guys in the room, we have a lot of different body types, different types of games. But, if I can go ahead and do the little things each day-in and day-out, go ahead and prove myself, go ahead and know my playbook like the back of my hand, and also be attentive and do the extra little things, I think that I will continue to separate myself within this room.”