Jerry Rice's Son Brenden Says HOF Father Was 'Hot' over His 2024 NFL Draft Slide

While most parents would be happy to see their child get drafted into the NFL, regardless of what round it happened, Jerry Rice thinks teams missed the boat by making his son wait until the seventh round to call his name.

Brenden Rice, son of the Hall-of-Fame wideout, told reporters at Los Angeles Chargers rookie minicamp his father "was hot" that he didn't come off the board until the final round of the 2024 NFL draft.

"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 said.

Rice wasn't expected to be a high draft pick, but there was some thought he could hear his name called at some point on day two. Instead, he wound up being taken with the 225th pick and was the 32nd of 35 receivers drafted.

B/R's NFL scouting department had Rice ranked as the 103rd-best prospect in the 2024 class. That slot would have made him the third pick of the fourth round.

The consensus big board placed Rice at No. 111 overall, with a peak position of No. 61.

B/R NFL scout Derrik Klassen wrote that Rice "is an explosive vertical receiver with good size and tantalizing yards-after-the-catch ability."

Rice's athletic testing was fine, if not spectacular. He ranked in the 63rd percentile in vertical jump (36.5 inches), 53rd percentile in the 40-yard dash (4.5 seconds) and 51st percentile in 10-yard split (1.55 seconds).

Even though the wait was much longer than Jerry would have liked, Brenden landed in a very good spot that could allow him to shine right away.

The Chargers have Justin Herbert at quarterback, but they needed a lot of help at receiver after trading Keenan Allen and releasing Mike Williams. Ladd McConkey was the only wideout they drafted before getting Rice in the seventh round.

"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 Caleb Williams to Justin Herbert, and I'm in a room that's going to allow me to compete day in and day out."

Rice was Williams' go-to scoring option at USC last season with 12 touchdowns. He finished second on the team with 45 receptions and 791 yards in 12 games.