Chargers select USC WR Brenden Rice

The Los Angeles Chargers have already added to their receiving room in this year’s draft, but do so again by selecting USC receiver Brenden Rice

With the 225th pick in the NFL draft, the Los Angeles Chargers selected USC wide receiver Brenden Rice, notably known as the son of Jerry Rice — the greatest receiver to ever play the game.

Rice is more than just bloodlines. He was highly regarded by the draft community, ranking 106th overall by the Consensus Big Board. Some projected him to go as early as Day 2, but a deep draft overall, including at receiver, pushed him down.

The former Caleb Williams target originally enrolled at Colorado before transferring to USC. He hadn’t put together a 1,000-yard season but has been remarkably productive in the red zone. In his true senior year, his final year in college, Rice grabbed 12 touchdowns with only two drops all year on 47 catchable targets.

Rice is big, tall and fast for his size. At 6’2” 208, Rice ran a 4.50-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. He has a truly outstanding catch radius with a wingspan of 78 inches and an arm length of 33 inches.

His timed speed doesn’t always match his play speed and he can look a bit sluggish at times, preventing him from getting deep separation. He also doesn’t have the quicks of smaller receivers, which impacts his route-running. His primary calling card is his hand strength, though USC put him into a position to win a lot of contested catches and his catch rate on those needed a bit more.

As an Air Raid receiver, he was always going to need more work. But with sky-high potential and knowledge of how the NFL works, there’s a potentially bright future in the seventh-round pick.