NFL Draft: Brenden Rice, son of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, picked by Chargers

Brenden Rice could have been like plenty of other receivers taken in Day 3 of the NFL Draft, selected by their new team without a lot of fanfare.

But Rice is part of football royalty. He’s the son of Jerry Rice, the greatest receiver and perhaps the greatest player in NFL history. That has to be a heavy shadow at times, especially when you play the same position that your father perfected.

Brenden Rice has a chance to carve his own path in the NFL. He was drafted Saturday in the seventh round of the draft by the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers have needs at receiver and Rice will have a solid shot to make the roster.

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Rice will always be linked to his famous father. But he got drafted because of what he did at USC.

Brenden Rice had a productive career

Rice started his career at Colorado and scored a couple touchdowns as a freshman with limited playing time. After two seasons at CU, Rice transferred to USC. Catching passes from Caleb Williams, he blossomed.

Last season Rice led the Trojans with 12 receiving touchdowns. He had 791 yards. Rice has good size at 6-foot-2, 208 pounds, and he ran a reasonable 4.5-second 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine. Rice didn’t have the production or athletic profile to be a high pick, but being picked at all is an accomplishment. Fewer than 300 college players get drafted each year.

Rice’s big moment came on a sad day. He was at a funeral for his best friend who died two weeks ago, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.

Brenden Rice isn’t the first Rice at receiver to have NFL dreams. Jerry Rice Jr. played at UCLA and UNLV, but went undrafted and couldn’t latch on with an NFL team before calling it a football career.

The Rice family gets another shot at the NFL with Brenden being drafted.

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