USC wide receiver Brenden Rice, the son of Hall of Fame NFL receiver Jerry Rice, is heading for the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. He is one of the most complete receivers in the 2024 NFL draft.
Rice caught 791 yards of passes and scored a team-leading 12 touchdowns for USC in the 2023 regular season, both of which were career highs.
Rice, who joined USC ahead of the 2022 season after spending two seasons at Colorado, has 1,402 yards receiving and 16 touchdowns in two seasons with the Trojans.
Pros:
— Great spatial awareness near the sideline and understanding of zone coverage and defensive tendencies
— Rice has elite hands, rarely uses his body to make the catch, and has very strong hands to take ball from defenders
— His large frame gives him ample advantage on 50/50 balls and he’s great catching in traffic
— Very agile; uses his shiftiness to escape defenders and get open over the middle
— Solid run blocker for his slender build
— Very good speed and short-burst quickness
Cons:
— Despite excellent measurables, Rice is seldom seen creating yards of separation via routes or physical gifts
— Not a great downfield separator
— Should work on release moves, uses his shiftiness
— Limited route tree
Rice is an exciting evaluation thanks to his obvious bloodlines as the son of Jerry Rice, a Hall of Famer and arguably the greatest receiver of all time.
What Brenden Rice lacks in the nuance and route running his dad excelled in, he makes up for with dominant physical traits.
Rice can win at all three levels of the field and has the athleticism and body type to make a career as an outside receiver in a variety of offensive systems.
Rice is my WR10 in a loaded receiver class that features Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, Johnny Wilson, Keon Coleman, Xavier Worthy, AD Mitchell, Ladd McConkey, Tez Walker, Troy Franklin, Roman Wilson and many more. I expect he will go early on Day 3 in Round 4. He could potentially sneak into the very end of Day 2 as a late-third-round pick.
No receiver has moved up @seniorbowl board more so far this year than USC’s Brenden Rice (6024e, 210e). Feldman’s “Freak List” guy has hit 23 mph on GPS with impressive 1.43 10-yard split, which usually equates to 4.3 40-yd time. Also went 38.0 VJ and did 17 bench reps at 225.… pic.twitter.com/eHTnWci1m7
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) October 22, 2023
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