The New York Jets will reportedly have USC wide receiver Brenden Rice in for an official top-30 visit, according to Tony Pauline.
As part of the pre-draft process, every team is allotted 30 official visits, where prospects come to the team facility for one-on-one meetings.
USC held its Pro-Day on Wednesday, where, according to Pauline, Rice had a “good day” catching passes from Caleb Williams. Rice ran a three-cone of 6.95 seconds and caught the ball “well.” Pauline added that Rice has put together a good pre-draft process, which for him, began at the Senior Bowl.
Rice, the son of Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice, measured in at 6-2 at the NFL Combine and weighed 208 pounds. There, he ran a 4.5 second 40 yard dash and posted a Relative Athletic Score of 7.92 out of 10–although that figure does not take into account any of his Pro-Day numbers.
After beginning his college career at Colorado, Rice spent the last two seasons at USC. During that span, he caught 84 of his 132 targets (64 percent) at an impressive 16.7 yards per catch, while totaling 1,401 yards and 16 touchdowns.
The most recent 2023 season was Rice’s most productive with him hauling in 791 yards at almost 18 yards per catch with 12 scores. Just about all of Rice’s career snaps have come lined up on the boundary.
For more on Rice’s game, here is what NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft scouting report:
“The bloodlines don’t get much better than Jerry Rice, so Brenden Rice might have a head start on the rest of the field. He’s big and plays a physical brand of football when cornerbacks want to fight over space. He lacks sudden feet, so beating press cleanly and separating on short routes could be challenging as a pro.
“Rice possesses good build-up speed to create deep-ball opportunities once his ball skills are added to the equation. Rice catches with quick, strong hands and good extension to help with frequent contested catches. There are some limitations at play, but he has enough checkmarks to project as an early backup with some upward mobility.”
If the Jets were to select Rice in the draft, this would be more of a developmental selection for them, in part because of the reasons that Zierlein mentioned.
On top of that, in also having Garrett Wilson, Mike Williams, and a potential early round pick at receiver on the roster, coupled with Allen Lazard and Xavier Gipson, there might not be a ton of snaps available if everyone remains healthy.
However, looking ahead to 2025, Williams will be a free agent, and the Jets will be better situated from a salary cap perspective to get out of Lazard’s deal at that time, potentially providing Rice with more opportunities after a year of learning the offense and adjusting to the NFL.
Last offseason, defensive back Jarrick Bernard-Converse took an official visit with the Jets before Joe Douglas selected him in the sixth round.