Everybody knows what Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Jerry Rice means to the 49ers franchise and the NFL at large.
But can his son Brenden Rice follow in his footsteps?
When talking to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Laura Britt on Radio Row in Las Vegas before Super Bowl LVIII, Brenden discussed potentially being drafted by San Francisco like his father.
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“Honestly, I just hope I go into the right situation," Brenden told Britt. “And if the 49ers are the perfect situation for me to go ahead and battle for a top position on that team, then most definitely. I’m prepared for it.”
He added that “[Brandon] Aiyuk, [Christian McCaffrey], Deebo [Samuel], Brock [Purdy] [and] even Trent [Williams]” are his favorite 49ers to watch.
“Trent’s a dog, man," Brenden said. "He’s the most athletic on the team, and people don’t understand that.”
The 6-foot-3 wide receiver declared for the 2024 NFL Draft in December after a pair of two-year stints at Colorado and USC.
San Francisco 49ers
Over his four-year collegiate career, the 21-year-old caught 111 passes for 1,821 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Entering the draft as a Trojan, Brenden described what led him to declare for professional football.
“We had a lot of talented receivers at USC, man," Brenden said. “Just looking at my production this year, I had 45 catches, 12 touchdowns. That’s kind of unheard of. If you look at other guys across the nation, I ended up being in the top 10, top five.
“And my coach was like, ‘It’s time to leave the bird’s nest, man.’ And I was just joking with him back and forth, ‘I’m going to come back one more year. Let’s go ahead and do this thing again.’ He was like, ‘Nah, it’s time to go ahead and leave, big dog.’ ”
Brenden likely will be a Day 2 or Day 3 selection, unlike Jerry, who was picked No. 15 by the 49ers in 1985 out of Mississippi Valley State.
The younger Rice has the genes of the NFL’s all-time best receiver, so he’s a player the 49ers should keep an eye on.
If any team knows every pick counts, it’s San Francisco.