Brenden Rice, WR USC: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Rice was a three-star recruit from Hamilton High School in Chandler, Ariz. in the class of 2020

USC Trojans wide receiver Brenden Rice is one of the more hotly debated prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft. Some analysts have him as a top 100 prospect. Below is a breakdown of his draft profile and a final evaluation grade.

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Brenden Rice, WR USC: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Senior wide receiver from Chandler, Ariz.

Background: Rice was a three-star recruit from Hamilton High School in Chandler, Ariz. in the class of 2020. He was the No. 336 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 185 for Rivals (four-star) and No. 406 for On3.com. Rice was an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 77 grade out of 100. He transferred from Colorado to USC for the 2022 season. In his high school career, Rice amassed 123 receptions for 2,139 yards and 27 touchdowns. As a senior, he caught 49 passes for 851 yards and nine touchdowns on his way to earning PrepStar All-West Region, MaxPreps First Team All-Arizona, and Arizona Republic All-Arizona honors. Rice also scored once on the ground, returned 18 total kicks and punts for a total of 264 yards, and added 15 tackles and a pass deflection on defense. In 2018, Rice earned All-Arizona honors with 49 receptions for 729 yards and 11 touchdowns on offense, plus 17 tackles and an interception on defense. He made 25 receptions for 559 yards and seven touchdowns in 2017. Rice also played on the basketball team and was a sprinter on the track and field team. His personal bests were a 10.78 100-meter dash and a 21.84 200-meter dash, which helped him finish third at the 2019 State Division I Meet. Rice’s father is Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice, who was a first round pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 1985 and played in the league through 2004, setting all-time career records in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. Brenden Rice’s brother, Qualen Cunningham, was a defensive end at Texas A&M (2014-17). His half brother, Jerry Rice Jr., was a wide receiver at UCLA (2011-12) and UNLV (2013). His stepfather, Rick Cunningham, was an offensive lineman at Oregon State and Texas A&M (1988-89) and a fourth round pick in the 1990 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed 2021 Utah game, exited 2022 Arizona game with finger injury

Awards: N/A

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return and punt return units, some experience operating in the slot, good size and mass, good arm length, physical to play through press coverage, quick and powerful hands to combat press coverage, size and power help him play through mid-route contact, long strider who eats up ground quickly, enough straight line speed to stack corners in press and stretch the field, presses the corner vertically when he bursts off the line, good feel for finding holes in zone over the MOF, helps his quarterback when the play breaks down, uses head and shoulder fakes to manipulate corners and create leverage, uses his size and power to create separation, stacked Benjamin Morrison and drew a DPI call vs. Notre Dame (2023), rarely dropped the ball in 2023, natural hands catcher, boxes out corners for the football, willing blocker

Cons: Not a twitchy athlete, not a player you can scheme touches, limited fighting through contact after the catch, not a burner, generates limited vertical separation against athletic corners, some downfield routes take too long to develop, limited route tree, needs to show more urgency getting off the line, occasionally cuts it too close and runs out of bounds on outside releases, too many steps gearing down on intermediate comeback routes, routes are rounded at times, could sell route fakes better, transitions can be slow, pushes off vs. tight man coverage, blatant contact initiated at the top of the stem will draw OPI calls, despite larger frame he hasn’t asserted himself in contested catch situations, inconsistent ball tracking, concertation drops on tape and at the Senior Bowl, should sustain blocks for longer at his size, inconsistent hand usage as a blocker, doesn’t have the footwork to sustain blocks consistently

Overview: Rice has special teams experience on the kick return and punt return units and gained some experience operating in the slot over the past three years. He has excellent size and mass for a receiver with 32 5/8-inch arms and a 78 3/8-inch wingspan. Rice appeared on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List last summer. According to Feldman, he hit 23 miles per hour on the GPS and recorded a 1.43 ten-yard split. Rice also jumped 38 inches in the vertical, posted 17 reps of 225 lbs., and squatted 525 lbs. for several reps. Back in high school, at a regional event for The Opening in 2019, Rice ran a 4.62 40-yard dash and a 4.20 20-yard shuttle. Reports of his physical improvement hint those times will be significantly better at the Combine. Rice uses his physicality and power to play through press coverage with quick and powerful hands. He also uses his size and power to play through mid-route contact. The former three-star recruit challenges corners vertically when he bursts off the line, but his release speed and urgency vary. He is a long strider who eats up ground quickly and has enough straight line speed to stack corners out of press coverage. Rice has an excellent feel for finding holes in zone coverage, especially over the middle of the field. He helped Caleb Williams a lot when plays broke down in 2023 by working to give him an open option. Rice uses head and shoulder fakes to manipulate corners and create leverage, but he can do a better job of selling his route fakes. The former Colorado transfer uses his size and power to create separation, but some of his blatant push offs and initiated contact at the top of the stem will draft offensive pass inference calls in the NFL. He needs to tone down the amount of contact he willingly creates downfield. Rice is a natural hands catcher who boxes out cornerbacks for the football. While he rarely dropped the ball in 2023, concentration drops and inconsistent ball tracking popped up every now and then. Rice is a willing blocker but doesn’t sustain his blocks for long enough. His hand usage and footwork as a blocker are subpar. The senior is not a twitchy athlete and doesn’t force many missed tackles with the ball in his hands. Rice stretches the field vertically but isn’t a true burner. This leads to reps where he generates limited vertical separation against athletic corners. Some of his downfield routes take too long to develop and don’t help the quarterback. Rice succeeded with a limited route tree at USC. He takes too many steps gearing down on intermediate comeback routes, and his in or out-breaking routes are often rounded. Rice must show more urgency getting off the line of scrimmage. He has decent burst but fails to use it in his release consistently. His outside releases sometimes leave him no room to work and result in him being forced out of bounds. Despite his large frame, Rice doesn’t assert himself in contested catch situations consistently.

Overall, Rice is a larger, powerful wide receiver with zone-beating coverage recognition skills and enough speed to stretch the field vertically. He needs to expand and refine his route tree to become a more consistent week-to-week option. Rice should be able to contribute on offense as a rookie in a limited role but is still a highly developmental prospect with respectable upside.

Role & Scheme Fit: X receiver or power slot option in an 11-personnel scheme

Round Projection: Fourth Round

Size: 6021, 212 lbs. (Senior Bowl)

Submitted: 02-08-24