‘Confident’ Brenden Rice claims his dad Jerry Rice wants him to prove other teams wrong for passing on him

Brenden Rice was anxious during his draft day. After attending his best friend’s funeral, the young wide receiver was sitting patiently for the phone call that would change his life.

That call came from the Los Angeles Chargers in the seventh round. Despite the apparent relief, Rice was frustrated because of the massive drop-down.

However, the former USC starter wasn’t the only one fuming that day. His father, Hall of Famer and arguably the best receiver in NFL history, Jerry Rice, was visually annoyed by teams passing on Brenden.

At the end of the Chargers rookie mini-camp, Rice revealed that his father “was hot” on the day of the draft. After the Chargers formally announced that they were selecting Brenden, his dad had a message for him.

Time to go to work. I will be with you every step of the way. I will be involved with all your workouts from now on. We’ve got a lot of people to prove wrong. Brenden Rice revealed his father’s words at the Chargers’ rookie minicamp

Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh could make Rice Jr. his No. 1 receiver in the coming season. He will have free rein after the departure of veteran Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears and Mike Williams to the New York Jets.

To partner Rice up-front, Harbaugh added former Panther DJ Chark Jr. They also took Georgia’s Ladd McConkey in the second round as well.