Brenden Rice

	A	B	C	D	E	F
1	Brenden Rice	Wide Receiver	USC	3-Star Recruit (89)	Senior
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3	Positional Rank	Grade	Height	Weight	2023 PFF Grade
4	18	4th	6'2	208	77.8
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6	Year	Targets	Receptions	Yards	Touchdowns
7	2023	70	45	791	12
8	2022	62	39	611	4
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10	Year	Wide Snaps	Slot Snaps	Catch Percentage	Yards / Reception
11	2023	283	41	64.29%	17.58
12	2022	324	28	62.90%	15.67
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14	Overview:
15	Strengths:	Notes:
16	Release Diversity	He has great suddenness on a creative and diverse release package.
17	Route Creativity	Rice clearly understands route nuance to the point where he is making up his own variant of many routes frequently, and he is very good at it.
18	Zone Coverage	Great at finding soft spots in zone, and has a very good football IQ.
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20	Weaknesses:	Notes:
21	Long Speed	He clearly lacks the speed to stretch the field, and overall appears to be an average athlete.
22	Separating in Man Coverage	His breaks and false steps do not always manufacture separation, and he is blanketed too often down the sideline, especially on deeper routes.
23	Contested Catches	He lacks dominance at the catch point, which will be even worse in the NFL. His contested catch rate is great in 2021 and 2022, but he clearly gets jostled at the catch point and lacks the hands to consistently win true 50-50s.
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25	Film
26	Game	Takeaways				Notes:
27	Oregon (11/11/2023) Statline: 5-81-1	Creativity, but failed to pull away downfield. Good push from split step. Lacks long speed. Adequate suddenness on release. Always uses arms in the open field to assist with speed, like sprinter technique. Very good blocking. Excellent suddenness. Simply fails to separate unless he really sells a false move at the line. Decent after the catch. Great at hitch routes. Solid hands.				Leaning 4th round grade. May move into the slot. Operates like a bigger Puka Nacua, although Nacua plays bigger than he does.
28	UCLA (11/18/2023) [Cut Up]	Great hitch. Understands zone coverage. Will not be a deep threat in the NFL. Good single step plants and suddenness into space. Great hands. Understands spacing and timing on back shoulder throws.				Early 4th.
29	Utah (10/21/2023) Statline: 5-34-0	Efficient release and pivot footwork. Strong runner after the catch. Good blocking technique and efficiency. Cuts across opponent's hips at break. Accelerates off of back foot too much on many linear releases. Good angles on skinny post. Effective speed cuts with appropriate hip depth. Stops moving at the end of his route. Could put more bodyweight into selling false moves.				Early 4th.
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31	Attributes		Grade / 100	Notes
32	Separation	Short	78	Good release and pivot footwork, but does not always pull away from man coverage at the line or underneath.
33		Medium	88	Clean route runner with a diverse route tree between the ten and twenty yard line. Separation is still inconsistent.
34		Deep	53	Decent footwork and adjustments on skinny posts and stutter gos, but does not pull away downfield with speed.
35	Release	Stance	81	Accelerations off of back foot too much at times.
36		Acceleration	71	Has room to improve his linear and lateral acceleration.
37		Footwork	92	Technically good footwork, but does not sell false steps and jabs at the line or burst quickly enough out of his split step to produce immediate separation in man coverage.
38	Hands	Catch reliability	89	Good hands that have steadily improved, but not great.
39		Catch radius	93	Natural hands catcher, but lacks the impressive extended reps throughout his tape.
40		Contested catch	45	This could improve based on previous tape and certain flashes, but he was not reliable in traffic this last season.
41	RAC	Athleticism	77	Strong overall athlete, but not that twitchy.
42		Agility	79	Decently elusive after the catch.
43		Contact balance	84	He is difficult to bring down without him fighting for additional yardage.
44	Blocking	Technique	97	Rice has clearly worked extensively on his blocking technique. His size helps him execute blocks reliably.
45	Blocking	Willingness	96	He is always actively trying to make blocks for teammates.
46	Coverage	Press	70	Clever route runner, but fails to consistently pull away.
47	Coverage	Off	87	While he understands how to create space against Cover-2 and often finds separation behind the linebackers, his drifting and pacing underneath could still improve.
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49	Final Scouting Report
50	Brenden Rice, the son of the greatest wide receiver in NFL history, may not have his father's skill, but is still a solid outside receiver prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft class. His rock solid build at 6'3, 210lbs is tailor-made for the NFL. There is clearly nuance to his game, undoubtedly having spent many hours on his craft starting at a very young age. He has a creative release package at the line of scrimmage, crisp footwork regardless of the type of route break, and has a diverse effective route tree. After the catch, he is a solid one-cut runner who can occasionally make the first man miss and is difficult to bring down in open space. He has an advanced understanding of various coverage types, although his separation underneath is still inconsistent. As a blocker, Rice has excellent technique and positioning with appropriate vigor. His ability to do many of the small things well should find him success in the NFL. Despite being a nuanced route runner, he still often fails to pull away from man coverage. His jabs are not always convincing, and he severely lacks lateral twitch in his release. The best footwork in the world can only help him so much when matched up against superior athletes with better quickness and burst. When going deep, he also lacks the break away speed to reliably pull away from cornerbacks. His contested catch ability is inconsistent, and he gets knocked away at the catch point too easily for someone with as much muscle as he has packed onto his already large frame. With everything Rice has shown on tape mechanically, a strong combine performance could significantly boost his draft stock. If he performs as expected, then his ceiling may just be as a number two boundary option.
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52	Playstyle
53	Best Route	Comeback. His footwork, hip depth, and ability to accelerate back to the ball his impressive for his size.
54	Worst Route	Go Route. He is blanketed too often down the sideline.
55	Pro Comparison	Jonathan Mingo. Mingo was better at using his frame at the catch point and had a bit more muscle that he knew how to use against press coverage, but they have very similar footwork and overall play styles.
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