Brenden Rice DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The Los Angeles Chargers announced on Tuesday that rookie wide receiver Brenden Rice and safeties Tony Jefferson and JT Woods were among the players that made the final 53-man roster heading into the 2024 regular season. Rice made the final cut after impressive during training camp and the preseason. The 22-year-old son of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice was taken in the seventh round of April's NFL draft out of USC. He might be worth stashing in deep dynasty/keeper leagues, but for his rookie season, he'll merely be a depth option for the Bolts behind Joshua Palmer, DJ Chark, rookie Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, Simi Fehoko and Derius Davis. Rice excels with his route-running and also plays with a physical style on contested catches down the field. Initially, he might be a red-zone weapon for a new-look Chargers offense in 2024.

Los Angeles Chargers rookie seventh-round wide receiver Brenden Rice has flashed with physicality in routes and catching in training camp and the preseason, enough to earn a spot on the 53-man roster and compete for time at receiver, but he probably is the sixth receiver on the depth chart. Fellow seventh-round rookie Cornelius Johnson struggled with drops in camp and hasn't had the positive days that many of his draft peers have, making him a long shot to make the team. The 22-year-old Rice is the son of Jerry Rice. He had 1,402 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns in his final two seasons at USC and could eventually become a nice red-zone weapon because of physicality. But for now, fantasy managers should only really consider him a long-term stash in dynasty/keeper formats.

The Athletic's Daniel Popper went into training camp thinking the Los Angeles Chargers would only keep five receivers, but impressive performances by wideout Brenden Rice has forced Popper to open up an additional spot in this group. Rice has shown he can be a productive receiver at the NFL level. His size, athleticism, route-running, hands and instincts are all NFL-caliber. However, the receiver room remains wide open, and Simi Fehoko has also been making plenty of plays, including a 29-yard reception in the preseason opener on Saturday against the Seattle Seahawks. Fehoko also played on all core-four special teams units on Saturday. In addition to Rice and Fehoko, rookie Jaylen Johnson has had a strong camp, putting himself on the roster bubble. Popper lists Joshua Palmer, rookie Ladd McConkey, DJ Chark, Quentin Johnston and Derius Davis as the first five receivers for the Bolts.