Son of Denver Broncos legend picked by division rival Chargers

The 2024 NFL Draft was loaded with "legacy" players, sons of NFL legends who are working to make their own path in the pros. One of the most notable legacy players is Brenden Rice, the son of NFL and Denver Broncos legend Jerry Rice. And he was just picked by the Los Angeles Chargers in the 7th round of the draft.

Wait a minute. Denver Broncos legend Jerry Rice...?

Some fans of the team under the age of 25 might wonder what in the world I'm talking about. Of course, I'm being a bit tongue in cheek here as Jerry Rice isn't exactly a Denver Broncos legend. More of a myth, really.

But Jerry Rice did, in fact, suit up for the Denver Broncos for an offseason. The Hall of Famer and player considered to be arguably the greatest football player of all time signed a free agent deal with the Denver Broncos in the 2005 offseason. He was with the team through training camp and the preseason, but never suited up for a regular season game in Denver.

Rice's son Brenden played his college ball at USC most recently but was actually a transfer from the Colorado football program where he spent the first two years of his collegiate career. He had 12 touchdowns this past year at USC and was considered to be a 3rd-4th-round prospect by some media outlets, and he just landed in the very late portion of the draft to one of Denver's division rivals -- the Chargers.

If Brenden ever plays for the Kansas City Chiefs, he and his dad will have suited up for the entire AFC West, including the old format of the West which included the Seattle Seahawks. Jerry played for the Seahawks at the very back end of his NFL career (though they weren't in the AFC West at that time).

Perhaps we'll see Jerry Rice chumming with Peyton Manning in Denver when the Broncos host the Los Angeles Chargers. As a 7th-round pick, Brenden Rice feels like a pretty safe bet to make the team considering Los Angeles is really lacking for depth at the receiver position. This is a nice value selection for them and a fun reason to remind everyone that Jerry Rice was once a Denver Bronco.