Brenden Rice vs. Jerry Rice Combine 40 times: How the USC WR's speed compares to NFL legend dad

Plenty of 2024 NFL Draft prospects have fathers who played in the NFL. For the most part, they are easy to spot.

Clemson’s Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is the son of former Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter. Michigan’s Kris Jenkins shares a name with his father, who played for the Panthers and Jets during his NFL career. And of course Frank Gore Jr. is related to the former NFL star who racked up a whopping 16,000 rushing yards during his career.

Brenden Rice’s connection to Jerry Rice isn’t as obvious, as he doesn’t share a name with his famous father, but the USC product is in fact the son of the greatest receiver in NFL history.

Now Brenden will look to prove that he can be a productive NFL receiver, just like his father. He will have an opportunity to showcase some of his athletic skills at the 2024 NFL Combine.

The younger Rice is expected to perform well in both the athletic testing and on-field drills at the combine. In fact, he’s expected to outperform his father, especially in the NFL Combine’s most touted event: the 40-yard dash.

MORE: Everything to know about Brenden Rice, son of former 49ers star Jerry Rice

Here’s what to know about the 40 times of both Brenden and Jerry Rice as the 2024 NFL Draft approaches.

Brenden Rice 40 time

Brenden Rice will run the 40-yard dash at the 2024 NFL Combine on Saturday, and he is expected to post a fast time.

Rice posted a maximum speed of 23 mph on GPS tracking and recorded an impressive 1.43-second 10-yard split, per The Athletic. That may allow the 6-3, 215-pound wide-out to complete the event in the 4.3-second range, as detailed by Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy.

If Rice posts a 40-yard dash time in the 4.3 range, he will be one of the fastest players in attendance at the NFL Combine. But even if he blazes a 4.4-second mark in the event — which seems like his floor at this point — he will beat his father’s fastest-ever 40-yard dash.

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Jerry Rice 40 time

Jerry Rice’s exact 40-yard dash time ahead of the 1985 NFL Draft isn’t known. Some have reported that he clocked a 4.71-second 40, but that might be an urban myth.

Per then-49ers coach Bill Walsh, Rice ran the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds. That was still slower than most receivers — Walsh cited great receivers as having 40 times of 4.4 seconds or better — but as Walsh detailed, Rice’s tape revealed that he played faster than he ran.

“When you studied the film from Rice’s college games, you saw two things different about Rice,” Walsh told Rich Karlgaard of Forbes. “One: He could turn on a dime. He could run sideways faster than anyone I’d seen. His maneuverability left defenders wondering what happened. Two: Rice always finished his pass route within one foot of where he needed to be, like he had a GPS in his head. Quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young could count on him.”

If Walsh’s account isn’t enough of a sample size, former Cowboys general manager Gil Brandt told Jon Wilner of The Mercury News in 2014 that Dallas had Rice run the 40-yard dash nine times at the combine.

“He never got under 4.55,” Brandt revealed.

So, it seems like a foregone conclusion that Brenden will be faster than his father. That said, it will take a lot for the younger Rice to come close to his father’s production at the NFL level even if the USC product develops into a quality player.

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Brenden Rice vs. Jerry Rice height, weight, speed

When stacking up the Rices against one another, Brendan has the edge over his father in almost all areas. The only exception? The elder Rice has slightly longer arms than his son.

Soon, we’ll see just how the younger race fares against his father in the 40-yard dash. The only shame is that there won’t be a simulcam view of the two, as Jerry Rice didn’t attend the NFL Combine ahead of his draft.