USC WR Brenden Rice's long draft wait ends as 7th-round pick to Chargers

As the NFL draft stretched into the final rounds Saturday, USC wide receiver Brenden Rice shared his frustration on Twitter.

"It's noted. No pressure anymore, we starting from the ground up. I will continue to prove myself right," the younger Rice posted.

Rice's wait finally ended early in the seventh round as the Los Angeles Chargers selected the Trojans' playmaker and son of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice with the 225th overall pick.

Rice is USC fifth draftee so far this year, following QB Caleb Williams (first round, No. 1 overall to the Chicago Bears), S Calen Bullock (third round, No. 78 overall, to the Houston Texans), RB MarShawn Lloyd (third round, No. 88 overall, to the Green Bay Packers) and OL Jarrett Kingston (sixth round, 215 overall).

The five draftees ties for the Trojans' most since having six drafted in 2015, matching the five draftees in the 2017 and 2021 draft classes.

Rice had a career-best 45 catches for 791 yards and 12 touchdowns this season for USC, in his second year with the program after transferring over from Colorado. He showed tremendous improvement from his struggle with drops in 2022, becoming one of Williams' most trusted targets while making a highlight reel of athletic catches in traffic or on the sideline.

When he finally came off the draft board, Rice tweeted simply, "All I needed was a shot. Charged up."