49ers Jerry Rice should have his own Last Dance documentary

After the success of the Michael Jordan documentary, The Last Dance on ESPN, another GOAT who could use a document of his own: 49ers receiver Jerry Rice.

There’s little doubt former San Francisco 49ers receiver Jerry Rice is the greatest player ever at his position. Many could even argue he’s the greatest player ever regardless of position.

In that regard, Rice matches up rather well with another legend, Michael Jordan, who is widely considered the greatest player ever in the NBA.

Which begs the question: why couldn’t Rice get his own version of ESPN’s hit documentary, The Last Dance?

One of the main arguments for Rice getting a documentary of this magnitude is simply his position as one of the great NFL players who, much like Jordan, had a work ethic that was legendary not just in San Francisco, but throughout the league.

Rice expected a lot of his teammates. While he might not have alienated them in the same way that Jordan was famous for, the wide receiver did ask many to train as hard as he did all throughout his 21-year NFL career, 14 of which were played as a member of the 49ers.

Rice’s background would make for an interesting start to the documentary, as he rose up from relatively unknown Mississippi Valley State, a historically black college in Itta Bena, Mississippi, to become the 49ers’ first-round draft pick in 1985. San Francisco engineering a trade-up to get Rice would be a great portion of an episode alone.

After a slow rookie season, Rice exploded onto the scene in 1986, leading the league in receiving yards with 1,570 and touchdowns (15) on 86 receptions.

He would go on to rack up 60-plus receptions, 1,000-plus receiving yards and nine-plus touchdowns each year for the next 11 seasons, leading the league in catches twice, receiving yards six times and touchdowns six times, including a record-setting 22 touchdowns in 1987 in just 12 games due to a strike-shortened season.

Rice also added at least one rushing touchdown in eight of those 11 campaigns en route to 11 Pro Bowl appearances and being named to 10 first-team All-Pro teams.

Not to mention he was part of three Super Bowl championships with the 49ers.

Oh, and by the way, Rice also went on to play three more full seasons in San Francisco, before finishing his career with three successful seasons as a member of the Oakland Raiders, where he played in another Super Bowl, before trading him to Seattle midway through the 2004 season.

Rice retired on Sept. 5, 2005, after failing to crack the top-three receiving slots for the Denver Broncos and then signed a one-day contract with the 49ers on Aug. 24, 2006, in order to officially call it quits as a member of his former team.

He left the game as the NFL’s all-time leader in receptions (1,549), receiving yards (22,895), receiving touchdowns (197), total touchdowns (208), yards from scrimmage (23,540) and all-purpose yards (23,546). Rice is also in the top-10 in career games (303, eighth), games started (284, eighth) and playoff games played/started (29, third/second).

Rice was a first-ballot Hall of Fame selection and was inducted on Aug. 7, 2010, along with names like former New Orleans Saints linebacker Rickey Jackson, former Detroit Lions cornerback Dick LeBeau and former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith.

What a documentary on Jerry Rice and the 49ers would be like

The numbers alone and the manner in which Rice achieved them are worthy of spending time on the receiver with a documentary, but his drive to keep going after being released by the 49ers after the 2000 season would add intrigue to the story and reveal a great deal about what it takes to be the greatest of all time.

One of the most intriguing episodes would have to focus on Rice’s infamous workout, The Hill, which he has continued long after his retirement. Just like how The Last Dance spent time with Jordan’s work ethic and how he really dug into it after losing several times to the Detroit Pistons in the playoffs early in his career, Rice’s Hill would help to unpack a similar part of the receiver’s desire to be great.

And ultimately that would be the focus of Rice’s documentary in much the same way that The Last Dance was for Jordan. Rice wasn’t necessarily always the most physically gifted player all the time, although he was clearly a great athlete. But he became the NFL’s GOAT because of how hard he worked and the detail into which he dove in order to achieve that.

While there might be an argument to be made that Rice doesn’t have the universal appeal of an NBA player like Jordan, Rice’s greatness should outweigh that and draw in football fans of all teams.

Because even if you spent most of his career rooting against him, there’s no doubt Jerry Rice was a great receiver who is beyond worthy of a Last Dance-like documentary to focus not only on what he did but how he did it throughout his NFL career.