2024 NFL Mock Draft: Plugging the holes to push 49ers to Super Bowl

Brenden Rice has been a romantic pick for the 49ers, given his father is the greatest Niners (or player) of all time.

Jerry Rice, you might have heard of him?

But there's also a logical side to it, too. The 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk will be working on a long-term deal, but there's no telling how that'll go. San Francisco also needs to build up depth behind Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings, the latter being a restricted free agent this offseason.

Rice had 45 receptions for 791 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2023, catching the ball from likely No. 1 pick, quarterback Caleb Williams. Rice has a good size at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, plus good route-running abilities as you'd expect from someone with his bloodline.

Rice is on the Day 2/Day 3 bubble, so the Niners might have to look at him with a higher pick than this if he has a strong predraft process.