Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice joined 95.7 The Game on Monday morning and shared his thoughts on second-year quarterback Nick Mullens' performance last Thursday night.
Mullens completed 16-of-22 pass attempts for 262 yards with three touchdowns and a passer rating of 151.9 in his regular-season debut. Rice wasn't just impressed with the numbers Mullens put up during the primetime performance, he was impressed with the young quarterback's command of the offense.
Rice even compared Mullens to another 49ers quarterback. It wasn't, however, a great player from the team's rich history.
"Nick Mullens, he was just unbelievable," Rice said on the "Joe, Lo, and Dibs" show. "I don't like to compare people, but just to see his composure on the football field, it was almost like Jimmy G. And the guy, he was so intelligent. He was looking the defenders off. He knew exactly where he wanted to go with the football."
Head coach Kyle Shanahan hasn't announced his starting quarterback for next Monday night's game against the New York Giants, but some NFL insiders would be shocked if Mullens doesn't get the nod after his impressive performance.
Rice said the 49ers found an identity during the 34-3 victory over the Oakland Raiders. The players, including tight end George Kittle, rallied around Mullens.
"I think the biggest thing that I took away was that this guy -- players, they like him," Rice said. "The guys feed off him. They were making plays all over that football field. For me, when Kittle catches the ball, he reminds me of someone because whenever I caught the football, I'm thinking, 'score.' And you can tell by the way he's running with the ball, a lot of physicalities and stuff like that, he wants to get in the end zone."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Rice below.