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Rice: Gabbert has the confidence of a starting QB

Kelley L Cox / USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco 49ers' upcoming training camp quarterback competition between Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert is a far cry away from the battles Jerry Rice witnessed between Hall of Fame passers Joe Montana and Steve Young.

But Rice said Thursday that if Chip Kelly picks the right quarterback and gets the offense rolling, the 49ers could surprise many with a run in the competitive NFC West.

Rice didn't endorse either passer, but did appear to be leaning toward Gabbert, who he believes has "excelled' so far this offseason.

"These two guys, they're gonna have to compete in training camp. It should be pretty good since Gabbert, he really has excelled a lot," Rice said in an interview with NFL Network's Steve Wyche, according to Conor Orr of NFL.com. "I had an opportunity to meet him, and you can just tell the confidence. He feels he has a legitimate chance of being the starter. Then you got Colin Kaepernick, and I don't know if they're gonna be able to, you know, that offense of Chip Kelly because he likes to get over the ball, he likes constant movement and all of that.

"So you need a quarterback that can run, a quarterback that's mobile, a quarterback that can get outside the pocket, extend plays and still have vision downfield and throw the football. It should be pretty competitive, but there's a lot of question marks and it's up to Chip Kelly to somehow put this team together. If he does that, I feel like, you're in the West, we might have a legitimate chance."

There are few better qualified than Rice to judge the quality of a receiving corp, and the legendary ex-wideout believes San Francisco's lack of experience and top-notch talent at the position could be the offense's main weakness.

"You need to have that number one," Rice said. "I don't think Anquan Boldin, I think he's gone. It's hard when you don't have that guy that can make big plays. Not saying the guys that they have right now, but these are some very young guys. You got to able to have that experience on the football field. That was something that I had."

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