There are plenty of decisions to make over the next month until the Indianapolis Colts are on the clock in the 2020 NFL draft, and it could include considering taking a wide receiver that early.
Though it would be outside of the expectations for general manager Chris Ballard, there is such high-end talent in this wide receiver class that he may want to take advantage of it at the top.
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One of the top talents in the class—arguably the top talent—is Alabama’s Henry Ruggs III, who was listed as a fit for the Colts by Pro Football Focus.
It’s still up in the air as to who will be under center for Indianapolis come Week 1, but whoever it is should be brought in through free agency as opposed to reaching for Justin Herbert or Jordan Love at Pick 13 — where the Colts should instead take a wide receiver. Out of all 32 NFL teams in 2019, the Colts owned the second-least valuable wide receiver unit. Taking speedster Henry Ruggs III, who our analytics team absolutely loves, would be an immediate upgrade on the outside and form a top-tier duo with T.Y. Hilton. Ruggs is clearly one of the most explosive receivers after the catch and can make plays in traffic as good as anyone in the class.
Ruggs had a low target share as a result of being teammates with Jeudy as well as top 2021 draft prospects DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle. As my colleague Ben Linsey said last week, Ruggs’ production is an outlier — no other receiver with a target rate below 20% the last two years managed to average more than 11.0 yards per target other than Ruggs, who sat at 12.0. Trust us on this one Indianapolis — Ruggs over Herbert or Love is the way to go.
Ruggs has the ability to take the top off of a defense at any point and while that’s enough to get defenders to respect his game, he also has shown to be a great route runner as well. He’s not perfectly polished, but he’s deliberate in his routes and doesn’t lose any speed coming out of his breaks.
Ballard’s M.O. over the last three years goes against taking a wide receiver this high. And while the depth in the class is strong enough to allow them to wait until Day 2, the elite talent at the top could be enough to convince Ballard to change his ways this time around.
The quarterback position is still the biggest question mark for the Colts, but whoever is under center is going to need more weapons. Ruggs’ draft profile might have questions because of a lack of overall production, but he’s still one of the top targets the Colts have at No. 13.
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