The Raiders drafted not one, but two wide receivers in the 2020 NFL Draft; Alabama’s Henry Ruggs and South Carolina’s Bryan Edwards. While Ruggs will undoubtedly get more of the national attention after being drafted at No. 12 overall, don’t sleep on Edwards potentially having a better career.
Edwards was highly productive in the SEC, setting school records in receptions and receiving yards. In fact, he was the more productive receiver even when he and Deebo Samuel shared the field.
But before the 2020 NFL Combine was set to begin, Edwards broke his foot training and was unable to participate in any pre-draft drills. That caused his stock to drop quite a bit as he fell to pick No. 81 to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Had Edwards not injured his foot, there is a real chance he would have been a top-50 selection, if not higher. In a recent article by NFL Insider Adam Caplan, he wrote about the Raiders having a first-round tape grade on Edwards before the foot injury:
“After this season, look for third-round pick Bryan Edwards, who is still rehabbing his surgically repaired ankle, to possibly start at the “X” position. Edwards doesn’t figure to have much of a role this season, but he was drafted with the belief that he could start down the line. And the Raiders were one of many teams that felt he was a first-round talent just based on tape study, but his injury history dropped him down draft boards.”
It’s not all that shocking to hear that multiple teams loved Edwards’ film in college. There just wasn’t a lot not to like as he showed production over four years in the SEC and an overwhelming amount of competitiveness. But given the overall depth of the wide receiver class this year, a foot injury caused teams to break tiebreakers against him, allowing him to fall to the third round.
If Edwards can fully recover from his foot injury, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him fly up the depth chart and into a starting role. He profiles as an “X” receiver in the NFL due to his size and physicality and could be the perfect complement to Ruggs. The Raiders might have stolen one of the best receivers in the entire class in the third round in Bryan Edwards.
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