In every draft there seems to be one position that teams favor in the first round of the draft. For 2020, it’s the quarterbacks. However, there’s a ‘big three’ group of wide receivers that separate themselves from the rest.
That group consists of Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III, as well as Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb.
It is these three receivers whose names you will first here from the 2020 wide receiver class. The question remains, who will be the first one called?
Before the 2020 NFL Combine it had been universally accepted that Ruggs would be the final name to be called. However, his draft stock rose exponentially after his stellar performance at the combine.
While the original debate was between Jeudy and Lamb, Ruggs’ name has been thrown into the mix, and it’s about time we start recognizing him as a contender to be the first receiver selected.
Before comparing Ruggs to the other top prospects, lets examine what makes him so special as an individual.
His speed.
Ruggs can run so fast that he would have broken an NFL record in Alabama’s regular season matchup against South Carolina where he was clocked at a whopper 24.3 MPH on an 81-yard touchdown catch-and-run.
This would have been the fastest time in the NFL since Brandin Cooks in 2016 where he ran at 23.5, almost one full MPH slower.
It was also what brought his name into headlines before the combine as analysts had predicted he had the potential to beat John Ross’ 40-yard dash record time of 4.22. Ruggs came up short with a best time of 4.28.
It’s basically impossible to mention his name without referencing his impressive speed.
Now, let’s see how he stacks up against Jeudy and Lamb, both of whom are known for their route-running abilities.
All three of them are forgoing their senior seasons at their respective programs, so we will be looking mainly at their stats from their junior season.
In 2019, CeeDee Lamb had 1,327 yards on 62 catches for 14 touchdowns through 71 plays throughout the season.
Jeudy caught 77 passes for 1,163 yards and 10 touchdowns through 78 snaps throughout the season.
Ruggs’ numbers are lower with 746 yards on 40 receptions for seven touchdowns on 42 plays in 2019.
At first glance, Ruggs’ numbers look significantly lower, and that’s because they are. He played 64 fewer snaps than Jeudy and lamb combined.
It’s also worth noting that Alabama had one of the strongest receiving corps in the country with Jeudy not even being the leader in yards. DeVonta smith had almost 100 more yards than Jeudy. They also had five players have over 20 receptions, whereas Oklahoma only had two – and Lamb had almost double the amount of receptions as the next receiver.
Ruggs would have ranked No. 2 in Oklahoma’s system for total yardage in 2019.
As far as within the system, Ruggs averaged over three more yards per reception than Jeudy, while also having only three fewer touchdown receptions than Jeudy on 33 fewer receptions.
If given the same number of receptions and less competition within the program, Ruggs likely would have had stronger numbers than Lamb and Jeudy.
Not to mention Ruggs had two rushing attempts where he ran for 75 yards and a lone touchdown.
At the end of the day all three receivers will be an excellent choice for any team in need of a pass catcher. However, Ruggs was overlooked in 2019 as he was swamped in a program that consisted of what appears to be four first-round receivers.
Who knows what the rankings of this ‘big three’ could be if Ruggs was put on more people’s radars sooner. Even without all the hype Jeudy and Lamb received during the college football season Ruggs is still being thrown into the conversation for being the best wide receiver in this 2020 NFL Draft class.
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