Wide receivers don’t win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award very often. Since 2004, only two receivers have taken home the honors; Odell Beckham Jr. in 2014 and Percy Harvin in 2009. So it appears that Raiders’ rookie receiver Henry Ruggs III doesn’t stand a chance, right?
Think again.
Unlike most of the receivers in this draft class, Ruggs enters a situation with a ton of available targets. Before the 2019 season started, the plan was to feed Antonio Brown the ball and let Tyrell Williams and Hunter Renfrow complement him. But after he was released before Week 1, the Raiders had to change their passing attack dramatically.
Given that the team used the No. 12 pick on Ruggs, they will likely feature him early and often in their offense. In a recent piece by Doug Farrar of the Touchdown Wire, he wrote about why Ruggs could be in for a huge rookie season with the Raiders:
Ruggs going to the Raiders with the 12th overall pick most have made the late Al Davis happy, given Davis’ decades-long thing for receivers who could burn down the field, forcing cornerbacks and safeties to play catch-up. Ruggs, the Alabama alum who ran a 4.27 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, has every bit of that speed on the field, and he’s a more diverse route-runner than you might expect. Once he lines up with Derek Carr, the Raiders’ passing could the vertical festival Jon Gruden clearly wants it to be.
For Ruggs to win the award, all he would need to do is hit on 8-10 big plays. And if he were to do it on the prime time stage, that will help even more. Ruggs has the home run ability to score from any point on the field and that’s why the Raiders were so eager to spend the No. 12 pick on him.
If Ruggs can come close to 1,000 yards and double-digit touchdowns, consider him a lock to be in the conversation for the Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
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