ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has changed his tune a bit on the Buffalo Bills in regard to their first-round pick at the upcoming NFL draft.
The ESPN analyst released his second mock ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft on Tuesday. In it, the Bills select wide receiver Henry Ruggs from Alabama. In his first slate of guesses, the Bills also take a wide receiver, but the pick at that point was Colorado’s Laviska Shenault.
Here’s how Kiper breaks down his Ruggs selection:
John Brown and Cole Beasley each were targeted more than 100 times last season. Can you name the Bills pass-catcher who ranked third on the team in targets? That would be rookie tight end Dawson Knox, who came on at the end of the season, finishing with 28 catches on 50 targets. So let’s get Josh Allen another speedy target in Ruggs, who might be the fastest player in the entire 2020 class. I’ve been told to expect a time under 4.30 in the 40-yard dash at the combine. Ruggs is more than a speed guy who will catch deep balls; he improved as a route runner in 2019 and can break tackles after the catch.
Ruggs has a fantastic skill set and will likely be a first-round pick at the upcoming draft. However, he’s not quite the exact type of wide receiver many observers of the team would like to see on the Bills. At 6-feet tall, Ruggs isn’t an overly large target with a big catch radius. The Bills have talent with only modest size already in wideouts John Brown and Cole Beasley. But he does have game-breaking quickness which makes Ruggs a dynamic weapon for any offense.
In Kiper’s second mock, Ruggs is the fourth receiver to be selected as CeeDee Lamb and Jerry Jeudy go early, but speaking of size, Tee Higgins is selected before the Bills as well, but in a bit of a tough way. Those looking for a big-bodied target might be upset seeing Higgins come off the board at No. 21 overall to the Eagles, one pick before the Bills’ first rounder at No. 22.
In addition, Ruggs is also the second-to-last receiver taken in the first round. LSU’s Justin Jefferson goes to the Packers at pick No. 30 as Shenault drops out of Kiper’s first-round range.
Shenault will be a potential first rounder depending on his scouting combine performance later this month. He was diagnosed with osteitis pubis, an inflammation of the pubic bone. But it was announced he’ll avoid surgery, so Shenault is likely hoping to prove at the combine that the injury isn’t anything serious.
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