Raiders select WR Henry Ruggs in first round of NFL Draft

Alabama wide receiver Henry Ruggs was selected in the first round of the NFL draft by the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Las Vegas Raiders selected Alabama wide receiver Henry Ruggs III with the 12th overall pick in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday evening.

Ruggs (5-11, 188 pounds) ran a 40-yard dash in 4.27 seconds and recorded a vertical jump of 42 inches at the combine earlier this offseason. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein has compared Ruggs to Ted Ginn Jr., who was the ninth overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft.

“He won’t rack up the targets, but has explosive speed and talent to imprint on games with regularity,” Zierlein wrote of Ruggs before the draft.

During his final two seasons with the Crimson Tide, Ruggs caught 86 passes for 1,487 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also rushed for a touchdown.

Ruggs was the third-best receiver in this year’s class, according to Luke Easterling’s post-combine rankings on Draft Wire.

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