The Raiders were in desperate need of a No. 1 receiver this offseason. After declining to address the need in a big way in free agency, the Raiders opted to wait until the NFL Draft to fill that spot.
Luckily for them, they had their choice of any receiver in the class at pick No. 12 and decided on Alabama’s Henry Ruggs III. While Ruggs wasn’t even the No. 1 receiver on his own team with the Crimson Tide, his impact goes beyond the box score.
In a recent article by Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report, he named each team’s best move of the offseason with just under two weeks until the season kicks off. For the Raiders, that move was selecting Ruggs in the first round. Here is a snippet of why Knox’s believes that move will pay big dividends for the Raiders this season:
“The Las Vegas Raiders took a big swing by making Alabama’s Henry Ruggs III the first receiver off the board in April’s draft. It was a calculated gamble that could pay off in a big way.
His mere presence will open things up underneath for quarterback Derek Carr and will reduce the number of eight-man boxes Josh Jacobs sees in 2020. The stats may not indicate it at season’s end, but Ruggs can have as big an impact as any rookie receiver in the NFL this year.”
Ruggs probably won’t lead all rookies in yards and receptions this season because that’s not really his role. His job will be to create the occasional big play to keep defenses from loading the box in the run game. And if we can get safeties to play on their heels, that should only help players like Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow underneath.
Don’t expect a big statistical season for Ruggs, but expect him to be an important part of their passing offense this year.
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