Tag: Henry Ruggs III

Raiders release statement on fatal car crash involving WR Henry Ruggs III

Raiders release statement on fatal car crash involving WR Henry Ruggs III

Early Tuesday morning, Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III was involved in a car accident that resulted in one death. Ruggs’s Corvette allegedly collided with the back of a Toyota Rav4. This resulted in the Rav4 catching fire, killing the driver of the vehicle, according to Las Vegas Police Department filings.

Ruggs and his passenger suffered minor injuries and were taken to a local hospital. He stayed on the scene and was charged with Driving Under the Influence.

Shortly after the details came out about the collision, the Raiders released a statement.

“The Raiders are aware of an accident involving Henry Ruggs III that occurred this morning in Las Vegas. We are devastated by the loss of life and our thoughts and prayers go out to the victim’s family.  We are in the process of gathering information and will have no further comment at this time.”

The Raiders are coming out of their bye week and are set to return to practice on Wednesday. The details of this incident are coming out bit by bit and we should know soon enough if the Raiders or the NFL plan on taking any immediate action with regard to Ruggs.

Regardless of what happens to Ruggs, it’s important to remember the actual victim in this — the person who lost their life. The focus should remain solely on the victim and that person’s family.

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Raiders WR Henry Ruggs III on ‘new level’, showing signs of living up to draft position

Raiders WR Henry Ruggs III on ‘new level’, showing signs of living up to draft position

One could probably still argue that Henry Ruggs III was not worthy of being the first receiver taken in the 2020 NFL Draft. After his underwhelming rookie season, there were questions about whether he should have been taken even among the top six or seven receivers in that class. 

It didn’t look promising after one season. The 12th overall pick receiver was behind nearly every rookie receiver in the class even deep into the second round. Justin Jefferson was the breakout early star while the likes of Jerry Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb, and Brandon Aiyuk, and second-round picks Chase Claypool, Tee Higgins, Michael Pittman Jr, and Laviska Shenault were all ahead of Ruggs in the numbers.

Now six games into his second season Ruggs is starting to prove he belongs. That all that speed and potential may have been worth taking a chance on.

Currently, Ruggs is 16th in the league in receiving yards this season. His 445 yards receiving is just seven yards behind his entire 2020 season total (452). His two touchdowns matches his rookie numbers and he’s just six catches away from matching his rookie numbers. Which means he could very well surpass his rookie totals across the board less than halfway through the season.

Raiders’ offensive coordinator Greg Olson is seeing the different level of commitment to putting in the work for Ruggs that he thinks has led to his improved play.

“He’s confident and a different guy,” said Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson. “We talk about it in the quarterback room with all three QBs. Henry Ruggs is always the topic, how he came out of his shell this year in terms of communication with the quarterback and what he’s doing on the practice field and his extra work habits and his preparation in the film room. He’s a different guy, not that he was a bad study or a guy that didn’t prep well last year. It’s just he’s taken it to a new level this season and it’s been really encouraging to watch.”

There is absolutely no question Ruggs is a different player this year than he was as a rookie. Everyone was wondering where all his speed was as he was not getting open consistently, let alone separating from defenders. And all the big plays everyone was expecting to see from him were just not there.

Those big plays have been there this season as evidenced by the fact that his yards per catch is up nearly five yards this season (22.3) from his rookie year (17.4). And he already has more first down catches (14) in 20 catches than he did in 26 catches (13) last season.

Quarterback Derek Carr has developed a trust in Ruggs this season which has led to the big plays we’ve been seeing on the field.

“Henry has opened up so much,” Carr said. “He communicates with me so well in the games. It’s unbelievable how well he communicates and articulates exactly what he sees, and he’s right. I’ve had guys all the time, ‘Oh man, you got to see me on this.’ And I’m like, ‘Dude, you’re not open.’ And he’s right when he comes over. He’s like, ‘hey if they play like this, I’m going to do it like this.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s exactly what’s going to happen,’ and then we go do it in the game and it’s been really impressive to watch that grow.”

Carr said something like this when describing a catch Ruggs had against the Dolphins a few weeks ago. Ruggs came back to the huddle after a play in which his route took him to the left sideline, told Carr about it and they tried it again later in the game, resulting in a great catch along the sideline to open up the overtime period. A drive that ended with a field goal.

“It’s just a testament to our hard work,” Ruggs said of the trust Carr has developed in him. “We started in the summer. Just from where we started last year, we knew we had to make improvements and that was what we set our mind to. Day in, day out, talking to [Carr], understanding how he sees things, how he thinks, sitting in the film room with him, and just developing that camaraderie on and off the field, it makes everything better. We trust him, he trusts us. We just gotta go make plays for him and make him look good.”

Last week that trust had Carr launch a ball for Ruggs near the goal line that seemed like it just as easily have been picked off as caught. And Ruggs adjusted to the ball, going through the defender to make the catch for a 40-yard gain and put the Raiders in first and goal. They scored the touchdown on the next play. And, of course, there’s the catch he made on Xavien Howard.

Clearly Ruggs has taken his play to another level. So, how is he comparing to his draft class this season?

Ruggs’s 445 yards is third behind draft classmates Justin Jefferson (542) and CeeDee Lamb (497). While Ruggs’s four 40+ catches leads his draft class and is second in the NFL and his nine catches of 20+ yards is tied with Lamb for the best among the draft class and is fourth in the NFL.

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Baller & Busters for Raiders Week 6 vs Broncos

Baller & Busters for Raiders Week 6 vs Broncos

It was a statement game for the Raiders in Denver. With Gruden out and Rich Bisaccia in place as interim head coach, no one really knew how the Raiders would respond. They could collapse monumentally or they could come together and play inspired football. It was very much the latter.

The team had their first opening-drive score since week 11 of last season. It was a touchdown too. Then they kept it going to stop their trend of slow starts this season. They scored 17 in the first half and 17 in the second half, while the defense ensured the Broncos couldn’t close the gap.

They finished by scoring their most points of the season (34) and had the game iced midway through the fourth quarter.

Plenty of credit to go around for this dominant performance.

Ballers

DE Maxx Crosby

Five sacks. That’s how many the Raiders had. And Crosby was in on all of them. He shared a sack with Quinton Jefferson on the first drive and added a QB hit that forced a bad pass. His second sack was all his and led to a stalled drive. Then he and Jefferson teamed up again to end the first half with the Raiders taking a 17-7 lead into the locker room.

The first play of the second half was Crosby being held on a play he would have stuffed in the backfield otherwise. The next drive he teamed up with Cory Littleton for his third sack. That drive stalled for a field goal. The next drive ended with Crosby pressuring Bridgewater who tried to scramble and fumbled it away.

On the first drive of the fourth quarter, he batted a pass down at the line to set up third and 20. But the Broncos would end up converting on fourth down and finish with a touchdown to pull within two scores. The Raiders brought it back to a three-score game with eight minutes left. on the second play of the Broncos’ attempt to respond, Crosby stuffed a run for a loss. Two plays later, on third and 11, Bridgewater was picked off to put this one on ice.

Crosby finished with six tackles, 3.0 sacks, one tackle for loss, and one pass breakup. The five sacks he was in on were reminiscent of a former Raiders great on a trip to Denver.

QB Derek Carr, OC Greg Olson, Henry Ruggs III

Carr had to execute this offense without Gruden. And Olson had to step into play-calling duties for the first time in five years. And they killed it. The offense opened up and worked like a well-oiled machine from start to finish for the first time this season.

The first drive was capped by a 48-yard touchdown pass from Carr to Ruggs on a deep post. The next drive ended in a score as well, highlighted by a 25-yard hookup with Hunter Renfrow and ended with a 50-yard field goal. And the final drive of the first half saw Carr throw a majestic perfect strike to Kenyan Drake for a 31-yard touchdown.

Carr and Olson kept it going on the first possession of the third quarter. On the second play, Olson made the perfect call for a screen — something we didn’t much of under Gruden. The Broncos brought the house just as the Raiders wanted, Carr dropped it over them to Josh Jacobs and he had an entourage of blockers for a 29-yard screen play. Two plays later the Raiders scored.

At the end of the third quarter, the Raiders capitalized on a turnover. Carr dropped back on third and 12 under pressure and launched a rainbow. It wasn’t a great pass, but at worst it gets picked, which would have been the equivalent of a punt. But it wasn’t picked. Ruggs tracked it down, and even tripped over the defender, and still managed to catch it for a 40-yard completion. Two plays later, they punched it in for another touchdown to take a 31-10 lead.

31 points were already more than the Raiders had scored in regulation all season. And it was still the third quarter.

With the Broncos scoring again, the Raiders needed just one score to put the game away. On third and six, Carr threw a perfect pass to Bryan Edwards along the left sideline and he streaked up the sideline for 51 yards. That put the team inside the 20 and a few plays later a short field goal put the Raiders back at a three-score lead while setting a new high for points scored on the season. And that includes the OT games.

Carr finished with 341 yards passing on 18 completions, which is an incredible 18.9 yards per completion. Ruggs had three catches for 97 yards, two of which were huge completions leading to two touchdowns.

DT Solomon Thomas, DT Quinton Jefferson, DT Damion Square

Jefferson teamed up with Crosby on two sacks. He led the interior Dline with four tackles and had two QB hits. Square shared a sack with Crosby as well and had three QB hits and two tackles. Thomas had three QB hits and forced a fumble.

Jefferson’s second shared sack ended the first half. One of Thomas’s QB hits ended their first possession of the third quarter and nearly led to an interception. His forced fumble was recovered by the Raiders and they started their drive at the Denver 42 and took advantage with a touchdown.

RB Kenyan Drake

Quite an efficient day for Drake. He played just 12 snaps and touched the ball six times. Those touches were a six-yard run, a nine-yard run, an 8-yard catch, a 31-yard TD catch, an 18-yard TD run, and a one-yard run after the game was in hand. That’s 73 yards and two touchdowns. Have yourself a day, Kenyan.

LB Cory Littleton

Tied for the team lead with 11 tackles. He started a three-and-out by the Broncos in the second quarter with an open-field tackle to stop a catch for one yard. And he teamed up with Crosby for a sack that stalled a Broncos drive in the third quarter. On the Broncos’ final scoring drive, Littleton did his part. He made the stop on third and 20, but they converted on fourth down. On the next play, he batted down in the end zone on the next play.

CB Brandon Facyson, DB Roderic Teamer

Less than two weeks since joining the team, and on his fourth defensive snap, Facyson had an interception. It was the first of his career and just the second interception by the Raiders this season.

That turnover was made possible because Teamer made the stop short on the sticks on third down the play before. At the end of the second quarter, Teamer made the tackle on a catch well short of the first down on third and 16 to force a punt. The Raiders got the ball back with just over a minute and drove for a touchdown before the half.

In the third quarter, Teamer had tight coverage to force an incompletion in the back of the end zone and force the Broncos to settle for a field goal. And after the Raiders went up 34-17, Facyson knocked down a pass to set up third and 11. Bridgewater was picked by Tre’von Moehrig on his ensuing desperation throw.

Honorable Mention

S Tre’von Moehrig — Had the first interception of his career. Nearly had two, but the first was knocked out of his hands. Also didn’t give up any catches and had three tackles.

CB Casy Hayward — Continued to prove he’s the best cornerback on this team. He had a pass breakup on a deep pass and gave up just two catches for 24 yards. Also forced a couple of penalties on a push-off and a blindside block.

Busters

CB Amik Robertson

Robertson got the start again with Trayvon Mullen and Damon Arnette both injured. He lasted nine snaps before he was pulled in favor of Brandon Facyson.

Yes, nine snaps. That’s because in those nine snaps, he gave up a seven-yard catch, a 14-yard catch on third and 12, a 23-yard touchdown catch, and missed a tackle on a ten-yard run.

Those nine snaps weren’t the end of his day. He played four more snaps over the remainder of the game. And on one of those four snaps, he missed another tackle to give up a 30-yard run that set up the Broncos’ second score. Being almost wholly responsible for two scores — the only two scores the Broncos had over the first three quarters — is a brutal 13 snaps.

SS Johnathan Abram

The interception was cool and all. Though it was a desperation heave with the game already out of reach, so it was just window dressing. What was not nice was the five catches for 63 yards he gave up. Those included a 14-yard catch on the Broncos’ second scoring drive and a 26-yard catch on their third scoring drive.

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Derek Carr airing it out as the Raiders build an first-half lead

Derek Carr’s touch and placement in the vertical passing game helped the Raiders build a first-half lead in Denver.

After the Las Vegas Raiders dealt with a week of headlines that had nothing to do with the play on the field, the team finally got back to action on the road against their long-time rival the Denver Broncos.

And the right arm of quarterback Derek Carr played a huge role in the first half.

The Raiders took a 17-7 lead to the halftime break thanks in large part to Carr and the vertical passing attack. The quarterback, who showed last season an ability to push the football downfield that had been missing from his game in year’s past, hit on 13 of 19 passes for 210 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the first thirty minutes, giving him an impressive 11.1 yards per attempt.

Carr connected with second-year wide receiver Henry Ruggs III to open the scoring in the first quarter:

Notice Carr’s eyes on this play. He opens to the right side of the field first, before flashing them to the left to pick up the streaking Ruggs. You’ll notice that the post-safety is just a step late to react to Ruggs, likely influenced by how the quarterback used his eyes at the start of the play.

With time winding down in the first half, Carr dropped into the pocket and lofted a throw downfield to tight end Darren Waller:

This play needs time to develop, as the tight end works all the way across the field from the left to the right. Carr cannot step into the throw, as he has pressure at his feet, but the touch and placement from Carr on this pass is elite.

How did that possession end? With Carr again using touch and placement on a vertical throw, this time to running back Kenyan Drake on the out-and-up route:

As with the previous play, Carr delivers this throw with pressure in his face. But having identified the matchup he wants — Drake on a linebacker — Carr delivers this throw with pristine touch and trajectory.

Thanks to the play of their quarterback, the Raiders enjoy a lead on the road against their rivals.

And likely some relief from what has been a whirlwind few days for the organization.

 

 

 

 

‘I had a little fire behind me’: Henry Ruggs III comes up big again as Raiders claw back vs Dolphins

‘I had a little fire behind me’: Henry Ruggs III comes up big again as Raiders claw back vs Dolphins

With just second remaining in the first quarter, the Raiders were down 14-0 to the Dolphins. The first TD came on a pick-six from Derek Carr to Dolphins LB Elandon Roberts. The second TD the old fashioned way; on a run up the middle from 24 yards out.

A safety at the end of the first quarter gave the Raiders their first points. A drive for a field goal made it a 14-5 games. But things really got moving on the next drive and it was Henry Ruggs who got them moving.

Two catches in particular were just the kind of plays the Raiders offense needed to jumpstart things.

The first was a pass to Ruggs who was running a cross from right to left with All Pro cornerback Xavien Howard defending. The Carr pass looked dangerous, but Ruggs went up and took the ball away from Howard.

“To me it was just me making a play. Me being me,” Ruggs said of the catch over Howard. “I went up to get it because I didn’t want to give him time to get back and cover it.”

“He had man coverage on one of the best corners in the NFL,” Derek Carr said of Ruggs vs Howard. “Henry went up, I gave him a chance to make the play, I didn’t want to overthrow him, so I just threw it kind of at him and let him go up and get it. But he’s proven that as well as he runs (horizontally), he plays a vertical game too. I’m sure you’ve seen some of his basketball highlights, the guy’s unbelievable at going up and getting the ball.”

That catch went for 23 yards to put the Raiders in Miami territory at the 48. Carr and the offense would keep it moving, driving into field goal range. Then on third-and-three, Ruggs made an even better catch along the sideline, leaping in the air to make the grab over Jevon Holland, keeping his feet inbounds and holding onto it while getting hit.

Derek Carr said that play was set up by an earlier missed play that Ruggs learned from.

“We kind of ran the same play earlier in the game and he was trying to win with speed like he should and I tried to throw it at him,” said Carr. “When we came to the sideline, he said ‘hey, I completely saw what you saw, so if they do that again, I’ll be ready.’ We ran that play again, it was kind of a similar look, so he looked at me and so we hit it that time. That’s just an in-game adjustment for a young receiver saying ‘I saw what you saw and now just trust me and I’ll get it next time.’ When I threw it I thought I threw it too high and he just went up and got it and made the play.”

The catch went for 21 yards to put the Raiders at the 8-yard-line with a roughing penalty on Holland for a late hit that put the Raiders in first-and-goal at the four. Two plays later, the Raiders scored their first touchdown.

The score brought the Raiders back to within two points, down 14-12.

While the safety may have been the turning point in the game, the Raiders don’t take the lead in the third quarter without those two incredible catches by Ruggs, laying the groundwork for the offense to once again pull out a late, come-from-behind win.

The game would end up going to overtime, where it was fellow second-year receiver Bryan Edwards who took the baton, coming up with two huge long catches to help the Raiders pull it out.

Gruden says he sees a change in the two young receivers.

“Both of those guys had big days today against one of the better secondaries in pro football,” Gruden said of Ruggs and Edwards. “The one thing for me is I see these young guys really come to life. I see a different look in their eyes. I see a different confidence. And now they’re starting to demand the ball, so they’re starting to get on my nerves a little bit. But they’re going to be a great duo with [Darren] Waller and some of the others.”

Carr added that the play of Ruggs and Edwards gives him more confidence to throw to them. You can trace that confidence right back to that first pass over the middle to Ruggs that got everything going. Ruggs rewarded Carr’s confidence with the big catch. Then he did it again with his in-game adjustment.

“The biggest thing is just I say we’re just comfortable,” Ruggs said of he and Edwards. “We’re more confident in our assignments and our jobs and just knowing who we are to help the team. I had a little fire behind me for this game, so I’m just ready to go.”

Ruggs wouldn’t say what that fire was, adding only that “some things were said” and that he “was just ready to play and prove who I was.”

He proved a lot to his team and everyone else for that matter. Whatever ‘fire’ Ruggs had behind him coming into this one, he should keep stoking it, because it’s clearly serving him well.

Watch: Derek Carr goes long ball late to Henry Ruggs III for 61-yard score

Watch: Derek Carr goes long ball late to Henry Ruggs III for 61-yard score

We have a good ball game in Pittsburgh. Where the Raiders and Steelers have been trading blows all day. Then early in the fourth quarter, Henry Ruggs got a step on his defender on a post route and Derek Carr aired it out for a majestic 61-yard touchdown.

It’s the biggest connection we’ve seen between Carr and Ruggs since the Raiders made the Alabama speedster the first receiver taken in the 2020 NFL Draft. And it’s exactly the type of play that the Raiders drafted him to make.

The catch put the Raiders up 23-14 over the hometown Steelers who had just a bit earlier had a 52-yard hookup between Ben Roethlisberger and Chase Claypool.

The Ruggs catch was his fifth of the day, putting him at 113 to take the team lead. Meanwhile Derek Carr has been spreading the ball around and that connection put him over 300 yards for the game. Most importantly it gave the Raiders a two-score lead late.

Raiders training camp notebook: Second-year receivers stepping up with Darren Waller out

Raiders second-year receivers stepping-up with Darren Waller down

The past couple days have been the next phase in Raiders training camp. They moved from the acclimation period to practicing in pads. With that comes more team sessions and therefore more opportunities to see offense vs defense.

Unfortunately, these past two practices have also happened without the Raiders best player on the field.

Darren Waller caught a franchise record 107 passes last season. Gruden has said this offense is built around his Pro Bowl tight end which means not having him out there means the team “changed the script a little bit” as Gruden put it.

That means relying more on the actual wide receivers on the team. That begins with second-year receivers Henry Ruggs III and Bryan Edwards.

Ruggs was the team’s top pick in last year’s draft, but it was Edwards who was stealing the show in training camp. Injuries put a damper on his season and likely played a role in why Waller had the workload he did.

Gruden would like the wide receivers to take some pressure off of Waller and the past two days have offered a preview of what that might look like.

Edwards in particular was making some of his high-point, 50/50 ball catches today, showing that he has the potential to step up in this offense to take pressure off Waller.

“[Gruden] told me I was going to get more opportunities with Waller down for a little bit and I’m trying to make the most of it,” said Edwards.

A couple catches were particularly impressive. One in which he got Amik Robertson turned around Carr threw it up for Edwards to make a play on it. Another in which Edwards got a step on Keisean Nixon and by the time Nixon had recovered, he ended up committing pass interference. And Edwards still caught it.

Ruggs showed off his deep speed Tuesday on a long touchdown in which he got behind the defense. Today he made several catches that showed he’s been working on his route running. Gruden sees Ruggs improvement in the mental side of the game.

“I think the big thing with Henry is he’s out here, he’s practicing, and he knows the offense,” said Gruden. “He anticipates what’s going to be called now instead of reacting to what’s called as he’s lining up.”

Last season the Raiders had high hopes for these two young receivers. They were starters for the season opener together. But it didn’t take long before it was clear the Raiders top receivers would be Waller, Nelson Agholor, and Hunter Renfrow. And they’d have to postpone their hopes for Ruggs and Edwards.

Waller’s absence thrusts them back into the spotlight. Gruden says he likes what he’s seen so far and I’d have to agree with him. Though I’m sure once games arrive, he’d just rather have his beast tight end back in the lineup, he may come out of this with greater comfort in the abilities of his young receivers to pick up the slack.

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Raiders WR Henry Ruggs added 13 pounds this offseason

Raiders WR Henry Ruggs added 13 pounds ‘It’s a man’s game now’

“I feel like myself I’m motivated to do some big things this year,” said Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III.

The 12th overall pick and first receiver taken in the 2020 draft did not do big things as a rookie. Jon Gruden describes Ruggs as a “difference-maker”, but you don’t take a receiver that high only to see him play decoy. You also don’t draft him to be one-dimensional.

Ruggs was known as a speed guy coming out of Alabama. A deep threat. And not much else. Gruden clearly sees Ruggs as his version of Tyreek Hill who is a speed guy, but a whole lot more than that. Ruggs’s answer? Bulk up.

The 5-11, 188-pounder says he packed on 13 pounds, which would put him at over 200 pounds currently.

“It was my main focus,” Ruggs said of his weight gain. It’s a man’s game now. I’m not the biggest guy, but I have to get to where I can compete with grown men now, so that was one of my biggest things that I hammered on was getting bigger, eating all the time and just hammering down in the weight room. People are saying I am noticeably bigger, so I guess it’s paying off.”

Ruggs is making a distinction between what he was able to accomplish at the college ranks and what clearly was a shock to his system at the pro level. It’s a good sign that he is recognizing that he isn’t simply going about things as he always did, but that he needed to make changes.

As you might expect, Ruggs doesn’t think the weight game will affect his speed. As he put it, he made sure to continue to focus in the weight room on “the little guy things”

The main area of the game that had Ruggs bulking up was to improve as a blocker. And he says it was mostly personal.

“Sometimes if I’m blocking I’m just like getting in the way and sometimes I’m moved out of the way and I didn’t like that personally, so I don’t want to be a guy who’s just thrown around and just trying to be in the way,” Ruggs added.

Head coach Jon Gruden said this week that the Raiders will continue to build the offense around tight end Darren Waller and he will look to the wide receivers on the team to take pressure off of his Pro Bowl tight end. Ruggs can do that by becoming more of a threat to the opposing defenses.

The question now is if packing on some muscle mass will help him with that. He hadn’t shown much of his world-class speed last season, but part of that was his inability to shed defenders. Some play strength could serve him well in that aspect. From there it will be about separating. That’s when we’ll see if his added weight has affected his speed.

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2020 NFL re-draft has seven wide receivers taken ahead of Henry Ruggs III

2020 NFL re-draft has seven wide receivers taken ahead of Henry Ruggs III

The 2020 draft saw Henry Ruggs III as the first wide receiver taken at 12 overall to the Raiders. One year in, that’s not nearly where the former Alabama speedster places among his fellow 2020 drafted peers.

Draftwire put together a 2020 re-draft to project how that draft would have gone had the NFL had the hindsight of the one year under their belts as NFL players. The most noticeable tumble was Ruggs, who not only was no longer the first wideout taken, he barely slipped into the first round.

Here’s the complete list of first-round receivers in the re-draft with the original draft position in parenthesis:

5. Justin Jefferson (22)
11. CeeDee Lamb (17)
15. Jerry Jeudy (15)
19. Chase Claypool (49)
20. Brandon Aiyuk (25)
21. Tee Higgins (33)
22. Laviska Shenault Jr (42)
26. Henry Ruggs III (12)

All seven of the receivers taken ahead of Ruggs in this re-draft put up better numbers last season than Ruggs. Jefferson in particular — originally the fifth WR taken — put up incredible rookie numbers with 18 catches for 1400 yards.

Ruggs caught 26 passes for 452 yards which put ten rookie wide receivers ahead of him including fifth-round pick Darnell Mooney and fourth-round pick Gabriel Davis. The only receiver taken in the first 45 picks to have worse numbers than Ruggs was Jalen Reagor, taken at 21 overall by the Eagles.

The re-draft has the Raiders taking wide receiver Chase Claypool at 19 overall. In the real draft, he was the 11th wide receiver taken in the second round by the Steelers. Then he caught 62 passes for 873 yards and nine touchdowns, becoming a steal at 49 overall.

With the 12 overall picks the Raiders used on Ruggs, the re-draft has them going with safety Jeremy Chinn.

No question Ruggs needs to show great improvement in year two to live up to his draft position.

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Fantasy football draft: Where to target Las Vegas Raiders WR Henry Ruggs III

Analyzing Las Vegas Raiders WR Henry Ruggs III’s 2021 fantasy football ADP and where you should target him in your drafts.

Las Vegas Raiders WR Henry Ruggs III showed some signs of life near the tail-end of the 2020 season. Below, we look at Henry Ruggs III‘s 2021 fantasy football average draft position (ADP) and where you should draft him.

Ruggs got off to a sluggish start to his rookie campaign in 2020, going for 2 or fewer receptions in five of his first six games. However, he finished strong with 3 catches in four of his final five outings.

One issue that might limit Ruggs’ opportunities is his ball security as he lost a pair of fumbles over his final four games. Still, he has explosive speed, and with a full offseason program with no interruptions like he faced last season, he should be able to take a giant step forward.

Henry Ruggs III’s ADP: 137.59

(ADP data courtesy of MyFantasyLeague.com)

Ruggs has officially been the 73rd wide receiver off of the board, slightly ahead of teammates WR Bryan Edwards (average pick – 193.24) and WR John Brown (average pick – 194.70).

Ruggs is still considered the team’s No. 1 wideout, and big things are expected from him in 2021, or people might start murmuring the ‘B-word’ – you know, the one that rhymes with rust.

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Henry Ruggs III’s 2020 stats

Targets: 43

Receptions: 26

Yards: 452

Touchdowns: 2

Fumbles: 2 total (2 lost)

Where should you take Henry Ruggs III in your fantasy football draft?

Ruggs might be the de facto No. 1 receiver in Las Vegas but that’s not saying much. He didn’t have one game last season with more than 3 receptions and he’ll need to have a really strong training camp and preseason to move the needle.

Ruggs is still worth drafting as a reserve with his upside. He does have the speed to burn defenders, and there really isn’t a ton of competition for targets in Las Vegas – the biggest of which comes from TE Darren Waller. However, Ruggs should lead the way among the receivers, and perhaps with a full and uninterrupted offseason program he’ll jell nicely with QB Derek Carr and get off to a big start.

Ruggs is worth a flier after Round 11 – he is a diamond in the rough who could end up being a major part of a fantasy championship run if he realizes his potential sooner rather than later.

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