The Raiders made pick that would’ve made Al Davis proud

Will Henry Ruggs follow in the path of speedy Raiders wideout Darrius Heyward-Bey?

The late Al Davis, who owned the Oakland Raiders, loved speed. The Las Vegas Raiders made a pick that was basically an ode to Davis’ need for speed. The team picked Alabama receiver Henry Ruggs with the 12th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Ruggs came .05 seconds short of setting an NFL combine record for the 40-yard dash with a time of 4.27 seconds.

Ruggs’ production (40 catches 746 yards, 7 TDs) didn’t wow at Alabama, where he was the third receiver on the team’s depth chart. In fact, Jerry Jeudy, the team’s second receiver was also in the 2020 draft. But the Raiders made Ruggs the first receiver selected, surely in large part because of his explosive playmaking abilities. You can’t coach speed.

Here’s what Twitter had to say about the Raiders’ pick.

Will Ruggs follow in the path of speedy wideout Darrius Heyward-Bey? Or will Ruggs help usher the Raiders into an era of success, much like they had when they favored speed in the 70s and 80s?

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