Believe it or not, fantasy football is here. And with no preseason, drafts will be happening all over the world in the month of August. Today, we are taking a look at rookie receiver Henry Ruggs and where you should take him in drafts.
Currently on MyFantasyLeague.com, Ruggs is being drafted at pick No. 116, which around the 10th or 11th round of standard 12-team PPR drafts. Ruggs isn’t even the first rookie receiver being drafted as CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy and Jalen Reagor are all being selected ahead of him.
While some of those rookie receivers may have higher floors, none have a higher ceiling this season than Ruggs. In a recent piece by Ian Hartitz of Pro Football Focus, one of his bold predictions for the year was that Ruggs would finish the 2020 season as the highest-scoring rookie receiver in the class:
The former Alabama WR possesses blistering speed that helped him average a robust 17.5 yards per reception during his career. Somehow, Ruggs looks even faster on the field than his 4.27 40-yard dash might indicate. Jon Gruden’s target leader has received 153, 145, 133, 140, 142, 139, 122, 152, 143, 98, 138, 101 and most-recently 117 targets. Derek Carr’s pecking order is hardly defined, but Ruggs is my rookie WR1 for both his underrated potential target share and game-breaking ability.
If Ruggs sees 100 or more targets this season as Hartitz suggested, he is going to outperform his average draft position by multiple rounds. Given his speed and ability to win after the catch, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Ruggs flirts with 1,000 receiving yards if he sees that many opportunities.
While you won’t want to rely on Ruggs as your No. 1 or No. 2 receiver in fantasy football, pencil him into your draft plans anywhere from the ninth-round on as he could easily return value in the Raiders’ offense. Of all the rookie receivers being selected in fantasy drafts right now, Ruggs offers the highest ceiling and best value at his current price.
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