There’s much intrigue in the Las Vegas Raiders this season in more ways than one. What they’ll do with their plethora of picks is just one of them.
It’s no secret that in the history of the Oakland, Los Angeles, back to Oakland and now Las Vegas Raiders that the franchise loves speed. Sure, they’ve embraced cast-offs, characters and craziness too. But when it comes to on-field attributes, the Raiders have valued speed above all else. This is particularly true at the wide receiver position.
“The Bomb” has been a signature play in Raiders lore with strong-arm quarterbacks throwing deep passes to speedy receivers in a relentless fashion that has lead to great success for the franchise.
One can look at Warren Wells, Cliff Branch, Willie Gault and the aptly named James Jett, or even the more receiver-than-blocker Todd Christensen, as just a few examples off the bat. Sure, there’s been better receivers to don the silver and black, such as Tim Brown and Fred Biletnikoff, but the Raiders receivers have always been known for speed.
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During the 2020 NFL Combine, Henry Ruggs III out of Alabama turned heads with an impressive performance, most notably his 4.27-second 40-yard dash time, the fastest since John Ross’s 4.22-second 40 in 2017. This was the talk of the league after the combine.
The Raiders have two picks in the top 19 of the 2020 NFL Draft and, while some may want them to get a quarterback, it’s far more likely they grab a receiver with at least one of those selections, if not both. The general consensus is that Jerry Jeudy (Ruggs’s college teammate) or CeeDee Lamb are the can’t-miss players at wide receiver.
A decision to take Ruggs, who was at one point a late first-round prospect but now seeing his stock rise, may be surprising to some. However, this is a head coach that selected kicker Sebastian Janikowski in the first round and ownership family who infamously reached for Darrius Heyward-Bey over Michael Crabtree in 2009 simply because he was fast.
People take the NFL Combine very seriously, even though running from 40 yards in a straight line doesn’t exactly show exactly how a player will perform on Sundays. Make no mistake, though, if somehow Henry Ruggs III ended up as a Raider it would certainly be a good fit.
They have the “prototype” receiver in Tyrell Williams and the slot guy in Hunter Renfrow. All that’s really missing is the speed element. Enter Ruggs. Other receivers would make an emerging offense even better. But when it comes to specific need and skill-set, Ruggs would be the best fit.
Raiders Nation should be both excited at the prospect of landing certain prospects. Ruggs would certainly be a fit not only to the current Raiders, but the Raiders of history as well.