Henry Ruggs III Alabama's First Wide Receiver Selected in the 2020 NFL Draft
Everyone knew about the speed. Now they get to find out about the rest.
After being highly touted as the fastest played in the 2020 NFL Draft, former Alabama receiver Henry Ruggs III was selected in the first round Thursday night.
The Las Vegas Raiders took him 12th overall.
We went before teammate Jerry Jeudy, the 2018 Biletnikoff Award winner as the best receiver in college football.
"I think what people lose sight of is this kid has got natural hands," Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network said. "He has outstanding hands. He only dropped one ball this year. He attacks it. He trusts his hands."
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Kevin Hanson of Sports Illustrated rated Ruggs as the No. 12 prospect on his final Big Board.
He wrote: "Given his rare acceleration and run-after-catch ability, Ruggs has the ability to take the top off of the defense and is a threat to take any slant to the house. While speed is his most deadly weapon, he has improved as a route-runner and adjusts well to the football."
While starting alongside Jerry Jeudy and DeVonta Smith (plus Jaylen Waddle), Ruggs averaged a team-high 18.7 yards per catch and scored seven receiving touchdowns last season.
He caught 40 passes for 746 yards while also returning kickoffs (12 attempts for 286 yards, 23.8 average) and also had a 75-yard touchdown run against New Mexico State.
A former 5-star recruit out out of Montgomery, Ala., who didn't start playing football until midway through high school, Ruggs landed a role as reserve his true freshman season, with 12 catches for 229 yards (19.1 average) and six touchdowns. He also returned some kicks (13 for 239 yards, 18.4 average) and punts (eight, 46 5.8).
Ruggs was promoted to starter as a sophomore, and was second in the Southeastern Conference with 11 touchdowns. He caught 46 passes for 741 yards (16.1 average).
"You think back to some of the speed receivers we've seen go in the first round that maybe people thought didn't live up to the billing, you think about Darrius Heyward-Bey, he couldn't catch in college. You think Breshad Perriman, his hands were questionable. Ted Ginn, very inconsistent hands. This kid has that type of speed but he catches everything, and he's extremely tough.
"He's just not as polished of a route runner as the other two right now, and that's something I think he can get better at, but it's a little bit of that is the curse of speed because when you're moving that fast, it is hard to get in and out of breaks to gear down. So that's always going to be a little bit of an issue. But Tyreek Hill has been the comparison for him and that's the blueprint for how you use him, and I know a lot of teams are looking for this type of player."
Ruggs' back story is well known, as he always throws up a three-fingered salute for Rod Scott, who died in a car accident in 2016. Ruggs had planned on being with his best friend that day but didn't feel well and decided to stay home.
