2020 Rookie Class: An Early Look at Henry Ruggs III, WR Alabama
Fantasy players have been chasing the next Tyreek Hill since he broke out for the Chiefs. Speed constantly pushes talent up draft boards and gets fantasy owners excited. Whether it’s John Ross or Marquise Brown, NFL general managers and fantasy players have been scouring for the next speed freak. In 2020, prepare to be wowed by Alabama’s Henry Ruggs.
AS A RECRUIT
Listed at 6’0″ and 190 pounds, Ruggs was a four-star recruit in the 2017 class. According to 247sports, he was the 11th-ranked wide receiver and ranked 75th overall with a composite score of 0.964. His offer list included Alabama, Florida State, Auburn, Florida, and Georgia among others.
He was a 2017 U.S. Army All-America Bowl selection and played in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star game. Ruggs ran a verified 40-yard dash time of 4.45 seconds coming out of high school. He posted a senior season of 38 receptions, 664 receiving yards and ten receiving touchdowns. He also added six rushing touchdowns on 35 carries with 422 rushing yards and had three passing touchdowns off an 11-completion, 22-attempt stat line for 184 passing yards.
COLLEGIATE CAREER
Ruggs burst on to the scene, scoring six touchdowns on his 12 total receptions with a whopping 19.1 yards-per-reception average. With Tua Tagovailoa taking over at quarterback full time in 2018, Ruggs’ receptions and yardage took a nice jump up to 46 receptions, 741 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns. This continued in 2019, as he nearly matched his stats with only a slight drop in touchdowns.
His drop in production in his junior year coincided with the ascension of Devonta Smith. It is possible that had Tua stayed healthy in 2019, Ruggs would have topped his 2018 numbers.
Statistics from sports-reference.com.
ATHLETIC PROFILE
Ruggs has very rare speed. It is reported that he ran a 4.25-second 40-yard dash at Bama’s junior Pro Day during the 2019 off-season. As he has shown against SEC defenders, he has the capability – on any play – to take the top off the defense and make explosive plays. He also shows great leaping ability and hand strength with an aggressive mindset on jump-balls.
Here is an overview of some of Ruggs’ top tier attributes that I believe will help elevate him at the next level. First and foremost, there is his speed. You will hear a lot of comparisons of Ruggs to Ravens rookie Brown. The speed is the obvious connection and both were raw in their route running. They both relied heavily on their speed to beat opponents, which worked well.
If you’re going to bet on a raw WR prospect Henry Ruggs III is your guy.
6’0 190lbs with sub 4.3 40-yard dash speed that translates to the field. NFL draft experts seem to be 📈 on him as well.
12 of his 46 receptions went 21+ yards w/5 TDs & 16 went 8-13 yards w/ 3TDs. #devy pic.twitter.com/gB9PR1Bc10
— Ray G (@RayGQue) August 8, 2019
His ability to high-point and what he can do with the ball in his hands offer resemblances to what I feel Brandin Cooks brings to an offense. You can see the explosive leaping ability, and it is reported that he hit a 39.5-inch vertical at Alabama’s Junior Pro Day last off-season, which would have placed sixth-best among the 2019 class. He can fly down the field with the ball in his hands. He has terrific open-field speed and can exploit any crease on a run for daylight.
Let’s just take a second to acknowledge the difficulty level on this catch by Henry Ruggs:
– Insane vertical
– Running full speed
– One handed grab thrown behind him
– Beat out nationally recognized DB Greedy Williams— AJ Spurr (@SpurrFM) June 23, 2019
Ruggs has that John Ross speed, and while he isn’t as fluid as Tyreek Hill, he can attack an offense similar to Cooks. He is going to be utilized on sweeps, screens, great as a decoy to open underneath routes, and as a deep threat. He can use his speed to get to the perimeter and has the moves to cut it up the field for long touchdowns. However, his frame is still lean, and he has some issues getting off in press coverage due to this. I would like to see him add some strength and improve his release skills to threaten teams that try and press him at the line of scrimmage.
STRENGTHS
- Speed
- Open-field burst
- Ball Skills
- Burst and acceleration
- Great toughness for his size/frame
- Contested catch ability
- Vertical – high-point
WEAKNESSES
- Route running (needs to be more technical)
- Release
- A little lean
- Might struggle against the physicality of press corners
DRAFT PROJECTION
Ruggs will be a day one pick. His type of speed is coveted by NFL head coaches and general managers. You can teach a player how to improve in his craft with route running but you can’t teach speed. A team like the Eagles and the Packers would greatly benefit from having Ruggs stretch the field for their other playmakers. Philly needs more of an alpha type WR1, which I don’t see Ruggs as so I imagine they go towards one of the other top-tier WRs first. If I’m a coach/GM, I would like to pair Ruggs with a more traditional WR1 allowing Ruggs to open up the underneath routes to free up my alpha then play off that for deep shots. Perhaps to a team like the Saints, where Tre’Quan Smith hasn’t been what we hoped for.
NFL Draft Projection: Day one pick
DYNASTY VALUE
Players like Ruggs are why so many in the fantasy landscape have been excited about the 2020 draft class. It is loaded with talent. Ruggs will likely be the fourth or fifth receiver taken off draft boards in your home leagues and could go higher with draft capital. After the running back group, it could push him into the back half of rookie drafts. Superflex league? Ruggs will go later and be a great value for owners.
Best case scenario – Ruggs lands on a team with a proven quarterback and a true alpha receiver where he can then exploit matchups. He showed an ability to line up in numerous positions while at Bama and his speed can be utilized out of the slot or on the outside. New Orleans feels like a best-case scenario, even with Drew Brees‘s arm strength diminishing.
Ruggs, like many speed options, is made for best-ball formats. He’s a big-play receiver in the mold of DeSean Jackson. Fantasy owners might be hesitant with the speed receiver after John Ross and with a boom/bust 2019 from Hollywood Brown. While we don’t know where he will land yet, he is a much better talent than either of those two players. Enjoy getting a steal with your later round one pick.
Dynasty Rookie Draft Projection: Back end of Round One or Early Round Two
Pete is a Western Washington University (Go Vikings! Undefeated at Football since 2009!) History grad with a doctorate in dynasty football, from a certificate he bought online. He prefers stats and analytics but realizes film grinding is an important part of the process. Dabbles in "Mild Takes" and believes in the process.
