Vikings’ star receiver wins the re-draft poll, though
Henry Ruggs III is reporting to training camp today to start his second NFL season with the Las Vegas Raiders.
He will be one of the most closely-watched Raiders in the 2021 NFL season. Ruggs — the No. 12 overall draft pick in 2020 and the first wide receiver taken — needs to step it up. He had just 26 catches in his rookie season and was often used more as a decoy than a main option. That was definitely disappointing for a player taken so high.
Still, our recent Raiders’ 2021 X-Factor poll showed that many Raiders fans believe Ruggs is primed to have a big sophomore season.
In further evidence that Raiders fans are still high on the speedster from Alabama, Ruggs finished third in our 2020 wide receiver re-draft. Ruggs received 22 percent of the vote. Minnesota Vikings’ star Justin Jefferson won the poll with 35 percent of the vote. CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys had 30 percent of the vote in the poll, which had eight candidates.
It’s no surprise that Jefferson, taken at No. 22, won the vote. He had a big rookie season and he looks like a star. Lamb, draft at No. 17, also was impressive. I thought they would both blow away Ruggs in the poll. But Ruggs had plenty of support. There is no question, Raiders’ fans are behind him — now, it’s Ruggs’ time to pay back the fans for their faith.