At some points during the 2020 season, you saw why the Raiders used the No. 12 pick on Henry Ruggs. His speed is electric and he made a number of big plays down the field that helped the Raiders win games.
However, he wasn’t consistent enough and missed too much time due to injuries. For the Raiders to justify that selection, they need him to be more than just a complementary player who totals 500 yards a season.
Entering Year 2, the hopes are high for Ruggs. In a recent article by ESPN’s Seth Walder, he wrote about Ruggs being a second-year breakout for Las Vegas. Here is a small snippet of his thoughts on the former Alabama receiver:
“The speedster saw the 39th-most targets at that depth in 2020 — 14 fewer than former teammate Nelson Agholor. With Agholor now in New England, Ruggs can start racking up those targets and generating the subsequent production attached to such catches.
With that said, Ruggs had problems corralling deep balls. He slotted into 69th in rate of receptions on catchable targets beyond 20 yards last season. He will get the opportunities, but will he make the most of them? That remains to be seen.”
All the news about Ruggs has been overwhelmingly positive this offseason, so it appears he is on track to have a strong 2021 season. But can he stay healthy and produce? That will be the biggest question.
We are less than a week away from the first training camp practice of the year for the Las Vegas Raiders. We will continue to monitor Ruggs and his progress as his development will be key for this offense to take the next step.