The Las Vegas Raiders selected Henry Ruggs III with the 12th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, and quarterback Derek Carr is excited and looking forward to teaming up with the Crimson Tide wide receiver.
Carr had a less than stellar group of wide receivers in 2019 and knowing that, the Raiders front office, led by general manager Mike Mayock, got into action and chose Ruggs with their first pick of the draft. Later in the process they would also land Bryan Edwards with selection No. 80.
Carr is ecstatic about the additions to the Raiders wide receiver corps. In a conversation he had with Vic Tafur of the Athletic, he couldn’t contain his excitement, “man, I was excited. I was really shocked that we got two receivers. I thought we were going to just get one, but I knew Coach had a really big love for (Bryan Edwards). And we were communicating. It’s really fun … man.”
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When talking about Ruggs, Carr didn’t mince words and also talked about how the Raiders involved him in the draft process, “he’s so explosive. And you know, the cool thing about him is, I watched those top three receivers (Jerry Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb and Ruggs). … It was really cool, they wanted to know what I thought about them, things I liked and things I didn’t like.”
Furthermore, Carr added that Ruggs was the draft’s top receiver, “Ruggs was definitely No. 1. … So I watched every play that all three of them had over the last year, I watched every play. And the thing that always stood out with Ruggs was … there were a few things. He’s always the fastest guy in the field, whether he’s tired or hurt, been knocked off his block a few times in the game. Doesn’t matter. He’s always the most explosive, fastest guy on the field.”
The Alabama product has all the tools to thrive at the NFL level, and it seems like he arrived at the right place for his professional career to take off. However, he will be under the scrutiny of being the first wide receiver selected in this year’s draft and the level of competition will considerably go up.
Ruggs will have the take on the task of reinvigorating a less than adequate wide receiver corps, but the fact Carr is already vouching for him should encourage him and motivating to become the player he’s expected to be.
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Top Photo: Vasha Hunt/Associated Press
