Henry Ruggs III

There’s Doubt Raiders Will Deploy Henry Ruggs Effectively

The Las Vegas Raiders needed help at wide receiver and they got it with Henry Ruggs III. The concern is whether the coaching staff will put him in a position to succeed.

The inaugural season for the Raiders in their new home will be a “prove it” year for incumbent starting quarterback Derek Carr. In past seasons, the critique by Carr apologists was that he didn’t have enough talent around him. During last month’s draft, Raiders general manager Mike Mayock fixed that and added weapons, in particular Ruggs.

Related: Raiders’ Josh Jacobs Is A Tackle Breaking Machine

Despite the recent talent upgrades and the return of standouts from last year, there’s doubt Carr will be able to make use of Ruggs. Michael Renner of Pro Football Focus recently took a look at all the rookie 2020 NFL wide receivers and cast doubt about Ruggs.

“The worry with Ruggs isn’t whether he will see the field, but rather will he be put in a position to succeed? He goes to a quarterback in Derek Carr who targeted deep routes at the fifth-lowest rate of any starter in the NFL.”

Henry Ruggs III: Stretching The Field

The criticism of Carr when it comes to targeted deep routes is warranted. The numbers don’t lie. The problem there is that Carr plays in head coach Jon Gruden’s conservative dink-and-dunk offense. Also, in Carr’s defense, who exactly has he had to pose that deep threat? Antonio Brown was going to be that, but we know how that worked out. With Ruggs, the Raiders have an opportunity to mold the wide receiver in any way they see fit. They can exploit his speed to scare defenses: Make them be accountable at all times, which will translate into opportunities for others. He might not get 1,000 yards receiving in his rookie year but his speed, or rather the threat his speed poses, will have an exponential impact on the Raiders offense.

When targeting receivers last season, his average depth of target was only 10.3 yards downfield (fifth-lowest in NFL). That number was 10.2 in 2018, as well (lowest in NFL). You can make a chicken or the egg argument, but the place where Ruggs’ speed is most dangerous hasn’t been in his new quarterback’s wheelhouse.

Criticism of Carr and Gruden aside, Ruggs’ speed will open up the Raiders passing attack, it has to. The talent is now in place for Gruden to open up the playbook a little more.

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*Top Photo: Butch Dill/Associated Press

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6 thoughts on “There’s Doubt Raiders Will Deploy Henry Ruggs Effectively”

  1. Why doesn’t the author look at the years where we had Cooper and Crabtree on the field instead of the years where we didn’t have a true #1 WR…

  2. Derek Carr is goin to wake people’s game up with his skills with wide receiver Henry Ruggs just wait and see!

  3. Derek Carr is still the quarter back so expect alot of 2 yard screen passes and reverses that go nowhere. By years end the tight end and running backs will have more receptions then the receivers, again. It was a mistake bringing Gruden back

  4. Of course he had one of the lowest deep ball rates: the Raiders had nobody able to do that effectively. Gruden’s not a dink and dunk guy, he’s intro controlling the ball efficiently, and if he has success on 1st, will always look for a chance to take a shot when he’s got the personnel to do so.

  5. As much as there is doubt in Carr, there is this extreme confidence in Drew Lock. After 5 games why? This isn’t Pat Mahomes. I just don’t understand how they come to the conclusion that Juedy will flourish because drew lock is his QB who started 5 games. I guess the longer body of work. Taking care of the ball is always #1 for the QB and Carr yes, really is on the cautious side. Going into a season where the #1 option is batshit crazy and the #2 guy was signed to complement him well that blew up before it even started. And Williams wasn’t right all season And after brown snapped, Carr is looking at JJ Nelson, Ryan grant and hunter renfrow. Add in Trevor Davis and Zay Jones, what are people expecting out of that core? Jordy Nelson said the offense was an overload of plays. Yes gruden could simplify but he wants complete recievers. I get it. But it’s not a successful situation having new recievers line up for the week of practice, only to have a new one the next week and the next . Offense still finished top 10 with leftover scraps. Jj Nelson isn’t on a team and either is Ryan grant. Trevor Davis will probably be cut and Zay Jones would be jobless if not on the Raiders. The one thing that will happen is Ruggs will soften coverage, attract coverage even if he doesn’t produce great numbers. Everyone else will be opened up. Waller who btw had an excellent season with Carr throwing to him, and Killer Josh Jacobs will have more room to operate. A healthy Williams will also be key as we look for ways to get the rooks involved. That’s the point, give him something to operate with and if he fails, then it’s time to move on. But I think he will succeed this year. I guess everyone likes to forget that the Broncos offense has been in the stone age and their coach is a defensive specialist. They bring in Pat Shurmer to be Gary Kubiak but I don’t think he repeats that success. After 5 games, Drew Lock is going to be this great deep ball throwing QB and help Juedy regardless of his talent. And don’t forget kj hamler, he is going to open things up. Well what about Carr? Doesn’t he have a speed guy and a couple good recievers now? No f*** Carr, Lock is way better. This is the logic being used. Anyway f*** the broncos. Enjoy the book.

  6. Damn tired of watching players leave & have success somewhere else! Been happening for years! Every team’s highlight reel comes against the Raiders! Sickening is the futility. Jack Del Rio had better results than Gruden. I’ll bet Mark Davis is getting pretty pissed off by now & rightfully so. This team just can’t seem to get past the point of mediocrity.

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