On the first day of the NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders surprised many by making Henry Ruggs III the first receiver taken off the board. Ruggs isn’t a complete receiver, but his speed and athleticism was rare. And for that reason, the Raiders felt like it was a better idea to take his special traits over more well-rounded receivers.
While Ruggs will likely play a ton for the Raiders as a rookie, he’s probably not an every-down receiver who is going to win in the short to intermediate portions of the field. Instead, he’s going to be asked to make two or three splash plays a game down the field.
But the Raiders were able to find a receiver on Day 2 of the draft that perfectly complements Ruggs’ skillset in Bryan Edwards from South Carolina. When it comes to route running and the ability to make contested catches in traffic, there aren’t many receivers in the class better than Bryan Edwards. However, he just doesn’t have the elite speed to scare teams deep.
Despite subpar quarterback play and sharing the field with Deebo Samuel for most of his college career, Edwards racked up over 3,000 receiving yards in the SEC. As a 17-year old freshman, he started 12 games and caught 44 passes for 590 yards and four touchdowns.
Ruggs and Edwards together make a lot of sense as a long-term wide receiver duo for the Raiders. Both win in different ways and can move all over the field. Ruggs will likely get onto the field first, but look for these two Raiders’ draft picks to earn a significant amount of playing time by the end of the 2020 season and potentially earn starting roles.
