Getty Las Vegas Raiders WR Henry Ruggs.
Despite being the first wide receiver taken in the 2020 NFL Draft, Henry Ruggs has already become an afterthought to many. The Las Vegas Raiders wideout had a disappointing start to his career and is made worse by the fact that several other 2020 rookie wide receivers had great seasons. While Ruggs’ rookie season was lackluster, it’s far too early to suggest that he’s a bust.
He’s added 12 pounds of muscle this offseason and has been working very hard. He’s also been paying close attention to his critics, according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic.
“Henry doesn’t say much, but he sees and reads and hears everything,” a person close to Ruggs told Tafur.
Ruggs wants to be a great player and isn’t afraid to look at criticism. In fact, during the offseason, he reposted a comment from general manager Mike Mayock that was critical of him. Obviously, he can look at what the critics are saying all day but it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t have success on the field. Fortunately, it appears that he’s coming along very well.
ALL the latest Raiders news straight to your inbox! Subscribe to the Heavy on Raiders newsletter here!
John Brown Praises Ruggs
Nobody would ever question Ruggs’ speed. He’s easily one of the fastest players in the entire NFL. However, his route running left a lot to be desired last season. He never seemed to play up to his full speed. According to new teammate John Brown, Ruggs has improved that aspect of his game.
“His route running is a lot better,” Brown said last week. “Watching him running routes on film from last year versus this year, he is really improving and he’s showing his speed a lot.”
Head coach Jon Gruden has been seen spending a lot of time with Ruggs.
“It was something that he wanted us to work on, as far as different routes and reading the coverages,” Brown said, “People with our speed don’t run those (types of inside) routes as much.”
Simply put, the Raiders need Ruggs to develop into a very good wide receiver. They passed on possible stars in Justin Jefferson, Jerry Jeudy and CeeDee Lamb. It will be a really difficult pill to swallow if there are several Pro Bowl wide receivers that came out of the 2020 class and Ruggs isn’t one of them.
We all should be watching #raiders WR Henry Ruggs in training camp. For a few reasons. My report on @nflnetwork
What to Expect From Ruggs in 2021
Ruggs deserves the benefit of the doubt for his rookie season. He didn’t get much offseason work due to the pandemic and got banged up early in the season. Things should be much different this year.
Ruggs has been putting in a lot of work with quarterback Derek Carr all offseason and has added a lot of strength without losing speed. There’s no doubt he has the tools to be an elite wide receiver. He’s been looking great in training camp but that doesn’t matter until he proves he can make an impact during games. Expect for the Raiders to try and get Ruggs involved early and often in the season. He should see a lot more passes thrown his way. He should at least double the 26 passes he caught as a rookie.