Draftables: WR, Henry Ruggs III, Alabama
Wide Receiver, Henry Ruggs III
School: Alabama
Height: 5’11
Weight: 188 lbs.
Wingspan: 74 1/2
Testing Results
Compared to the average figures of the top 30 wideouts shown in RED
In his three years at Alabama, Ruggs lined up inside and out en route to scoring the third-most receiving touchdowns in school history (24). This despite having fewer than 100 catches on his career. Yes, that’s right, he scored a touchdown every 4.1 catches. With each touchdown catch averaging nearly 30 yards.
Now there’s a lot to unpack there, starting with the less than 100 career catches despite starting 27 games over his past two seasons. As mentioned in the Jeudy writeup, Alabama is absolutely loaded at the wide receiver position, so there were plenty of mouths to feed. Throw in the fact that Ruggs’ deep speed was the most useful skill for stretching the field and opening things up for his teammates, and it makes sense that he was the third most-fed wideout on the team.
It’s also worth noting that Bama’s offensive play-caller was Steve Sarkisian, whose claim to fame is still a co-offensive coordinator position with Lane Kiffin a dozen years ago on a stacked USC team with an offense that Norm Chow — one of the best offensive minds over multiple decades — had already built. Just because Ruggs has been limited largely to streaks, slants, and deep crossers doesn’t mean that’s all he can run. But it does make his evaluation much more difficult. Especially without access to any All-22 film (I only have it for NFL games).
So let’s start with what we know. Henry Ruggs III is the undisputed speedster of a very VERY fast class of wideouts, a fact which he’s proven both on and off the field. At the combine, he ran the fastest forty-yard dash (4.27) and the second-highest vertical jump (42”) among all participants and tallied the fourth-longest broad jump among receivers (131”). And while testing numbers can be misleading, he’s backed up his big-play ability on the field, or — you know — in this basketball dunk highlight from HIGH SCHOOL.
Henry Ruggs is — as some would say — a three-syllable ATH-UH-LETE.
Like many speed merchants before him, if Ruggs beats you off the line or gets a free lane on a slant, he’s a threat to score, but he isn’t a one-dimensional threat in the vein of a Ted Ginn Jr. or Darrius Heyward-Bey. While Ruggs’ opportunities have been limited compared to his lofty draft status, he’s shown several traits that imply his best football is likely ahead of him. He’s got quick feet to go with his deep speed, as seen in his slippery outside-in releases off the LOS, his ability to start and stop in a hurry, and the explosive burst and separation that he generates out of his cuts. And he doesn’t just run by guys. He knows how to set up the changeup off the fastball, showing the ability to mix up his tempo, switch gears, and leverage his speed to get defenders off balance before breaking back towards the ball. He’s a good route runner and a solid hands catcher, plucking the ball away from his body and showing the ability to make difficult contested catches down the field. And he plays with a great competitive fire and willingness to get into the mix both in blocking and on special teams despite his size. So while the first round graveyard of speedsters has a long and devastating history (Tavon Austin, John Ross, etc), there’s reason to believe Ruggs could be different.
But taking on a larger role in the pros also means that Ruggs will be asked to develop a more polished and well-rounded skill set. Like many speed merchants, there are times when he’s too fast, rushing through releases and routes and missing open holes in zone coverage. Speed is great, but his route running and field awareness must continue to improve to properly punish teams underneath when they play off coverage.
Then there’s the physical side of things. As a smaller receiver with one of the shorter wingspans in this class and a thinly built frame, there are always going to be questions of durability and consistency when going across the middle. He’s never going to be the most powerful receiver, but he needs to get better at walling off defenders on slants and other in-breaking routes versus tight physical coverage.
In terms of coverage, college teams were too scared to regularly press him. NFL teams won’t be. So while he’s got quick feet and some wiggle off the line, he’ll need to become a much better technician on his releases — and start using his hands and upper body — to ensure that press coverage can’t shut him down before he gets started. And finally, a speedy threat who slows down tremendously on contact down the field loses much of what makes him dynamic in the first place. He’ll need much improvement at keeping his routes speedy and effective when defenders are draped over him.
Ruggs faces many of the same transition costs as past undersized speedsters, but with better jets, more production, and greater polish than many past busts, it’s reasonable to believe he’ll outperform similar prospects in the pros. Regardless, he is a much greater boom-or-bust prospect than Jeudy, Lamb, and many other wideouts in this class.
Fit with Niners
Ruggs would give the Niners the vertical threat that they so clearly need, but it may not be right away. Initially, I would expect a lot of stuff to scheme him open on slants, end arounds, and deep crossers while siphoning some snaps from Bourne at the X (giving us one size matchup and one speed matchup) and perhaps some time in the slot as well. His role wouldn’t really be filling in for Emmo Sanders. It’d be filling in for Marquise Goodwin.
The long-term goal is that Ruggs would become a consistent vertical threat on the outside who can take the top off of defenses, open things up underneath for Kittle and Deebo, and in general add the sudden, explosive, and off-script scoring power that our offense has struggled to find at times. How prepared is Ruggs to make that kind of impact? And if he becomes that kind of deep threat, will Jimmy G and his oft-criticized long ball be able to take advantage? Only time will tell.
NFL Comparisons
Floor: Marquise Goodwin, Texas (49ers)
Ruggs has a bit more height and heft to his name than Goodwin, and — although his size will make him a constant durability question — hasn’t had nearly the injury history. He also has shown more consistency catching the ball, more polish out of college as a route runner, and more promise snagging contested balls down the field.
That being said, an undersized wideout with truly game-breaking speed seems to match what we saw glimpses of from Goodwin in 2017 and 2018, where he racked up 1,357 yards and averaged 17.2 yards per catch. If Ruggs doesn’t develop into something more than that kind of big-play threat, at least Shanahan will know how to use him.
NOTE: in Goodwin’s two years before joining the Niners he totaled two and one catches, respectively, while playing for the Bills. So if he doesn’t fully develop, not everyone can utilize a player like Ruggs.
Ceiling: Juicier T.Y. Hilton, Florida International (Colts)
While the in-vogue comparison is Tyreek Hill, I think Hilton is a better match. Tyreek has always had a stockier, more running back build (he was a part-time running back in college) and has excelled by being dynamic after the catch, while Hilton’s slim build and deep ball prowess more accurately match Ruggs’ game.
This is far from an insult, as Hilton actually has a higher career yards per catch (15.6 to 14.6) and yards per game (72.9 to 69.7) while securing about the same catches per game (4.67 to 4.76) despite two years with Jacoby Brissett at the helm (his only two years where he didn’t eclipse 1,000 yards receiving in the past seven), and zero years playing in an Andy Reid offense.
And again, this comp is for a faster Hilton, as Ruggs is entering the NFL a little bit bigger (+1.5” height), faster (-.10 forty speed), and more explosive (+6.5” vertical, +12” broad jump) than Hilton. For a fully actualized Ruggs, the ceiling is quite high.
Mock Drafts
