Raiders first-rounder Henry Ruggs brings more than speed
Raiders tight end Darren Waller noticed the speed of wide receiver Henry Ruggs long before the team drafted the former Alabama star in the first round to play alongside him. He was watching at the NFL combine when the speedster clocked a 4.27-second 40-yard dash.
“My friend said he’s as fast as a roach when you cut the lights on,” Waller said only partly in jest during training camp.
Waller was still amazed when he was finally able to take the practice field with Ruggs. “He’s fast,” Waller said. “It’s as advertised or even crazier in person. It looks effortless. I know it’s not, but I mean, I haven’t seen anything like it.”
The Raiders, a franchise notoriously infatuated with speed, are hoping to put Ruggs’ acceleration ability to use when the games kick off for real.
Ruggs will certainly be used to stretch the field and take the top off defenses, a necessity after a season in which quarterback Derek Carr finished 38th of 39 qualifying quarterbacks in intended air yards per attempt. But he won’t just be running go routes.
The Raiders intend to employ Ruggs all over the field and utilize his speed to stretch defenses horizontally as well as vertically.
He figures to shine when the ball is in his hands. But his coaches at Alabama have raved about his willingness to do the little things to help his team win, including blocking.
“We like Ruggs,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “We didn’t take him in the first round to block. That’s not going to be his primary role, but it is an ingredient that he has. His toughness, his every-down competitiveness, that has a chance to make him a great player in this league.”
Carr is excited about the possibilities.
“It’s unbelievable how fast he can run,” he said. “I think in the NFL a lot of guys are fast, a lot guys can run. But where you see a difference is when that ball is in the air (certain guys) can separate even more. … Everyone can run stride-for-stride for a little bit. But when that ball is in the air you just see another kind of gear for him to go get it.”
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.