2020 NFL Draft: Henry Ruggs III might run his way to WR1 status

Henry Ruggs III is going to light up the track at the Combine, but can he run his way to WR1 status in the 2020 NFL Draft?

The competition among prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft class to be the top wide receiver off the board could be intense.

Are you a team that covets an advanced route runner? Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy might be your guy.

Want a magician after the catch who makes one big play after another? Your top receiver might be Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb.

The darkhorse at this point to be the first receiver off the board, however, might just be Alabama’s Henry Ruggs III, who expects to challenge John Ross as the fastest player ever on the 40-yard dash track at the Scouting Combine.

Ruggs has already been timed at a 4.25 in the 40-yard dash, and a little speed training could certainly shave a few hundredths off that time. At least, that’s what Ruggs is going to be banking on.

One of the most dynamic offensive weapons in all of college football the past three seasons, Ruggs has rare play speed, not just track speed, and can completely change the momentum of a game in one play.

For that reason, and the fact that the two team’s in this year’s Super Bowl — the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers — have so much speed on offense, Ruggs’ rare gift in that regard could set him apart among his peers in one of the most ridiculously talented classes we’ve seen at the position coming out of college.

Since other classes have the ability to be evaluated in hindsight, it’s impossible to know whether or not this class will ultimately be the best one we’ve ever seen, but since I’ve been scouting the NFL Draft here at NFL Mocks in 2011, it’s definitely the highest volume of talent I can remember.

Ruggs may not have the best production — he was one of four first-round talents at Alabama — but he certainly could have the best skillset overall with his speed, toughness, and natural ball skills.

So many guys who are track-type athletes playing football don’t translate in one way or another, but Ruggs is such a nuanced player at this point in his career that it’s hard to see him being any less impactful in the NFL than a guy like Tyreek Hill of the Chiefs.

His rare play speed will make teams think long and hard about whether they should prioritize Jeudy’s route running or Lamb’s big play ability over Ruggs, whose speed can simply break a game open at any time.