Draft Profile: Henry Ruggs III

January 16, 2020 /
  • Height: 6’0″
  • Weight: 190lb
  • College: Alabama
  • Tape watched: LSU, Auburn, Duke, New Mexico State, South Carolina
  • NFL Comparison: Tyreek Hill

Pros

  • Athleticism
    Repeat after me: “Henry Ruggs will break the 40-yard dash record.” Seriously. The Tyreek Hill comparisons are legit.
    Outside of his well-known speed, Ruggs is a special athlete. He has good footwork and agility to pair with how fast he runs. Ruggs also has a decent frame for his height/weight.
  • Hands
    Ruggs displays good hands in all situations. He had no drops issues in college and made a variety of catches.
  • Release
    Ruggs’ release is special at times. He will beat you with false-step footwork, or win hand-fights at the line of scrimmage. He is good at flashing his shoulders away from cornerback’s hands. It will be interesting to see how he handles NFL level press technique and if he can add strength to his frame.
While Christian Fulton got the best of him for most of the game, he shows a great release and wins against press-man.
  • Hands
    HRIII showed an ability to make catches in most situations. Sometimes he lets the football into his body, but that hasn’t caused many issues with drops.
  • Yards After Catch
    YAC is typically synonymous with elite speed. Ruggs slices through secondaries with a smoothness that is uncommon. The best way to describe ‘Effortless Speed’ is by watching Ruggs against South Carolina. Ruggs won’t break a lot of tackles, mostly due to the lack of defenders that will get hands on him, but he won’t need to.

Cons

  • Route Running
    There is definite room for Henry Ruggs to develop his route running abilities. Often times Ruggs rushes his route, and as a result takes him out of plays. He runs into defenders during his route stems and gets off balance. Multiple times HRIII was slow getting his head around to find the football on slants, which resulted in incompletions and near interceptions.

    At times he does show good route breaks, utilizing his good footwork and body fakes.
Example of Ruggs taking himself out of plays by running into defenders.
The very next play Ruggs runs the same route and avoids defenders for an easy touchdown.

Overview

It is no secret that the NFL covets speed, so much so that a front office will jump at the chance to draft Henry Ruggs III in the first round. Ruggs brings game changing abilities to any offense. If he can master the nuances of route running, he could find himself in the top tier of receivers. At the very least, Ruggs will help open up defenses and stretch the field with that ever-present splash play potential.