Raiders felt the need for speed with selection of Henry Ruggs III

The Las Vegas Raiders had their choice of wide receivers at pick No. 12 in the first round, and they felt the need for speed with the selection.

If you spent the last couple of months reading mock drafts, then you were fully expecting the Las Vegas Raiders to draft a wide receiver with their 12th overall pick. On Thursday night, the Raiders were on the clock in a perfect scenario, as up until that point, not a single pass catcher had been selected, giving them the opportunity to land the one they coveted most.

Raider Nation was licking their chops at a chance to land CeeDee Lamb from Oklahoma or Jerry Jeudy from Alabama, but to their surprise it was Jeudy’s teammate, and speedster Henry Ruggs III who was the pick.

"“We feel like the Raiders, the Las Vegas Raiders got faster, we got tougher, and we got more competitive tonight,” said general manager Mike Mayock who addressed members of the media after round one of the draft.  “We got the wide receiver at pick number 12, he’s the fastest wideout in the draft.”"

You can’t argue the Raiders got faster after round one of the draft.  Ruggs ran a 4.27 at the NFL Scouting Combine, which is the fourth fastest time ever recorded at the event. Since taking over, head coach Jon Gruden has put an emphasis on speed, and being able to compete with the track team that Andy Reid has put together in Kansas City.

"“You know the distinguishing factor really was his speed, his explosion, and work ethic” Mayock continued.  “When you are in the division we are in and you look at Kansas City and what they have on offense and what their explosion looks like, we needed to get faster.”"

Speaking of what Kansas City’s explosion looks like, many compare the Raiders new receiver to Tyreek Hill of the Chiefs. Ruggs lined up as the Z receiver in Alabama’s loaded offense last season, and he was a touchdown machine. The interesting thing about Ruggs is he has never caught more than 46 passes in a single season, but does rank third in the ‘Bama record books in receiving touchdowns with 24.

He finished his career with 98 receptions for 1,716 yards, averaging one touchdown every 4.1 catches, not too shabby. Having a weapon with Ruggs skill set could do wonders for an offense that struggled to score points last season at 19.6 per game.

"“We think that his addition opens up our entire offense,” said Mayock.  “He can run the deep routes, he also gets the manufactured touches, the bubble screens, the jet sweeps.  I think if you force defenses to roll coverage it opens up our run game, if you respect our deep routes it opens up Darren Waller.  I just think it does an awful lot of things for us offensively.  And most importantly I think Coach Gruden and the staff will get everything out of him.”"

While some fans may have been left wondering why not CeeDee Lamb or Jerry Jeudy, one thing is for certain, and that is the late former owner of the Raiders, Al Davis, is looking down from the heavens with a big smile of approval.

For all the talk on whether or not the team would move on from Derek Carr in the first round, it was them once again giving him weapons in the first that became the storyline. This offense is loaded heading into next season, and the hope is that the Silver and Black can get the 2016 version of Carr to lead the way.