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Henry Ruggs III leads all rookies in receiving yards

This achievement may require some wishful thinking but based on the expectation that Henry Ruggs III will be the Raiders number one receiver as of Week 1, it is a realistic one. Ruggs was never the number one receiver in his years at Alabama but was able to capitalize on his lesser targets with some huge averages.

Over three years, his average reception was 17.5 yards thanks to his incredible speed and quickness that let him turn a 5-yard slant in to a 50-yard touchdown. If his targets go up as expected, then his yardage totals should as well.

In 2019, 56 rookie receivers recorded at least one catch and Tennessee’s AJ Brown led them all with 1,051 yards over 16 games. Hunter Renfrow incidentally was 7th and outperformed many of his fellow rookies who were drafted before him.

Since 2010, only eight rookie wide receivers have eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark so if Ruggs wants to achieve this milestone he will need to be at his best.  He will also need to outperform the 34 other wide receivers drafted and the countless others who will catch passes as undrafted free agents.

In his three years at Alabama, Ruggs’s highest total was just 740 yards over 14 games but as mentioned, he was not the number one target or WR with the Crimson Tide. This should not be the case in Las Vegas as he joins a team desperate for true number one receiver.

Leading all rookies in receiving yards may be an unfair expectation to place on Ruggs but with high draft picks comes high expectations.