The Broncos need to pass on Henry Ruggs III in the draft
Mar 5, 2020, 6:27 AM
Almost every mock draft out there will show the Broncos electing Alabama’s speedy wide receiver – Henry Ruggs III. He ran a 4.27 40-yard dash at the Combine last week, making his stock skyrocket and causing people to believe he’s a good fit in Denver.
That’s not a good idea for the Broncos
Denver has more important needs than just drafting a wide receiver with speed in the first round! John Elway and Vic Fangio can add another wide receiver to pair with Courtland Sutton in free agency or even in the later rounds of the NFL Draft.
The narrative about needing that “speed receiver” is just a false one. Here’s the thing, every wide receiver in the NFL is fast and they don’t just run go routes.
Here are the five fastest times ever from a wide receiver at the combine:
John Ross = 4.22
Rondel Menendez = 4.24
Jerome Mathis = 4.26
Marquise Goodwin = 4.27
Jacoby Ford = 4.28
What do all of those players have in common? None of them made the Pro Bow or were named All-Pro as a wide receiver during their NFL carers. And none of them had 1,000 yards receiving in a single season.
Speed isn’t everything for a wide receiver and history has shown that.
Another reason why the Broncos should not select Ruggs in the first round is because in his final two years at Alabama he averaged a little more than three receptions per game. The speedster also only had one game in which he had over 100 yards receiving against a SEC team. His best games came against small conference opponents like Louisiana Lafayette, Southern Miss and The Citadel.
Ruggs is a special talent, but he needs to work on his route running. He is more dangerous when he has the ball in his hands, but the question is how does a team make that happen? That’s a similar question that teams will try to figure out with Laviska Shenault.
The Broncos need to add another wide receiver to help the development of Drew Lock and improve their offense. Denver can’t afford to gamble on a player in the first round that hasn’t proven to be a reliable pass catcher that will elevate an NFL offense from day one.
Denver needs to add a wide receiver with great route running ability and brings a veteran leadership to the offense.
The Broncos also need to improve on the offensive line and that’s the direction the John Elway and company need to target with the 15th pick in the NFL Draft.
