Will the Raiders get anything out of Henry Ruggs and Bryan Edwards? They drafted those guys with early picks last year, but they weren’t big contributors – in part because of injuries.
Nelson Agholor was the team’s most productive wide receiver last year, but he signed with New England. Working from the slot, Hunter Renfrow has led the team’s wide receivers in receptions two years in a row. Las Vegas also signed veterans John Brown and Willie Snead, and reports suggest Brown was playing well early in camp.
But the Raiders have a lot invested in Ruggs and Edwards and would like to get those guys going. They picked Ruggs (pictured) with the 12th pick of the draft last year – the first wide receiver chosen. He hit on a couple of long balls but got hurt early, contributing to him spending most of the season in a lesser, supporting role. Edwards was an early third-round pick, and if not for a foot injury coming out of South Carolina, he would have been taken in the second. He also had injury issues in his first year.
Jon Gruden said he was pleased with how Ruggs and Edwards performed in practice today. Tight end Darren Waller was sitting out, and that helped translate into them seeing more action that usual.
“We’re really seeing good things from Ruggs and Bryan Edwards,” said Gruden (in a tweet posted by Anthony Galaviz of the Sacramento Bee). “Really proud of them so far. With Waller out today, we changed the script a little bit and I was encouraged.”
With Ruggs, I like that he’s got the ability to score long-range touchdowns. He’s one of the few guys in the league who can run with Tyreek Hill, and there were some long plays last year – in the opener at Carolina, a game-winning touchdown at New York, and a huge game at Arrowhead. I could see picking him up as a depth receiver in the later rounds.
But as long as Waller is healthy, it’s tough to envision these guys being busy. They’ve been jamming in a ton of balls to Waller over the last two years, including 107 receptions last season. I don’t see that changing, and that will make it tough for any of the wide receiver to have a big role. Renfrow presumably will remain in the slow doing his thing, perhaps catching as many balls as the two starting outside receivers.
Last year Las Vegas’ wide receivers accounted for only 42 percent of the team’s catches – fewest in the league. The previous year, they caught only 40 percent of the team’s receptions, 2nd-fewest.
| PRODUCTION BY WIDE RECEIVERS (2020) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | No | Yards | Avg | TD | PPR |
| Buffalo | 312 | 3,897 | 12.5 | 28 | 869.7 |
| Pittsburgh | 297 | 3,096 | 10.4 | 30 | 786.6 |
| Atlanta | 264 | 3,464 | 13.1 | 21 | 736.4 |
| Tampa Bay | 239 | 3,151 | 13.2 | 29 | 728.1 |
| Houston | 239 | 3,318 | 13.9 | 22 | 702.8 |
| Seattle | 232 | 2,936 | 12.7 | 28 | 693.6 |
| Dallas | 256 | 3,235 | 12.6 | 17 | 681.5 |
| Kansas City | 225 | 2,904 | 12.9 | 25 | 665.4 |
| Green Bay | 203 | 2,764 | 13.6 | 29 | 653.4 |
| Carolina | 251 | 3,292 | 13.1 | 10 | 640.2 |
| Arizona | 258 | 2,884 | 11.2 | 15 | 636.4 |
| Jacksonville | 228 | 2,727 | 12.0 | 19 | 614.7 |
| Minnesota | 196 | 2,715 | 13.9 | 23 | 605.5 |
| LA Rams | 253 | 2,748 | 10.9 | 12 | 599.8 |
| LA Chargers | 203 | 2,730 | 13.4 | 19 | 590.0 |
| Chicago | 246 | 2,625 | 10.7 | 13 | 586.5 |
| Detroit | 208 | 2,824 | 13.6 | 16 | 586.4 |
| Cincinnati | 235 | 2,715 | 11.6 | 13 | 584.5 |
| Tennessee | 183 | 2,619 | 14.3 | 19 | 558.9 |
| Denver | 168 | 2,427 | 14.4 | 14 | 494.7 |
| NY Jets | 188 | 2,320 | 12.4 | 12 | 492.0 |
| Indianapolis | 175 | 2,375 | 13.6 | 11 | 478.5 |
| New Orleans | 189 | 2,139 | 11.3 | 12 | 474.9 |
| Las Vegas | 155 | 2,351 | 15.2 | 14 | 474.1 |
| San Francisco | 182 | 2,336 | 12.8 | 9 | 469.6 |
| Washington | 194 | 2,260 | 11.6 | 8 | 468.0 |
| Cleveland | 163 | 2,314 | 14.2 | 12 | 466.4 |
| Philadelphia | 166 | 2,082 | 12.5 | 14 | 458.2 |
| NY Giants | 177 | 2,126 | 12.0 | 9 | 443.6 |
| Miami | 172 | 2,018 | 11.7 | 11 | 439.8 |
| Baltimore | 137 | 1,729 | 12.6 | 17 | 411.9 |
| New England | 168 | 2,063 | 12.3 | 4 | 398.3 |
—Ian Allan