Raiders Draft Review

[Chwf3rd25]

Thought it may be interesting to review our picks from this past year.  Love to hear everyone's thoughts.

1.12. Henry Ruggs, WR

Really disappointing pick so far, given how well the other rookie WRs are performing and that we had our choice of all of them.  He's flashed his speed on some deep ball throws (thinking our first game vs KC) and some really nice contested catch ability.  I'm sure he's stretching the field and opening things up for Waller underneath but he should be contributing more at this stage.  Don't think anyone could say they wouldn't rather have Lamb, Jeudy, Jefferson, or Aiyuk than Ruggs at this point.

1.19 Damon Arnette, CB

Too early to give a grade given the injuries.  Thought he had some nice reps last night but then struggled against Kelce (as expected).  Young CBs almost always struggle

3.80 Lynn Bowden, RB

Obviously a huge miss.

3.81 Bryan Edwards, WR

He's been disappointing as well given how much I loved him as a prospect and the considerable training camp hype.  Not giving up hope at all as he's been dealing with injuries and is coming off a foot injury last year.  Really hope he starts to get it going.

3.100 Tanner Muse, LB

Not playing despite our deficiencies on defense.  Looks like a bad pick.

4.109 John Simpson, IOL

Looked decent when forced in the starting lineup.

4.129 Amik Robertson, CB

Hasn't shown much but not expecting a ton as a rookie CB.

Overall

Obviously still early, but not great returns on the class so far.  Ruggs is particularly disappointing given that this looks like a historically great WR class.

 

 

[Humble_Beast]

Too soon. But it is puzzling, the lack of Ruggs. Feels like Gruden just using him as a decoy his rookie year. Agholor has emerged and we been winning. Guys like Ceedee, Jefferson, Tee Higgins play on some lousy teams. 

[NYRaider]

2 hours ago, Chwf3rd25 said:

1.12. Henry Ruggs, WR

Really disappointing pick so far, given how well the other rookie WRs are performing and that we had our choice of all of them.  He's flashed his speed on some deep ball throws (thinking our first game vs KC) and some really nice contested catch ability.  I'm sure he's stretching the field and opening things up for Waller underneath but he should be contributing more at this stage.  Don't think anyone could say they wouldn't rather have Lamb, Jeudy, Jefferson, or Aiyuk than Ruggs at this point.

I strongly disagree with this one. We've had a pretty balanced passing attack and Carr has always favored throwing to guys once he has some trust in them. I agree that we need to get him more involved but I definitely wouldn't say it's a really disappointing pick so far. 

[Humble_Beast]

Ya, our offense is high powered and Ruggs is a starter as a rookie. 

[NYRaider]

2 minutes ago, Humble_Beast said:

Ya, our offense is high powered and Ruggs is a starter as a rookie. 

Brandin Cooks only had 550 yards on 10.5 ypc as a rookie and then became a 1,000+ WR in year two. 

Tyreek Hill only had 593 yards on 9.7 ypc as a rookie and then became a 1,000+ yard WR in year two. 

Still way, way too early to call Ruggs a bust or a disappointment. 

[raidr4life]

Still would rather have Ruggs it's more our lack of use than anything.

[RaidersAreOne]

This draft class hasn't had nearly the early returns as the first Mayock class. Maybe it's because we have a better roster now and aren't forcing rookies to play huge snap counts? Who knows but it's definitely been underwhelming through 10 games.

[Chwf3rd25]

1 hour ago, NYRaider said:

Brandin Cooks only had 550 yards on 10.5 ypc as a rookie and then became a 1,000+ WR in year two. 

Tyreek Hill only had 593 yards on 9.7 ypc as a rookie and then became a 1,000+ yard WR in year two. 

Still way, way too early to call Ruggs a bust or a disappointment. 

I agree it's too early to call him a bust because that implies finality.  However, there's no reason you can't say he's been disappointing through the first 11 games (again, especially considering the performance of the other rookie WRs).

Also, those comparisons don't fit.

Tyreek Hill was a day 3 drafted player who was making big plays his entire rookie year.  The volume stats weren't there but he had 9 TDs that year.

Brandin Cooks only played 10 games.  Over 16 games he was on pace for 84/880/5.  In comparison, Ruggs is on pace for 28/512/2 over 16 games.

2 hours ago, Humble_Beast said:

Too soon. But it is puzzling, the lack of Ruggs. Feels like Gruden just using him as a decoy his rookie year. Agholor has emerged and we been winning. Guys like Ceedee, Jefferson, Tee Higgins play on some lousy teams. 

Playing on lousy teams only matters if their target competition is lousy.  Except for Aiyuk and Jeudy, all the top performing rookie WRs have more target competition than Ruggs.  CD has Amari and Gallup, Jefferson has Theilen, Higgins has AJ Green and Tyler Boyd, and Chase Claypool has Diontae Johnson and Juju.  The only really tough competition Ruggs has is Waller.

[NYRaider]

24 minutes ago, Chwf3rd25 said:

I agree it's too early to call him a bust because that implies finality.  However, there's no reason you can't say he's been disappointing through the first 11 games (again, especially considering the performance of the other rookie WRs).

Also, those comparisons don't fit.

Tyreek Hill was a day 3 drafted player who was making big plays his entire rookie year.  The volume stats weren't there but he had 9 TDs that year.

Brandin Cooks only played 10 games.  Over 16 games he was on pace for 84/880/5.  In comparison, Ruggs is on pace for 28/512/2 over 16 games.

Playing on lousy teams only matters if their target competition is lousy.  Except for Aiyuk and Jeudy, all the top performing rookie WRs have more target competition than Ruggs.  CD has Amari and Gallup, Jefferson has Theilen, Higgins has AJ Green and Tyler Boyd, and Chase Claypool has Diontae Johnson and Juju.  The only really tough competition Ruggs has is Waller.

He hasn't had a ton of production but he has also dealt with injuries and we've had a balanced passing attack. We have 10 guys with 10+ targets and one guy with 9 targets (Edwards) and that doesn't include Foster Moreau. We definitely need to do a better job of getting him involved but we've also started to lean on the running game more, plus we're 6-4 and averaging almost 30 points per game. 

Hill was a day 3 pick because he had character concerns, he would've been a first round pick without them. Still a ways to go and we could still see Ruggs numbers jump up. 

[Chwf3rd25]

3 minutes ago, NYRaider said:

He hasn't had a ton of production but he has also dealt with injuries and we've had a balanced passing attack. We have 10 guys with 10+ targets and one guy with 9 targets (Edwards) and that doesn't include Foster Moreau. We definitely need to do a better job of getting him involved but we've also started to lean on the running game more, plus we're 6-4 and averaging almost 30 points per game. 

Hill was a day 3 pick because he had character concerns, he would've been a first round pick without them. Still a ways to go and we could still see Ruggs numbers jump up. 

I think you're forgetting the impact Tyreek had his rookie year.  He was a making big plays almost every week and was a huge difference maker despite getting limited volume.  I'm sure Ruggs is having an impact without the ball in his hands but his rookie year so far is incomparable to Tyreek's.

I also don't understand the argument that he has a lot of competition for targets.  Out of all the top 50 drafted rookie WRs he probably has the least amount of competition.  Yes, Waller demands a lot of targets but his competition at WR consists of Nelson Agholor, Hunter Renfrow, Zay Jones, and Bryan Edwards.  Plus Ruggs' usage shouldn't be overlapping with Waller that much as they operate in different areas of the field.  We could absolutely use a go-to outside WR right now, could really take the offense to the next level.

Again, not saying he's a bust but he's certainly disappointing so far.  Hopefully he just needs more adjustment than the other rookie WRs.

[NYRaider]

9 minutes ago, Chwf3rd25 said:

I think you're forgetting the impact Tyreek had his rookie year.  He was a making big plays almost every week and was a huge difference maker despite getting limited volume.  I'm sure Ruggs is having an impact without the ball in his hands but his rookie year so far is incomparable to Tyreek's.

I also don't understand the argument that he has a lot of competition for targets.  Out of all the top 50 drafted rookie WRs he probably has the least amount of competition.  Yes, Waller demands a lot of targets but his competition at WR consists of Nelson Agholor, Hunter Renfrow, Zay Jones, and Bryan Edwards.  Plus Ruggs' usage shouldn't be overlapping with Waller that much as they operate in different areas of the field.  We could absolutely use a go-to outside WR right now, could really take the offense to the next level.

Again, not saying he's a bust but he's certainly disappointing so far.  Hopefully he just needs more adjustment than the other rookie WRs.

Ruggs has 14 catches for 256 yards (18.3 ypc) and 1 TD through his first 8 NFL games, plus he was hurt the 2nd half against Carolina and hurt against the Saints. Hill had 22 catches for 234 yards (10.6 ypc) and 4 TD through his first 8 NFL games. 

It's not about competition for targets, we have a balanced attack, as a I said earlier we basically have 11 guys that have 10+ targets through the first 10 weeks. Carr spreads the ball around and we haven't really leaned on one player a ton. Not to mention Ruggs has had some injury issues and we're playing in the weirdest NFL season in history due to COVID, no OTAs, no preseason, and a limited training camp. Ruggs lit the Chiefs up the last time we played them so coming into this week they were definitely keyed in on limiting his impact and we still moved the ball up and down the field at will and put up 31 points. 

I think it'll just take some time for him to build chemistry with Carr. I'm not going to complain when our offense is averaging 29 ppg. We saw it with Amari Cooper, when Carr had chemistry with him and trusted him he looked like a top 10 WR. When he didn't, Cooper struggled to produce for us, then went to Dallas and has been a top 10 WR. So again, I'm not worried. I'm more concerned about winning games then individual stats. 

Edited November 24, 2020 by NYRaider

[Blazer026]

Ruggs - Was sort of meh on the pick at the time, but I like what I see so far. Needs to get the ball more, but still makes a difference when he doesn't.

Arnette - I think he looks pretty good out there. Plays very physical.

Bowden - Was my favorite pick in the draft. He was a project player, so I was surprised they gave up on him so early.

Edwards - Got hyped up all training camp, then got hurt. With Agholor playing like he's is, Edwards is seeing less snaps.

Muse - Hurt in camp, on IR

Simpson - Looks ok out there when called upon. I believe he's been hurt? Plus Jackson and Good have been playing well

Robertson - Only time I notice him he's getting burned. Wouldn't give up on him though. 

Still think this is a solid class. Hard to judge already with the little offseason that they had. 

[oakdb36]

8 hours ago, Chwf3rd25 said:

Playing on lousy teams only matters if their target competition is lousy.  Except for Aiyuk and Jeudy, all the top performing rookie WRs have more target competition than Ruggs.  CD has Amari and Gallup, Jefferson has Theilen, Higgins has AJ Green and Tyler Boyd, and Chase Claypool has Diontae Johnson and Juju.  The only really tough competition Ruggs has is Waller.

I don't think it's about the teams they're playing for. Those WRs were already putting up stats in college.

Aiyuk - 65, 1192, 8 TDs

Jeudy - 77, 1163, 10 TDs

Lamb - 62, 1327, 14 TDS

Jefferson - 111, 1540, 18 TDs

Higgins - 59, 1167, 13 TDs

Claypool - 66, 1037, 13 TDs

Ruggs wasn't anywhere close to that with 40, 746, 7 TDs.

I'd say it's not really surprising he isn't producing as well as those in year 1 when he already didn't in college. We'll see how they're able to develop him now.

[big_palooka]

14 hours ago, Chwf3rd25 said:

The only really tough competition Ruggs has is Waller.

And Nelly. Nelly has been a surprise hit and he's been what most thought Ruggs would be to this offense. It's a good problem. Nelly has become a go to for Carr

Ruggs needs refinement in his routes and to continue learning the positions.

Also... the Raiders are a heavy run team

[Jerry]

Ruggs has too much potential for him to be considered a bust yet.  It's more on Gruden IMO on learning how to utilize a speed demon.  I saw him getting ready to return kicks and I wish they had started doing that at the beginning of the season.  We've had so many plays where he is put in motion just to end up scaring the defense while we go in another direction.  Arnette is like Abram but a little more disciplined.  I honestly think once Arnette gets some experience under his belt he is going to become a really good CB.  Amik Robertson needs time to develop.  Muse needs time to develop.  John Simpson needs time to develop.  Someone wrote in here that we have a lot of talent so we don't need to thrust our rookies into a lot of playing time yet and I completely agree.  We have a really good team.  Just need to install a couple more playmakers on defense.