Will Alabama's Henry Ruggs III be a Top-15 Pick in the 2020 NFL Draft?

Christopher Walsh chimes in and helps with the Sports Illustrated debate about when Crimson Tide wide receiver Henry Ruggs III might be selected

One of the more interesting selections during the 2020 NFL Draft will be Alabama wide receiver Henry Ruggs III. 

NLF teams love speed. When Al Davis owned the Raiders, he was obsessed with it. He and John Madden used to get into arguments about how to build a team, the owner preferring cornerbacks while the coach opted for linemen, but all bets were off whenever someone with blazing ability came along. 

Ruggs will make teams think long and hard about selecting him based on his speed alone, especially in regards to his run-after-the catch ability. He can take any reception the distance, especially when a quarterback hits him stride.  

That he does so many other things well, and is still learning the game as Ruggs only started playing it midway though high school will make him only more appealing. 

A lot of mock drafts after targeted Ruggs for the No. 15 pick, which is held by Denver. Even though wide receiver is a need position for the Broncos, in his latest mock draft Kevin Hanson of MMQB projected the Eagles to trade up in exchange for the No. 21 and 53rd-overall picks to take him.

"Carson Wentz became the first quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards without a 500-yard wide receiver as the Eagles’ wide receiver corps was decimated by injuries," he wrote. "The trio of Alshon Jeffery (10), DeSean Jackson (three) and Nelson Agholor (11) played only 24 games in 2019. Few players can match the 4.27 speed of Ruggs, who has scored on one-quarter of his career touches at Alabama, and he would provide that field-stretching element they expected when they brought back D-Jax in 2019."

Ironically, of all the NFL teams the Broncos and Eagles have gone the longest without drafting a player from Alabama, 2004 and 2002, respectively.