Despite the passing of Al Davis, his ghost surely lives on in the Raiders. The Raiders may have relocated from Oakland to Las Vegas, but they still have style. Here I was, watching the 2020 NFL Draft, #12 is on the clock, the Las Vegas Raiders. I knew we were going with a WR, which one? I wasn’t too sure. There was a lot of speculation about who was the best WR in the draft, mostly between CeeDee Lamb and Jerry Jeudy. However, Henry Ruggs III was in the mix for being one of the first WRs taken. Henry Ruggs III is the fastest guy in the NFL Draft and speed is what the Raiders needed. That’s who they went with. Mike Mayock on picking Henry Ruggs III via ProFootballTalk:
“All three wide receivers we felt were diverse and would bring different things to the Raiders and I feel like Coach Gruden and that offensive staff is so good they could have gotten the most out of all three of them,” Mayock said, via the team’s website. “However, the distinguishing factor really was his speed, his explosion, and his work ethic.”
All of these traits are important to be a WR. I just felt there were more polished options at wideout to take now. But his downfield speed will be an asset to the Raiders regardless. However, I can’t help getting the image of the late great Al Davis out of my head. If you’re not familiar with Al Davis’ antics, he, much like Jerry Jones now, had the say all on draft picks. Al Davis’ take on WRs was to take the fastest one they could. “You can’t teach speed,” as he would say. That was a big reason we took Darrius Heyward-Bey over a guy like Michael Crabtree in the 2009 NFL Draft.
Now, I’m not saying Henry Ruggs III is anywhere near as bad as Darrius Heyward-Bey. Hell, at 12 years old, I knew the guy was a bust, it didn’t take much to see it. However, this pick just has too much Al Davis’ flair to not mean something. Think about it, the Raiders first pick in Las Vegas is the fastest guy in the NFL Draft? No, this pick is a tribute to Al Davis’, this was his pick and it was to show that Al Davis’ lives on in this organization. I hope you’re smiling Al Davis’, this pick was for you. Rest in Power, brother.
