Henry Ruggs was the NFL draft’s fastest man this year. The former Alabama receiver ran a 40-yard dash in 4.27 seconds, something that shouldn’t surprise after watching him dust talented SEC secondaries for the Crimson Tide.
Ruggs is a human afterburner capable of torching even top NFL cornerbacks. That might be his best trait. It’s certainly the most well-known, but it’s not the only reason why the Raiders drafted him No. 12 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban rattled off several other reasons during an interview with the Raiders website, including one you may not know about.
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“It’s the mental and physical toughness,” Saban said in an interview posted Tuesday. “He never complains about not getting the ball. He’ll do whatever you ask him to do, whether he has to block on a running play or an RPO or whatever it is.
"What I think people aren’t talking about is the mental and physical toughness that the guy has.”
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This isn’t just a case of the Raiders taking the fastest straight-line runner in the draft. Ruggs is adept running several routes and is a killer on slants. He has a nose for the end zone and a penchant for big plays.
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He also fits the Raiders' desire to get competitive, aggressive players willing to do anything to win.
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“He’s a hard worker and a guy with great character who is a very explosive and talented guy,” Saban said. “He has great speed and is a good special teams player, which is unusual sometimes. He’s a receiver who can play gunner and is in on kickoffs. He has a lot of mental and physical toughness to him relative to the position.
"I think he’s what you would categorize as a speed receiver who can get on top of people running straight line routes, but he drops his weight and gets out of breaks pretty good, too.”