Former Alabama receiver Henry Ruggs III made quite the name for himself at the 2020 NFL Combine. His first 40-yard dash attempt checked in at a 4.28-second unofficial time, but was later bumped down to a 4.27 officially.
Take a look at how lightning fast this dude is:
His second time was a 4.31, but his first time is now in the combine history books. With Cincinnati Bengals wideout John Ross III leading the way — he set the 40-yard dash record with his 4.22 time in 2017 — there are just six other receivers who ran below a 4.3 since 2003 (when combine times started officially getting tracked).
However, Ruggs should have the skill set to be the best NFL receiver in this group of speedsters.
First, let’s take a look at all six of these guys’ times, as well as their NFL stats.
1. John Ross III, Washington — 4.22 in 2017: Ross’ record-breaking time won’t be forgotten anytime soon, as it surpassed Chris Johnson’s record set in 2008. Ross was drafted by the Bengals at No. 9 overall, but he hasn’t lived up to expectations. Over three seasons, he’s accounted for just 716 yards and 10 touchdowns. His rookie season was cut short due to injury, and he’s played just 24 games so far in his career.
2. Jerome Mathis, Hampton — 4.26 in 2005: Mathis was selected by the Houston Texans in the fourth round. During his rookie season, he earned a Pro Bowl invite and was a first-team All-Pro as a special teams returner, finishing with 1,542 kick return yards and two touchdowns. He played in just five games over his last two years because of injuries and later spent two seasons in the CFL and Arena Football League.
T-3. Marquise Goodwin, Texas — 4.27 in 2013: Godwin was taken by the Bills in the third round. He played in 12 games for Buffalo during his rookie season, totaling 283 yards and three TDs. He dealt with injuries over the next two seasons, bounced back in 2016 with 431 yards, and then signed with the 49ers in 2017. That year, he had his best NFL season with 962 receiving yards. After that, his numbers dipped again and he ended 2019 on injured reserve.
T-3. Tyrone Calico, Middle Tennessee — 4.27 in 2003: After getting drafted in the second round by the Titans, Calico put up 297 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie. He spent two more seasons in Tennessee before getting released after the 2005 season, playing in just one game the year before due to a knee injury he suffered in preseason.
T-5. J.J. Nelson, UAB — 4.28 in 2015: Nelson, who was drafted by the Cardinals in the fifth round, had 299 yards and two touchdowns in his rookie year. The best season of his NFL career came in 2016 (568 yards, six TDs), but after his production dropped, he became a free agent. He signed with the Raiders in 2019 and played in just two games while dealing with injuries. He was released in October.
T-5. Jacoby Ford, Clemson — 4.28 in 2010: Ford was an undersized prospect in the 2010 draft, measuring in at 5’9, 186 pounds. He was selected by the Raiders in the fourth round and started in nine games as a rookie, managing 25 receptions for 470 yards. Ford played in just eight games the following year, and missed the whole 2012 season due to injury. He had just 13 receptions in 2013 and became a free agent. Later, he spent a brief time in the CFL.
Ruggs has more potential as a receiver, and it’s not just because of his speed.
Ruggs’ numbers at Alabama weren’t exactly eye-popping — he accounted for 1,716 yards and 24 touchdowns over three seasons. He also had to share a lot of targets with an excellent receiving corps, including likely first-round pick Jerry Jeudy.
His speed is what makes him so dangerous. If he’s left alone with even a little bit in space, he can burn you by running left or right around the edge, but he can do the same thing when turning upfield.
His speed helps a whole lot when he’s in one-on-one coverage, too. Here against Texas A&M, Ruggs creates enough separation from his defender on his route with his speed alone, but then has the athletic ability to jump up and catch the high ball Tua Tagovailoa throws right where he can catch it:
Ruggs making big plays was pretty common — his average yards per catch over his three seasons at Bama was 17.5.
“As a prospect, Ruggs is a player where you just want to get the ball in his hands as fast as possible,” SB Nation draft expert Dan Kadar says of the Bama receiver. “That means running him on slants and shorter routes that let him take advantage of his speed after the catch. Obviously he’ll be an asset on deep outs where he can simply run past defensive backs.
“If he lands on a team that runs a lot of play action, he could excel when safeties pull down closer to the box leaving him in one-on-one situations. Where I don’t like him as much is in physical situations where he has to fight for space to catch the ball. He can be outmatched there. But if he’s used in the right system that uses a lot of multi-level route concepts I think he can really become a star.”
Kadar has had Ruggs consistently going to Denver at No. 15 overall in his mock drafts — it could be real fun to see big-armed quarterback Drew Lock throw to him.
Like the six fast WRs before him, Ruggs is an amazing athlete. But he should have a better pro career.
At the combine, Ruggs also had an incredible 42-inch vertical jump, paired with a 10’11 broad jump. In fact, that was the highest vertical leap of any of the other guys listed above who also ran under a 4.3 in the 40.
“He’s much better as a prospect than all of them,” Kadar said of Ruggs compared to the other sub-4.30 receivers. “Ruggs has pretty good hands and is a pretty decent route runner — which is said in context to his super route running teammate Jerry Jeudy. The most recent workout player you can probably compare him to is John Ross. Obviously Ruggs didn’t run as fast as he did, but he’s still the far superior prospect. Ruggs is a much better all-around player than Ross.”
There were only two downsides for Ruggs Thursday. He told NFL Network’s Kimberly Jones he was a bit disappointed with his time since he wanted to break the 40-yard dash record. He also suffered a quad injury after running his second 40. As a result, he had to miss the on-field gauntlet portion of combine drills. But Kadar doesn’t think this matters too much.
“At worst, if he can’t participate in Alabama’s pro day, he can be a receiver for Tagovailoa at his private workout, which should be April 9,” Kadar said.
Whichever team ends up with Ruggs is getting both a fast, but equally talented receiver. Even if he didn’t break the 40-yard dash record, Ruggs will be able to stand apart from the previous sub-4.3 receivers once he gets to the NFL.
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