Raiders Video: Henry Ruggs Believes He’s Faster Than Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill
NFL/Handout Photo via USA TODAY Sports

The Las Vegas Raiders were not shy about the speed of wide receiver Henry Ruggs III serving as a deciding factor for them in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Ruggs had been pegged as one of the “Big 3” wideouts in this year’s class alongside Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb and Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy. Despite each being pegged as a premier talent, it was Ruggs’ unrivaled burst that made him the first receiver taken off the board at No. 12 overall.

Ruggs clocked the fastest 40-yard dash time at the 2020 NFL Combine with 4.27 seconds. His speed has been reflected in Madden 21 with a rating of 98 to make him the second-fastest player in the game behind Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill.

Here is video that Madden put out of former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson giving Ruggs and other rookie receivers their ratings:

Most rookies would be happy to see that their physical attributes were been favorably translated to the game. Regardless, Ruggs is confident that it is only a matter of time before he shows he is faster than Hill:

“That’s just until I get on the field and show it.”

Ruggs has clearly never been short of confidence and his initial prediction of having 99 speed in Madden is proof of it. Fortunately, he will have plenty of opportunities to solidify this debate when he shares the same field as Hill twice a year as AFC West rivals.

After all, it was Ruggs’ similarities to Hill that drove the Raiders to take him with the 12th overall pick. They were all too familiar with the explosive element the latter has posed in recent years and head coach Jon Gruden is now hoping to utilize this dynamic to their own advantage.

The ratings are subject to change throughout the course of the 2020 NFL season with the first update likely arriving in Week 6. Although Ruggs claiming Hill’s title as the fastest player in the NFL may seem far-fetched for the foreseeable future, it will be interesting to see if he can at least spur Madden to give him the same 99 speed rating.

For now, Ruggs remains as the highest-rated rookie receiver at 76 overall. The onus will fall on him to maintain his slight edge over Jeudy and Lamb both on and off the field after they each earned 75 overall ratings.