2020 NFL Draft: 32-pick Round 1 mock with 49ers selecting twice
By Peter Panacy
. Wide Receiver. Crimson Tide . Henry Ruggs III. 13. player. 829
The 49ers needed to upgrade their wide receiver corps in the middle of last season, ultimately trading their third- and fourth-round NFL Draft picks to the Denver Broncos for veteran wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.
Sanders left in free agency to the New Orleans Saints, though, and head coach Kyle Shanahan doesn’t exactly have a lot of on-roster options to replace him.
With the pick acquired in the DeForest Buckner trade, it’s likely San Francisco simply grabs whichever of the top three wide receivers are left available after both the Jets and Raiders pick.
And in this case, getting Jerry Jeudy’s Alabama teammate, Henry Ruggs III, is hardly a bad thing at all.
Ruggs shocked everyone at the NFL Scouting Combine with his blazing-fast 4.27 40-yard time, and any 49ers fan knows just how much Shanahan loves speed at his skill positions. And while the 5-foot-11 pass catcher appears to be undersized, Ruggs actually plays bigger than one might think. He’s perfectly tough, and his route-running abilities appear to be tailor made for what Shanahan and the 49ers want to do on offense.
Simply put, Ruggs is a weapon who could terrify defenses for years to come, and San Francisco would be more than happy to have him.