Former Alabama star wide receiver Henry Ruggs III was a huge contributor to the 2020 Crimson Tide offense. Now, he will look to have an impact in his rookie season as the starting slot receiver for the Las Vegas Raiders.
Former Alabama star wide receiver Henry Ruggs III was a huge contributor to the 2020 Crimson Tide offense. Now, he will look to have an impact in his rookie season as the starting slot receiver for the Las Vegas Raiders. Raiders aim to exorcise demons of past against new-look Patriots. The 5-foot-10, 198-pound Edelman is the type of slot receiver that has given the Raiders fits the past couple years, but he. Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper, while predominantly used outside the numbers, has quietly become one of the league's most efficient route runners from the slot. Despite running just 17.9 percent of his routes away from the outside boundary, Cooper has averaged 2.81 yards per route run from the slot in his three-year NFL career.
Though he was relatively quiet compared to his fellow teammates, such as Jerry Jeudy and Tua Tagovailoa, Ruggs was the name heard around the nation when it cam time for the 2020 NFL Combine.
His speed, paired with his route running abilities ultimately led to him being the first receiver selected in the 2020 NFL draft, No. 12 to the Raiders.
With only a few days of training camp in the books, Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson is comfortable letting the public know that Ruggs will be the team's starting slot receiver.
Marcus Mosher of Raiders Wire captured this quote from Olson during his recent media availability:
'We'll start with Ruggs III in the slot and do some things with Ruggs III. But those guys (Ruggs and Bryan Edwards) are very multiple in what they can do and that's the goal is to be able to move all of them around to different spots; the one, two or three position at the wide receiver.'
While he's starting in the slot, Olson was quick to point out that the Alabama product's athleticism means he could be moved around.
Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on Henry Ruggs III and his journey through year No. 1 in the NFL with the Las Vegas Raiders.
While he's starting in the slot, Olson was quick to point out that the Alabama product's athleticism means he could be moved around.
Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on Henry Ruggs III and his journey through year No. 1 in the NFL with the Las Vegas Raiders.
In the 2019 NFL season, per Sports Info Solutions, there were 19,933 total quarterback dropbacks. Against those dropbacks, NFL defenses put four defensive backs on the field just 18% of the time (3,579 snaps), while nickel defense (with five defensive backs) ruled the league by far with 59% of all snaps (11,780). And if you want to know how much the NFL isn't a base defense league anymore, consider this: Defenses lined up in dime coverage (six defensive backs on the field) on 20.9% of total dropbacks (4,091), which means that teams played more dime defense than base defense. The Seahawks were the only team to play base defense more than 50% of the time (67%), and the Cardinals finished second at 37%.
All this is to say that unless you're the Seahawks, you'd better have some top-level slot defenders if you want to put a credible pass defense out there in a league where offenses are implementing more kinds of receiver sets and route combinations than ever before.
Raiders Against Slot Receivers Win
And it's not as if the skill sets required to be a slot defender are the same as those for an outside cornerback. You might be up against a 6-foot-5, 250-pound tight end on first down who can body you right out of the paint, and on the next play, you may have to deal with a small, speedy option-route receiver whose job is to juke you right out of your shoes. And as Richard Sherman once told me in his Seattle days, the thing about playing outside cornerback is that the boundary is your friend. That's not the case when you're in the slot, where you're defending in space pretty much all the time.
Raiders Against Slot Receivers Game
So, which slot defenders were the most effective and valuable to their teams in 2019, and thus should be set up to do the same in 2020? With help from Pro Football Focus' metrics, and a whole lot of tape study, here's one list. To avoid small sample-size results, each of these defenders played at least 50% of their snaps in the slot.
Best Slot Receivers
Mike Hilton | Chris Harris Jr. | Jourdan Lewis | Tramon Williams | Mackensie Alexander | Nickell Robey-Coleman | Marlon Humphrey | D.J. Hayden | Brian Poole | K'Waun Williams | Tyrann Mathieu
