Henry Ruggs Fantasy Outlook Includes Breakout Potential After Lackluster Rookie Year

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs fell short of big expectations in his rookie year. Now the former No. 12 overall pick heads into his sophomore campaign after a full offseason to get better, and there's optimism about how he'll perform in year two.

A potential breakout year from Ruggs makes him an intriguing choice in fantasy football this season.

Henry Ruggs Fantasy Outlook

Ruggs disappointingly finished as WR92 last year in PPR scoring. But, he's being drafted as WR51 in current drafts, according to FantasyPros' average draft position (ADP) data.

To call Ruggs streaky in 2020 would be generous. He scored more than 10.0 PPR points just twice all year -- Week 5 and 13 -- which showed his boom-or-bust potential as a rookie. His 43 targets were the fifth-most on the team as he struggled to become a go-to option for quarterback Derek Carr.

23% of the Raiders' targets from 2020 are up for grabs, thanks in large part to Nelson Agholor vacating 82. That bodes especially well for Ruggs because he and Agholor served a very similar role, leading the team in average depth of target (aDOT).

Ruggs had the team's highest aDOT at 17.4 yards, while Agholor was second at 15.5 yards. Nobody else who saw 20-plus targets for the Raiders had an aDOT of even 8.0 yards.

Ruggs' big-play ability is undeniable after averaging over 17 yards per reception as a rookie. The threats of Darren Waller, plus Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake out of the backfield, should open up plenty of downfield chances for Ruggs to make opposing defenses pay in 2021.

The ADP for the second-year wideout places him in the same territory of other potential breakout players with league-winning upside like Darnell Mooney (WR50) and Mecole Hardman (WR54). Smart fantasy managers should have these receivers on their radars as late-round options worth taking a flyer on.

Ruggs comes in at No. 133 in The Duel's top-200 fantasy football rankings.

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Isaiah De Los Santos is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Isaiah De Los Santos also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username zayyy05328. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.