Rumors have surfaced the Kansas City Chiefs may be targeting a trade up for wide receiver Henry Ruggs. Doing so would be unfair to the rest of the NFL.
Super Bowl champion general manager Brett Veach has been known to identify a target in the draft and do whatever it takes to acquire him. We saw this last year when the Kansas City Chiefs traded up to to secure wide receiver Mecole Hardman.
On Monday morning, Sports Illustrated’s Peter King kicked off draft week with a bombshell report stating Veach had identified Alabama superstar Henry Ruggs III as a potential target for Kansas City in the first round.
Arrowhead Addict’s Matt Connor spoke to this rumor this morning, arguing the rumor is … a ridiculous rumor. But what if it isn’t?
If Veach has identified Ruggs as a target, and makes the decision to move up to take him, it will create the fastest receiving corps in the NFL by a wide margin, and create the league’s best cheat code in terms offensive personnel.
Already dubbed the ‘Legion of Zoom,’ the Chiefs offensive features Hardman, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Damien Williams. All four of these players ran sub 4.45, 40-yard dashes at their combines. If the team added Ruggs, it would give the team three players (with Hill and Hardman) with legitimate sub-4.25 speed. That would create matchup nightmares for teams for at least the next three seasons, as all three of those players would be under contract through 2022.
Ruggs is one of the top receiver prospects in years, but could be pushed down the first round this year by a bevy of other first-round receivers, including teammate Jerry Jeudy and Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb. Another potential that exists is huge runs on other position groups could force him down the board, with runs on quarterbacks, offensive tackles and cornerbacks all possible.
If Ruggs makes it past pick No. 15 and the Denver Broncos, and Veach finds a way to make it up the board to snag the blazing fast receiver, Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid will be over the moon.
Chiefs fans will be stunned, frustrated and eventually…elated, and opposing defensive coordinators will be quaking in their boots (or slippers, since they’ll be at home in their basements).