A lot of people are excited about the fantasy football prospects of the Las Vegas Raiders rookie wide receivers Henry Ruggs III and Bryan Edwards. Ruggs was somewhat surprisingly the first pass catcher taken in the 2020 NFL Draft while a number of experts view Edwards as a big-bodied threat with WR1 upside. History tells us to slow our roll when it comes to these players.
That’s because Jon Gruden is really bad at drafting fantasy relevant WRs. Well, he’s actually kind of terrible at drafting wide receivers in general, but we’re going to approach this from a fantasy perspective.
And from a fantasy football standpoint, Gruden drafting Ruggs and Edwards means they most likely won’t be fantasy relevant WRs. Let’s take a look at some of the gems he’s selected over the years.
Drafting fantasy relevant WRs is hard for Gruden
The guys you’ve never heard of
1999: Dameane Douglas (4th Round)
2001: Ken-Yon Rambo (7th Round)
2002: Aaron Lockett (7th Round)
2004: Mark Jones (7th Round)
2005: Larry Brackins (5th Round), J.R. Russell (7th Round)
2006: Maurice Stovall (3rd Round)
The late round misses you can forgive. I mean, who could pass on a name like Ken-Yon Rambo? Maurice Stovall is the only real dud here. He was picked 90th overall in the 2006 draft (For reference, Edwards went 81st) and was nothing more than a special teams guy, finishing with a paltry 52 receptions across seven seasons.
I know that guy
2005: Paris Warren (7th Round)
Paris Warren was kind of a big deal if you went to high school in Sacramento between 1998 and 2003. I did, so that’s why he is here. Warren attended Grant High School and played with Donté Stallworth and Ontario Smith. It was a pretty epic team. They also demolished our high school on multiple occasions. Warren had no NFL career to speak of.
Never got a chance
2002: Marquis Walker (3rd Round)
Here are two draft profiles. One talks about Marquis Walker and the other focuses on Bryan Edwards.
“Big, strong, aggressive, physical receiver who will use his size and strength and catch in traffic. Has exceptional body control and balance. Striding-type runner who is not quick or sudden. Dominates average defensive backs but has a hard time getting separation vs. a good corner who is playing him man-on-man.”
“Good-sized, productive three-year player. Physical in his routes but also at the catch point; will not be intimidated. Doesn’t show consistent separation based on speed; makes a ton of contested catches. Bullied smaller defenders and could struggle to find space in the NFL.”
They could basically be talking about the same wide receiver. The first profile was written about Walker by Pro Football Weekly before the 2002 draft. The second was Bleacher Report NFL Draft Analyst Matt Miller’s take on Edwards.
Injuries to Walker derailed his career meaning we don’t know if he would have ever panned out.
One-year wonder
2004: Michael Clayton (1st Round)
After Michael Clayton’s rookie year, it looked like Gruden might have finally succeeded in drafting a fantasy relevant WR. However, the wheels fell off the Clayton train fast and he never caught more than one touchdown in a season again. That first season was a total outlier.
| Clayton’s Rookie Season | Clayton’s 5 other seasons |
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Total bust
2008: Dexter Jackson (2nd Round)
Much like Gruden in 2008, Dexter Jackson wasn’t long for Tampa Bay. Jackson ran a 4.33 40-yard at the NFL Combine. That was enough for the Buccaneers to draft him in the second round. He didn’t catch a single pass in the NFL and was out of the league after one season.
Hunter Renfrow
2019: Hunter Renfrow (5th Round)
Hunter Renfrow had a few good games at the end of last season, but the jury is still out on him. He’s probably not on the fantasy football radar in 2020 unless you’re in some AFC-only, three WR league.
The one standout
2000: Jerry Porter (2nd Round)
Of all the wide receivers drafted by Gruden, Jerry Porter is by far and away the best. Unfortunately, none of his good seasons came under the current Raiders Head Coach. In fact, he only caught 20 passes for 226 yards while playing two seasons with Gruden. Porter would battle injuries throughout his career, but still managed to post some decent numbers in Oakland.
Oh, and Porter seems to be on to something when it comes to Gruden and young wideouts.
Final verdict
As far as drafting fantasy relevant WRs goes, Jon Gruden hit on Michael Clayton for a season. That’s it. Jerry Porter didn’t become relevant until after Gruden left town. You can believe in Ruggs and Edwards, but history is not in their favor.
