Henry Ruggs adds season-saving TD catch to rookie resume

It will always be part of his NFL journey. Henry Ruggs can’t escape it. Years will pass and debates will linger about the 2020 rookie wide receiver class. Who was better. Who was underrated, overrated, a steal.

Forget the part about life being easier when you stop comparing yourself to others. Sports howl at such a notion.

Ruggs on Sunday added some punch to his mostly empty resume with the biggest catch of his young career, a 46-yard touchdown with five seconds left that allowed the Raiders to avoid total disaster and beat the Jets 31-28 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

It wasn’t just how things began or ended for him. It was what occurred in the middle.

Two blunders

Ruggs was on the wrong end of two key plays, each halting drives for the Raiders in a game that saw the Jets overcome a 24-13 deficit to lead 28-24 late in the fourth quarter.

He should have caught what was a high throw from Derek Carr in the first quarter at the Jets 30. The ball instead bounced off Ruggs’ hands and was intercepted in a game the Jets led 7-0. They wouldn’t convert the turnover into points.

Then, with the Raiders leading 24-21 and 8:45 remaining, Ruggs fumbled after making a catch at his own 44. This time, the Jets needed just six plays to score and grab a four-point lead.

Ruggs hasn’t made much noise to speak of this season. He’s been banged up and certainly not targeted as often as some believed he might.

Speed. That’s all anyone ever talked about. His speed. But he has been more decoy than anything else, and it’s debatable how much of one he is at this point.

When discussing those rookie receivers — six went on the draft’s opening day and a record 13 over the first two rounds — Ruggs has all but gone unnoticed with a Pro Football Focus rating of 115 out of 124 eligible receivers.

That before Sunday, his targets (31) ranked 95th, his catches (17) 105th, his receiving yards (312) 82nd, his receiving touchdowns (one) 85th. He caught three balls for 84 yards and the score against the Jets.

Justin Jefferson. Brandon Aiyuk. Tee Higgins. CeeDee Lamb. Jerry Jeudy. Chase Claypool. All have made more of an impact than Ruggs, who was the first receiver taken at No. 12 overall by the Raiders.

It makes for him, then, the third-and-10 Hail-Mary-Full-of-Grace toss from Carr all the more sweet. There was no rhyme or reason or shred of common sense for the Jets to bring an all-out blitz on the play and leave man-coverage on Ruggs, but they did. One double-move later, and he was gone, streaking down the sideline before hauling in Carr’s pass.

“During the moment, you can’t get too down or dwell on mistakes, or let them get to you while you’re in the game,” Ruggs said. “When you’re back on the field, you have to go make plays. The (mistakes) were in the back of my mind. I knew if I didn’t make a play and make up for it, it would eat at me after the game.

“I’ve learned it’s not easy to win at this level. You have to be clicking on all cylinders, no matter the (opponent) or record … To be able to make a play like that only boosts my confidence that I’m a guy who make plays in this league, no matter the situation.”

Happy birthday, Dad

He also knew that his father, Henry, was watching, that it was his birthday Monday, and that it was important for the son to deliver an early present. He also again thought about Rod Scott, his close friend killed in a car accident in 2016, as he thrust fingers into the air following the score to honor him.

He also must now decide who gets the game ball bestowed him afterward — his father or daughter.

A pretty good addition to the young resume.

“Incredible by him,” tight end Darren Waller said of Ruggs. “Just to stay in the game mentally. When you’re a young player — I remember when I was — and you make mistakes, it’s easy to shut down and want the day to be over. But for him to step up and make that play in the end … incredible.”

Part of the journey.

One that will always be judged by how Ruggs and a collection of others at his position perform over time.

Ed Graney is a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing and can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.