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2020 NFL Draft: First-ever pick by Las Vegas Raiders is Alabama receiver Henry Ruggs

The first receiver off the board in the 2020 NFL Draft went No. 12 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders, and it was Henry Ruggs III.
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The 2020 NFL Draft of course was supposed to be held in Las Vegas to kick-start the first season of the Raiders in Sin City, but the coronavirus pandemic changed that. Instead, those new Raiders fans can celebrate their team's first-ever pick in their new city as Jon Gruden & Co. took Alabama wideout Henry Ruggs at No. 12 overall on Thursday.

It was a bit of a surprise that Ruggs went first among the receivers as while he was the fastest player in the entire draft with a 4.27 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, he was the third-ranked receiver on the CBS Big Board behind Oklahoma's CeeDee Lamb and Tide teammate Jerry Jeudy. Nearly every scout had those two ranked ahead of Ruggs and both had much bigger numbers in college last year. 

Ruggs was the +400 third-favorite at William Hill sportsbook to be the first wideout selected in the 2020 NFL Draft. He had an Over-Under draft position of 14.5, and bettors did well because 70 percent of all tickets on the draft position prop were on the Under and 64 percent of all money wagered.

The SportsLine Projection Model bumps the Raiders only from 6.0 wins to 6.2 this year with Ruggs, although they pick again at No. 19 overall. William Hill gives Las Vegas an Over-Under of 7.5 wins, with both priced -110.

SportsLine fantasy expert Jacob Gibbs projects Ruggs to finish with 49 catches, 689 yards and four touchdowns this season – assuming all 16 games are played and he's in all of them.

Which teams sail past their projected win totals? What is the SportsLine model's stunning Packers prediction? And how many wins will every NFL team have this season? ... See every projected win total, including the shocking prediction for the Packers, all from an uncanny computer model that crushed its NFL win total picks last year!      

SportsLine Staff
SportsLine Staff

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