NFL Draft 2020 Prospects: Breaking Down Jerry Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb, More WRs

Typically, quarterbacks lead NFL draft discussions. This year, most analysts project the Cincinnati Bengals will select LSU's Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall pick—no real controversy there. Depending on who you ask, Jerry Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb and Henry Ruggs III all have a shot to be the first wide receiver off the board. 

The wide receiver conversation sparks great debate because Jeudy, Lamb and Ruggs have different strengths that separate them from a talented group. General managers who pick within the top 15 will need to figure out what traits they covet most at the position. That will dictate their choice. 

Draft gurus will tell you all three wideouts have the potential to become productive pros, but as we know, team fit matters. 

Who's the best match for a specific system? We'll dig into each prospect's biggest strengths and concerns, and what they can provide to a passing offense.

Jerry Jeudy, Alabama 

Butch Dill/Associated Press

Biggest Strength: Route Running 

Do you want to see poetry in motion? How about a true technician at work? Check out Jeudy on his route patterns. He'll have no issues with separation at the pro level. The Alabama product also has the speed to extend cushions and give quarterbacks big throwing windows. 

ESPN's Todd McShay gave high praise to Jeudy in this particular area:

Chris Simms of NBC Sports provided a film breakdown of Jeudy in action. In this particular clip, he's a great actor in selling one look and going in a different direction. Clearly, the young wideout understands the game. 

Over time, a wide receiver can lose his speed, but his ability to set himself up for a catch with tactical route running doesn't fade so easily.

Jeudy ran a 4.45-second 40-yard time at the NFL Scouting Combine, which checks the speed box, but he also had a strong showing in the receiving drills, running a straight line and using his hands, not his body, to catch the football.

On Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays, Jeudy is going to make some defensive backs look silly in coverage and then leave them in the dust with breakaway speed to turn a routine play into a big gain downfield. The Alabama product has the lowest bust potential of the top three wide receivers because of his technical skill set.

Biggest Concern: Drops Over the Middle/Contested Catches

Critics will use the term finesse to describe Jeudy's game because he's not a rugged wide receiver who's going to outmuscle a cornerback for contested targets. The 6'1", 193-pound wideout has a lean frame, so more strength and body armor may help him in that aspect. 

Still, wide receivers don't become battle warriors for contested catches in a short period. Jeudy's style has more subtlety than physicality. If a cornerback can mirror him and match his speed, the Alabama product could have issues hauling in receptions with little room to adjust on the ball.

Jeudy has left some easy targets on the ground, but a majority of his drops happened on plays in the middle of the field, which is perhaps an uneasiness for playing in traffic where contact becomes a factor.

Some wide receivers make a living on difficult receptions with a defender draped all over them and a safety bearing down over the top. Jeudy may have some issues in those scenarios if he can't completely avoid them with his route running and speed.

CeeDee Lamb, Oklahoma

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

Biggest Strength: Yards After Catch/Production Consistency 

CeeDee Lamb's strengths are numerous, so it's difficult to pinpoint one particular trait. 

For one, Lamb adjusted to three different quarterbacks. He went from Baker Mayfield (2017), to Kyler Murray (2018) and then to Jalen Hurts (2019). With all quarterbacks, he recorded at least 46 receptions, 807 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. From this, we can see he's a reliable wideout who garners trust from his signal-caller regardless of who's under center.

Lamb isn't a speedster, but he's still a big-play threat who averaged 21.4 yards per reception last season because of his sure hands and toughness after the catch. When the wideout goes deep, he doesn't drop the ball, per Pro Football Focus:

Lamb will run through defenders like a big running back. The 6'2", 198-pound wideout put his vision and toughness on full display against Texas and Texas Tech:

With Lamb on the field, defensive backs better be prepared to tackle. He's not going to give defenders an easy out, going down or out of bounds after receptions. The Oklahoma product will compete for yards until the whistle blows.

Lamb should be able to win battles for contested catches. He's lean but has a rugged component to his game.

Lamb has the tools to flourish in any offense. At the collegiate level, changes at quarterback didn't affect his production, so he's going to quickly become a quarterback's top target in the pros. 

Biggest Concern: Foot Speed/Press-Man Looks 

Every year, the fastest wide receivers garner the most attention. You don't have to be a film analyst to recognize speed, so it's one trait that attracts the masses. When a wideout like Lamb runs a 4.5-second 40-yard time, we tend to question if that prospect will struggle against elite athletes in the NFL. 

With a lean build, Lamb won't bully pro defensive backs on pure strength and willpower as he did in college mostly against Big 12 defenses. He's going to face bigger safeties and opposing teams will match him against physical cornerbacks who are reliable tacklers.

Secondly, Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley did a good job in designing plays that allowed Lamb to operate in space. Cornerbacks rarely jammed him at the line of scrimmage. In the NFL, he's going to see more press coverage and encounter the physical nature of the game before going into his routes. 

While Lamb has the strength to beat press-man looks and fight through defensive backs who want to disrupt the timing between quarterbacks and wide receivers, he'll need to show it in the NFL against fully grown men.

Because Lamb doesn't have top-level speed, he may need to win a lot of one-on-one battles in traffic.

Henry Ruggs III, Alabama

Vasha Hunt/Associated Press

Biggest Strength: Explosiveness

Here's a mind-blowing statistic. Henry Ruggs III scored a touchdown on over 24 percent of his receptions at Alabama. That's 24 scores out of 98 catches. He's a threat to go for six on any given play.

At Alabama, Ruggs did most of his damage within 20 yards of the line of scrimmage, but his 4.27-second 40-yard speed will allow him to take defensive backs deep downfield in an aggressive passing attack. That's where teams can replicate some of what Tyreek Hill does for the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Believe it or not, Ruggs has a smaller stature (5'11", 188 pounds) than Jeudy and Lamb, but he has the biggest hands of the three (10 ⅛-inches). The wideout's mitt size extends his catch radius and helps him haul in throws that are slightly off target.

Don't stereotype Ruggs as another small, fast wide receiver who wins matchups on go routes, quick slants and screens. He's also reliable inside the 20-yard line, per Pro Football Focus:

With his elite athleticism, Ruggs has the lower-body explosiveness to leap over defenders. Check out his hops on the basketball court and how that translates to the football field:

Creative coaching staffs will make great use of Ruggs' speed. He could take handoffs out of the backfield, line up in different spots before the snap and exploit matchups in the middle of the field. The wideout also has the potential to provide some juice on punt and kick returns. 

When you talk about players who keep coaches up late at night with their game plans, Ruggs is that type of guy.

Biggest Concern: Target Volume/Body Frame 

Although Ruggs has an impressive touchdown-to-reception ratio, he didn't catch more than 46 passes in any of his three collegiate seasons. The speedster ranked third in receptions (40), yards (746) and touchdowns (seven) among Alabama wideouts behind Jeudy and Devonta Smith last season.

Because of Ruggs' low volume, teams that want a clear-cut go-to wideout may have legitimate concerns about his consistency as the lead perimeter playmaker.

Unlike committee running backs who explode at the pro level with little collegiate mileage, No. 2 and 3 wide receivers are on the field for a majority of the offensive plays. With that said, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa opted to lean on Jeudy and Smith a lot more than Ruggs. In 2018, he had just one more grab than Jaylen Waddle, who was a true freshman at the time.

Furthermore, with a higher volume of targets, Ruggs' body frame comes into question. Last year, he took some bumps, missing one game because of a rib injury and exited the Citrus Bowl early with a concussion after hitting his head on the turf.

In the NFL, with more wear and tear against bigger, stronger athletes, how will Ruggs' size hold up in a lead role? As a potential top-15 pick, it's a fair question. Other than Hill with the Chiefs, most of the top wide receivers have good size; Michael Thomas (6'3", 212 pounds), DeAndre Hopkins (6'1", 212 pounds), Mike Evans (6'5", 231 pounds), Julio Jones (6'3", 220 pounds) and Davante Adams (6'1", 215 pounds) to name a few. 

As a smaller, highly productive wideout, Odell Beckham Jr. (5'11", 198 pounds) comes to mind, but he's battled injuries, missing 16 games since 2017. Tyreek Hills don't grow on trees, so Ruggs must prove he's able to handle a high volume of targets and withstand the rigors of the game at his size.

Among the three wide receivers, Ruggs has the highest ceiling but the lowest floor.