Philadelphia Eagles draft prospects: Henry Ruggs versus Laviska Shenault

Still not convinced? Here’s what the experts are saying.

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com compares Shenault to Sammy Watkins and Greg Little in the former Colorado Buffaloes star’s draft profile. In Ruggs’ draft profile, Zierlein says Ruggs looks like a newer version of Ted Ginn Jr. That’s pretty high praise for both of these young prospects.

If it is indeed Philly’s plan to go with a wideout in Round 1, both of these guys will be great options. Again, Shenault’s draft stock will be influenced heavily by what the doctors say, but if he’s given a clean bill of health, seeing him come off of draft boards somewhere between picks 15 and 25 makes a ton of sense.

It’s just hard to believe that Jerry Jeudy and Justin Jefferson will still be available when Philly’s on the clock at 21. Might trading up a few spots be an option? We all know that Philly is expected to have ten picks and vice president and general manager Howie Roseman has shown that he has no issue with using a few as collateral.

Well, for now, that’s another story for another day.

Here’s some of what The Draft Network says about Shenault.

"Thick, chiseled, and stoutly built structure that contains plenty of armor in order to fend off defenders during route stems, at the catch point, and the after-the-catch process… Outside of offensive line, there wasn’t a position that he didn’t play within the Colorado offense… (He’s) a big play waiting to happen. He led the nation during the 2018 season, averaging 9.6 catches per game and 10.9 scrimmage yards per play."

Here’s the skinny on Ruggs, also courtesy of The Draft Network.

"(He has a) smaller stature, but Ruggs III’s body strength is vastly underrated. This trait also shows up in contested catch situations. Oncoming tacklers often bounce off of his body without impeding his running process as a result… Ruggs III is an absolute game changer who’s exceptional once the ball is in his hands. His instincts and feels as a runner are off the charts… As a route-runner, he utilizes supplementary head fakes and additional arm/shoulder movements in order to sell and persuade defenders every which way."

The long and the short of it is this. Drafts are a crapshoot, but Philly wins either way if they pick one of these studs. We’ll see in the coming weeks if one or both is mentioned more by the team as we near the selection meeting.