Peter King reinforces rumor that Chiefs wanted Henry Ruggs III

Peter King reinforced the NFL Draft rumor that the Chiefs wanted Henry Ruggs if he slipped.

It was always going to be a stretch, but even the remote possibility of adding the fastest player in the 2020 NFL Draft to the league’s fastest offense still has us talking several months later.

During the 2020 draft, the rumor leaked that the Kansas City Chiefs were interested in Alabama wide receiver Henry Ruggs III if he somehow slipped far enough for the team to take him. That’s likely true of one third or more other teams as well who would hope for such a tremendous talent to fall to them, so it doesn’t make the Chiefs unique in that way. But the set-up itself is what had/has us so interested.

The Las Vegas Raiders struck early in the draft and selected Ruggs at No. 12 overall, making him the first wide receiver taken in a draft class absolutely loaded to the hilt with promising pass catchers. That was likely a good thing since NFL reporter Peter King originally reported that the Chiefs were interested in trading up for Ruggs.

Before the draft, Ruggs said he’d “love” to play for the Chiefs saying “The talent that they have over there is unreal.” Ruggs would have been a significant part of that talent until the Raiders drafted him, but he’ll still get two up-close glimpses every season at what might have been. The same is true from the other side.

Even in a recent column on Monday from King, he went back to that rumor and reinforced the notion that the Chiefs had expressed interest in Ruggs. In discussing his recent visit to Chiefs training camp, King was present for Tyreek Hill’s recent hamstring injury. In his reporting, he reached back for the Ruggs rumor.

"This is why depth at receiver is so vital and why, honestly, the Chiefs were seriously considering drafting Alabama speedster Henry Ruggs in April if he plummeted in round one; instead, he went 12th overall to the Raiders. Gluttonous? Maybe. But for Reid and Veach, the idea that you can’t have enough speed is not a cliché."

The idea of a wide receiver corps of Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson, and Henry Ruggs to with Travis Kelce and the rest of the offense is ridiculous. “Gluttonous” is the ideal word. It would also provide the ultimate security for any injury to, well, anyone and keep the Chiefs receiver room loaded for years to come, given that Watkins and Robinson are set to hit free agency in a year.

Still, it’s hard to think the Chiefs are frustrated with their first round choice. Even in the same dispatch from Peter King from K.C.’s training camp, he spends significant time inflating the fantasy draft stock of Clyde Edwards-Helaire, the very player taken by the Chiefs in the first round. The do-it-all running back might not match Ruggs’ top-end speed, but he is an ideal fit in the backfield and adds another dynamite weapon on this offense either way.