Matt Miller, a long-time draft analyst for Bleacher Report and an even longer-time Niners fan, joined KNBR on Tuesday to discuss what the San Francisco 49ers might do in the first round of the draft next week.
Most analysts envision general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan bolstering their receivers group next Thursday. Three players — Jerry Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb, and Henry Ruggs — seem to be the favorites in what is considered to be one of the deepest receiver classes in recent years, and Miller likes each of them.
There is one among those three, however, who the analyst feels is the "best fit" for his Niners.
"I have Jerry Jeudy ranked the highest (among the rookie class of receivers). I think he actually might be the worst fit, just in this (49ers) offense," Miller said on the Murph and Mac show. "I'm not saying he would be a bad fit, but just, if I had my pick for this offense, I would want Henry Ruggs because you want someone who can stretch the field vertically to open things up underneath for George Kittle, open things up for Deebo Samuel.
"Deebo is so good at yards after the catch. That's where he made his money at South Carolina. That's what he did last year. He's not necessarily a deep threat. You talk about levels with wide-receiver play -- you want a level-one (receiver) in those underneath routes. You want a level-two, and then you want a level-three. Henry Ruggs is an immediate level-three.
"Even when he doesn't catch the ball, it's just that threat of that speed over the top (which) is going to draw the attention of the safety. That opens things up for Kittle. It opens things up for Deebo. It opens things up for the run game, which is already dominant."
Ruggs recorded 86 catches for 1,487 receiving yards with 18 touchdowns during his last two seasons with the Crimson Tide. He also had two rushing attempts for 75 yards and a score during his junior year in 2019.
"While he might not be everyone's number-one receiver," Miller continued, "I think for San Francisco specifically, what we could see with Ruggs, who has legendary speed, it's truly, truly special. He's amazing after the catch. He could take those short routes and go to the house but also played a lot of vertical over-the-top football for Alabama with a quarterback in Tua (Tagovailoa) who doesn't have the strongest arm.
"I think with Ruggs, the fit with San Francisco is just really, really nice."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Miller below.
