The Las Vegas Raiders’ 2020 NFL Draft class is widely regarded by analysts as one of the most tumultuous in recent league history, marked by high-profile legal issues and limited on-field production. Of the seven players selected by the organization that year, only cornerback Amik Robertson remained with the team for more than three full seasons before his departure in 2024, highlighting the class’s inability to provide long-term stability for the franchise.
The First-Round Selections: Ruggs and Arnette
The Raiders utilized their two first-round picks in 2020 on wide receiver Henry Ruggs III (12th overall) and cornerback Damon Arnette (19th overall). Both players are no longer in the NFL.
According to official team statements, the Raiders released Ruggs in November 2021 following a fatal DUI crash in Las Vegas. Ruggs eventually pleaded guilty to felony DUI resulting in death and was sentenced to a term of three to 10 years in prison, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Damon Arnette’s tenure ended similarly abruptly. The Raiders waived him in November 2021 after a video surfaced on social media showing him brandishing firearms and making death threats. Arnette’s departure followed a series of on-field struggles and injuries that limited him to just 13 games with the team, according to ESPN.
Mid-Round Production and Departures
Beyond the first round, the 2020 class struggled to produce consistent starters. The team’s remaining picks included:
- Lynn Bowden Jr. (WR/RB): Traded to the Miami Dolphins before playing a single regular-season game for the Raiders.
- Bryan Edwards (WR): Played two seasons in Las Vegas, recording 766 receiving yards and four touchdowns before being traded to the Atlanta Falcons in 2022.
- Tanner Muse (LB): Spent time on injured reserve during his rookie season and was waived in 2021 without appearing in a game for the Raiders.
- John Simpson (G): Appeared in 21 games for the team over two seasons before being waived in 2022.
- Amik Robertson (CB): The most successful pick of the class, Robertson played four seasons in Las Vegas, recording four interceptions, before signing with the Detroit Lions in March 2024, per NFL transaction records.
Why the 2020 Class Remains a Case Study
The failure of the 2020 draft class is frequently cited by football analysts as a primary reason for the Raiders’ roster volatility during the early 2020s. While most NFL draft classes expect at least two or three long-term starters, the Raiders received only intermittent production from this entire group.
This draft occurred during the final years of the Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden front-office partnership. The Pro Football Reference database confirms that the cumulative “Approximate Value” (AV)—a metric used to estimate a player’s contribution to their team—for this class remains among the lowest for any team’s seven-man group in the modern era. The combination of off-field conduct issues and early departures left the Raiders with significant gaps in their depth chart that required aggressive spending in free agency and subsequent drafts to rectify.