Ray-Ray McCloud is the definition of a journeyman in the NFL. The former sixth round pick out of Clemson plays every skill position on offense, made his career as a kick returner, and played for five different teams in seven years— including one team twice.
McCloud has carved out a nice little career for himself as an elite do-it-all athlete!
He led the league in total punt return yards with Pittsburgh in 2021 and spent the last two years as a key contributor with San Francisco. This upcoming season will be his first with Atlanta.
The Falcons moved on from Cordarrelle Patterson during the offseason. They replaced him, in essence, with McCloud. Not only is he going to return kicks, he might get some touches in the Wildcat, as a running back, on jet sweeps or in the passing game.
Regardless of how Atlanta chooses to use McCloud, the jack-of-all-trades can change the game in one play. His speed is one thing. His twitch is another.
McCloud ran some routes with ROUTEGOD earlier this summer and it was stupid.
He also put his athleticism on display over the weekend with a remarkably difficult feat, just for fun. The 5-foot-9, 190-pound return specialist casually bunny hopped a full 100 meters over regulation-sized track and field hurdles. His legs started to give out on him after about 60 consecutive hurdles but he continued to push through the remainder of the straightaway!
*BITTERSWEET*
— RayRay McCloud III (@RMIII_34) July 20, 2024
100m straight hurdle jumps just for the mental 🧠 pic.twitter.com/hgSYxwKxbb
There is no way to properly explain just how difficult it is to two-foot bunny hop over approximately 100 hurdles without stopping, but it is a feat that even some of the top athletes in the world could not complete. It left an NFL athlete who is in peak shape completely exhausted.
Ray-Ray McCloud may not fit in the starting lineup for the Falcons this fall. However, he is exactly the type of player that Zac Robinson loves to use in a unique way and could be in store for an expanded role on offense!