Inside Falcons WR's Career Year: 'Hard to Take Ray-Ray McCloud Off the Field'

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- As Ray-Ray McCloud III stood behind the podium wearing a baggy gray T-shirt and shiny silver chain around his neck, the Atlanta Falcons receiver's face bore a smirk.

It was late July, and McCloud, who was in the midst of his seventh professional training camp, was asked what more he wanted to show within his skill set.

He spoke of explosiveness and playmaking, things he did in flashes at his previous stop with the San Francisco 49ers. Then, he became lost in thought.

"Time will tell," McCloud said, grinning.

And once the clock struck midnight on Atlanta's season, McCloud's calendar showed a breakout year as Atlanta's starting slot receiver.

McCloud saw a career-high 87 targets and capitalized, setting additional career highs with 62 catches for 686 yards and one touchdown -- the second receiving score of his career. He added 10 carries for 79 yards and finished with 765 scrimmage yards.

The 28-year-old more than doubled his previous highs in receiving yards and yards from scrimmage. In his previous two seasons with the 49ers, McCloud played in 29 games and caught 26 passes for 378 yards and one touchdown combined.

McCloud, while pleased with his statistical step forward, feels he still has higher levels to reach.

"It's always you want to do things back, but again, you got to keep stacking," McCloud told Atlanta Falcons on SI on Jan. 5. "And I don't think I stacked enough, but I think I stacked a little bit this year. Just made notice."

McCloud entered the summer in competition with Rondale Moore for the starting slot receiver role. McCloud separated himself during OTAs and into the early part of training camp, and when Moore tore his ACL in a joint practice with the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 7, the battle came to a sudden stop.

The Falcons trusted McCloud, in large part due to familiarity. Head coach Raheem Morris worked out McCloud during the pre-draft process in 2018, while receivers coach Ike Hilliard coached McCloud from 2020-21 with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Atlanta signed McCloud with confidence he could become its No. 3 receiver behind Drake London and Darnell Mooney. But the productivity of such a role depended on Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson's propensity to run 11 personnel -- three receivers -- versus 12 personnel, which puts only two receivers on the field.

Robinson said the Falcons started this season with a good feeling for their 12 personnel package, where tight ends Kyle Pitts and Charlie Woerner share the field together. But after McCloud caught four passes for 52 yards from the slot in Atlanta's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1, Robinson adjusted his plan.

"You play that first game of the season against the Steelers and you realize how good of a player Ray-Ray McCloud is," Robinson said. "And you're saying, 'Okay, how can we get Ray-Ray as another passing threat on the field at all times?'

"We knew we felt good about Ray-Ray and his ability. But then after seeing the way he played in that moment, you're saying, 'Man, we can't keep this guy off the field if we want to have all the pass threats at our disposal, each down.'"

Week 1 set the stage for McCloud's breakout. He gave an encore week after week.

The Tampa, Fla., native had at least four touches in 13 of the Falcons' 17 games. He eclipsed 100 scrimmage yards for the first time as a professional in a Week 14 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, catching eight passes for a career-high 98 yards while adding three yards on one rush.

McCloud's single-game career high in receiving yards entering the season was 65. He eclipsed that number four times in 2024 alone, including thrice after Atlanta's Week 12 bye.

An important part to McCloud's jump in production stems from opportunity. He played 981 offensive snaps, which was 86% of Atlanta's total. For context, he entered 2024 with only 1,320 career snaps played on offense.

But not lost in McCloud's increased workload is that Atlanta felt he truly earned the opportunity -- and ran with it.

"It's hard to take Ray-Ray McCloud off the field," Robinson said. "He's a really good football player. He's had great production from a pass game standpoint, and in a run game, he's tough as heck. So, you want your best 11 out there."

McCloud also made an impact on special teams. He returned 14 kicks for 361 yards, a career-best 25.1 yards per attempt in part due to the NFL's new kickoff rules.

The Falcons gave McCloud a career-high 10 carries, which he turned into a career-high 79 yards. And suddenly, the player who totaled 33 touches combined the previous two years in San Francisco finished with a career-high 72 touches on an offense that ranked No. 6 in yards per game.

His teammates noticed.

"Ray-Ray, just being that clutch receiver -- I guess I wouldn't say receiver, just play maker on the field that we need," running back Bijan Robinson said.

McCloud started the season hoping to shake the label of being a return specialist. He finished it with the playmaking title he sought to earn.

Still, standing in the Falcons' locker room after Atlanta's season-ending loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 18, McCloud wanted more.

"You know, I got a lot more work to do," McCloud said, drawing out the 'o' in 'lot.' "But again, like I said, come in next year and reach 1,000 and after that, keep setting career highs. That ain't nothing to me, for real, to me, to be honest with you. I got bigger goals than that. Again, we ended here."

McCloud, who went to the playoffs each of the past four years and lost in the Super Bowl last season, isn't used to his calendar freeing so early -- and he surely wasn't expecting such a sudden end when the Falcons held a 6-3 record at the season's halfway point.

That, however, is life in the NFL.

So, what's next? McCloud wants to push his mind away from the game and reflect on the season, using Atlanta's shortcomings as motivation to work toward a brighter future.

But it may not immediately lessen the sting of a once-promising season falling by the wayside.

"I'd like to thank God for the opportunity to come out healthy again -- it's a game only a few of us get the opportunity to play, so we got to cherish these moments," McCloud said. "Same time, you look back, you work for so many days just to get a Super Bowl. And it's just, it comes short."

Time ultimately told all of the Falcons' true identity. But it may have also proved McCloud's capabilities -- and as Atlanta looks to build on an encouraging season offensively, it can attack the offseason knowing it has a well-rounded playmaker in the slot.