ESPN's Marc Raimondi singled out Falcons WR Ray-Ray McCloud III as a "surprise" performer through the team's spring workouts. McCloud signed a two-year, $6 million deal with Atlanta in free agency and was generally expected to primarily return kicks. But McCloud reportedly also worked in with the first team at WR in spring and "performed well, catching passes from [Kirk] Cousins for big plays." McCloud will compete with Rondale Moore and sixth-round rookie Casey Washington for snaps behind lead duo Drake London and Darnell Mooney.
The 49ers are signing WR/returner Ray-Ray McCloud to a 2-year deal worth up to $10.4 million, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. That contract appears to put McCloud in between what fellow slot WRs Isaiah Mckenzie got from the Bills and Braxton Berrios from the Jets. McCloud is a more accomplished return man than either of them, though. He led the league in punt returns and punt-return yardage last year and as averaged more than 22 yards per kick return on 28+ returns each of the past 2 years. Expect him to assume those roles with his new team. We'll see about McCloud's role on offense. For now, we're not giving him much attention in best-ball drafts.
The Steelers placed WR Diontae Johnson on the COVID list Thursday, which should knock him out for Sunday's regular-season finale at Baltimore. Johnson's absence leaves Chase Claypool, James Washington and Ray-Ray McCloud as Pittsburgh's top 3 WRs for a high-ceiling matchup with the bad Ravens pass D. All 3 will be worth a look in fantasy football lineups at varying levels.
Steelers WR Chase Claypool is considered "week-to-week" with a toe injury, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. We'll look for a more concrete timeline for Claypool's return, but we can safely assume that he'll miss Sunday's game vs. the Lions. With WR JuJu Smith-Schuster on IR, we'll likely see James Washington join Diontae Johnson in 2-WR sets, with Ray-Ray McCloud the #3 WR. Johnson should continue to dominate targets. TE Pat Freiermuth could see more volume, too.
The Steelers signed WR Anthony Miller to the practice squad. He's expected to join the active roster soon. There's an opening in Pittsburgh's 3-WR sets with JuJu Smith-Schuster out for the season. We'll see how snaps are divvied between Miller, James Washington and Ray-Ray McCloud.
NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala reports that the Steelers plan to have WR Anthony Miller in for a physical Tuesday. Barring a physical issue, that would obviously indicate Pittsburgh plans to sign the veteran. Miller seems a suitable fill-in for JuJu Smith-Schuster's vacated slot role. We'll see about projecting the group the rest of the way if Miller actually signs.
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