Ray-Ray McCloud has been a revelation this season for the Pittsburgh Steelers as a kickoff and punt returner. During this past game, he had his first lengthy stretch inserted into the regular offense.
McCloud played a season-high 22 snaps during Sunday’s win against the Baltimore Ravens. Almost all of that playing time was in the second half, when the Steelers deployed plenty of no-huddle and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was calling his own plays out an often-empty backfield with four wide receivers on the field.
“It just fell in a couple packages, and it just happened to be the packages of our mode of operation for that week,” offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said during a video conference call Thursday. “I really like where Ray-Ray is at, but I really like where a lot of those skill guys are at this time. He is a unique guy because he has quickness, he has toughs, he can catch the football extremely well. I love what he is doing for our special teams and our team right now.”
Ray-Ray McCloud is showing he is with the #Steelers is an electric playmaker. https://t.co/QAB0crKATH
— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) October 13, 2020
McCloud has been a dramatic upgrade at kick and punt returner compared to what the Steelers have used for most of the past several seasons. McCloud is averaging an NFL-best 16.7 yards on punt returns and 25.9 yards on kick returns, the latter the league’s sixth-best mark.
What made McCloud’s utilization so much against Baltimore notable was it came at the expense of James Washington, the former second-round pick who during two games earlier this season served as the Steelers’ top receiver.
Fichtner said that McCloud’s usage in Baltimore was one part a sign of his improvement since arriving as a training-camp signee, one part a matchup against the Ravens. McCloud’s short-area quickness appears to be a better fit than Washington’s deep threat for when the Steelers are in quick-passing mode.
“His development just keeps improving,” Fichtner said. “(Wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard) has done a heck of a job with him, just getting him to be in positions to be able to utilize his skillset.”
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