FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — When Ike Hilliard was hired as the Atlanta Falcons’ wide receivers coach in February, he had a pitch — give Ray-Ray McCloud III a shot. New Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson was willing to listen.
Robinson had seen enough glimpses of McCloud to be intrigued, but that’s about all anyone had seen of McCloud — glimpses. Advertisement In his first six years in the NFL , the 5-foot-9, 190-pound wide receiver out of Clemson had been much more return specialist than actual receiver, catching 90 total passes. Hilliard, who coached McCloud for two seasons in Pittsburgh, thought there was more there.
McCloud had his most productive NFL season as a Steeler after moving into the starting lineup when JuJu Smith-Schuster was injured in 2021. “I saw growth and, most importantly, Ben Roethlisberger , with the variety of options we had there, he said, ‘I want Ray-Ray to stay there,’” Hilliard said. “That helped his confidence, and he learned on the fly.
” McCloud finished that season with 39 catches for 277 yards, but it was the last season for Hilliard and McCloud in Pittsburgh. McCloud would go on to San Francisco, and Hilliard landed at Auburn University the next year, but the two stayed in touch after forming a very tight bond. “I really feel like Ike is Ray-Ray’s second dad,” Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said after seeing the pair interact in training camp.
“It’s a real relationship. They truly love each other. If (c.
