Ray-Ray McCloud played a career-high 61 snaps for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, with the team absent JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool at the wide receiver position. He saw career highs in targets (12), receptions (9), and receiving yards (63); he did come up just short of his NFL touchdown.
The absences of notable receivers wasn’t the only significant variable in the game; the day before, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger tested positive for COVID-19, and his backup, Mason Rudolph, had to start. As a player lower on the depth chart, McCloud has obviously gotten more work with Rudolph; however, he doesn’t believe that’s why he had such a large role in the offense.