Who Should I Start? River Cracraft or Ray-Ray McCloud

Monday, August 19, 1:02 PM

Dolphins wide receiver River Cracraft (upper-body) is sidelined with an upper-body injury and is expected to miss some time in the regular season. Cracraft had a strong summer in his third season with Miami and seemed likely to start as the third receiver behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, especially with Odell Beckham Jr. (undisclosed) still on the PUP list. However, Cracraft's injury raises the possibility that he could be placed on injured reserve when the Dolphins finalize their 53-man roster. By August 27, the Dolphins will have three options for handling Cracraft: keep him on the 53-man roster until he recovers, initially include him on the roster and then place him on IR on August 28, or put him on IR immediately, which would count as one of the two IR moves allowed on cutdown day under new NFL rules. This situation simplifies the roster decisions and opens up a spot for Erik Ezukanma, who had an impressive preseason debut against Washington. If the Dolphins keep six wide receivers, Ezukanma could join Hill, Waddle, Beckham, Braxton Berrios, and rookie Malik Washington, who will secure a spot on the roster. With these receiver injuries, Hill and Waddle will likely see even more targets, boosting Hill's value as the top overall pick in redraft leagues.

Monday, August 5, 1:14 PM

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud clearly has the starting slot job right now over Rondale Moore. McCloud had 90 catches in six seasons before signing with the Falcons as a free agent this offseason, while Moore had 135 catches in three years when Atlanta acquired him in a trade for quarterback Desmond Ridder. "I have the ultimate confidence in him," wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard said of McCloud. "I think he's going to be really good for our football team." Moore has made some big plays in camp with the second-team offense but has struggled with consistency. The 27-year-old McCloud has mostly been a special-teams asset in his time in the NFL, but he could have a bigger role in the new-look Falcons offense in 2024. For now, he's just a name to monitor as fantasy drafts approach this fall.