Damion Ratley WR Browns (1 Viewer)

I know there was some interest in Derrick Willies due to injuries at the WR position for Cleveland, but I propose Ratley just might be a better pickup. I caught an interview where Ratley essentially said Willies was performing in areas he wasn't in regards to why Willies was active last week & he wasn't. I suspect that might be ST related. Depth charts are notoriously inaccurate that deep so I'm not sure anybody but a homer would know exactly where these two stand.  

Ratley is intriguing in dynasty leagues because Mayfield is eventually going to make legit FF assets out of some WRs & while Landry is an outstanding player, he's not a typical NFL #1. Ratley actually has a pretty strong profile & in the little highlights I could find, he shows natural pass-catching ability. Ratley made some waves in training camp, as well. He was also drafted (unlike Willies).

Make no mistake, Ratley is more of a flier, but you could do a lot worse as far as upside. Anybody have an opinion on Ratley? Homers?

Plus, Ratley will have a cool nickname if he hits.

Damion Ratley caught 6-of-8 targets for 82 yards in Sunday's Week 6 loss to the Chargers.

The sixth-round pick from Texas A&M was forced to step up into a large role in the Cleveland passing game with all of the injuries the Browns have sustained at the wide receiver position. His productive game came in game in which Jarvis Landry caught just two passes, so it should be taken with some degree of salt. That said, the Browns will still be without Rishard Higgins for a the short term and Antonio Callaway has proven to be an unreliable option. Ratley is only an option in the deepest of leagues, but the Browns face a terrible Tampa Bay defense on the road in Week 7 for those that must dig that deep.

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Don't sleep on the ol' Rat Fink. Absolute dreamy blend of size/speed (6'2 with a 4.44 40) and Antonio Callaway is starting to fade in this O.

Definitely a nice little long shot.

Should be starting over Callaway. He busts his ### out there.

He had a TD go right through his hands, just like Callaway did today.

Probably will look to add off FA in my deeper leagues.  Won't throw a waiver claim at him

lod001 said:

Should be starting over Callaway. He busts his ### out there.

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Sigmund Bloom‏ @SigmundBloom 18h18 hours ago Sigmund Bloom Retweeted Eliot Crist

Has cost Mayfield two touchdowns today

Sigmund Bloom added, Eliot Crist @EliotCrist

Calloway has 8 targets and 1 catch. As someone who has all the Callaway this is painful to tweet.

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Callaway ended up with 10 targets, 2 receptions for 9 yards.

Ratley ended up with 8 targets, 6 receptions for 82 yards.

On the year Callaway has 40 targets, 15 receptions for 186 yards and 1 TD.  

Take away his two long receptions, 47 yarder from Tyrod Taylor for his only score and the 59 yarder against Oakland where he came up gimpy and failed to score even though he could have and he's got 13 receptions for 80 yards.

Ratley had more in his first game.  Last week Willies had 61 yards on 3 receptions where he was targeted 5 times.

Callaway has great sped but he doesn't come back strong for the ball,  doesn't run clean routes, and he drops the ball.

If guys like Willies and Ratley can look so-much better than Callaway in their first NFL game then it is pretty obvious that he needs to be replaced and Ratley is the only healthy WR left so he's a good flyer.

The key is will Higgins enough games so that Rat Fink can flash? I propose a theoretical question. let's say Higgins is out 3 more games. Ratley in those 3 games goes

5-7 for 75

6-8 for 100

4-6 for 61 and a TD

Just based off the catch percentage and the usage (he can be used short, intermediate and deep), wouldn't you want him opposite Landry with Higgins back in the slot? Again, these guys are trying to scale Callaway back but they can't because everyone is hurt.

:dot: higgins most likely out this week, not practicing today, so in for a flyer. if he hits again this week, it'll probably be too late to get on. was on the callaway train but that doesn't look to be going anywhere with the opportunities he has been given so far.

Size and speed.

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/damion-ratley?id=32462018-0002-5610-54c5-416c66164d24

• HEIGHT 6' 3"
  
• WEIGHT 190 lbs
  

Very good combination of size and speed. Smooth athlete with plus directional change for his size. Had 11 of his 30 catches go for 25-plus yards this season for a 23.1-yards-per-catch average. Has the juice to access early acceleration to climb past man coverage and threaten deep. Averaged a touchdown every 5.8 catches during his three seasons. Shows ability to track and adjust to deep throws

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https://www.dawgsbynature.com/2018/4/28/17295852/2018-nfl-draft-cleveland-browns-pick-wr-damion-ratley-at-no-175-in-6th-round

Scouting Reports

Dane Brugler had Ratley as his 63rd ranked receiver. Here is what Lance Zierlein of NFL.com said about him:

Ratley’s combination of size, athleticism, and pure speed makes him an intriguing prospect despite the fact that he managed just 47 catches over his three seasons at Texas A&M. While he has bonafide field-stretching speed, he also has the athletic ability and foot quickness to handle underneath routes as well. Ratley is raw and will need to improve his press release and routes, but his explosiveness gives him a shot 

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https://www.cleveland.com/nfl-draft/index.ssf/2018/04/damion_ratley_get_to_know_the.html

Ratley brings speed.

Unlike the 5-foot-11 Callaway, Ratley is a bigger receiver at 6-2 and 196 pounds. He ran a 4.39-second time in the 40 at Texas A&M's pro day, has a 38-inch vertical jump and 10-4 broad jump.

His 40 time is among the best for receivers in this draft. By comparison, Josh Gordon ran it in 4.35 seconds — 

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YouTube highlights.  The thing to note is how WIDE OPEN he is.  If the QB could lead or hit tighter windows he really could clean up.

Take a look and note the QB doesn't throw unless he's wide open and also note the deep throws where Ratley has to slow down every time.

II Damion Ratley 2017 Highlights II Cleveland Browns 6th Round Selection

I'm waiting until later in the week to see if some WRs get signed, but I plan to pickup Ratley soon. SOMEONE not named Landry has to perform for the Browns, and don't count out the spectre of garbage time; Mayfield wants to chuck the ball 45-50 times.

https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/video/mayfield-s-pass-hits-damion-ratley-in-stride-for-27-yards

https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/video/damion-ratley-hangs-on-to-23-yard-pass-despite-huge-hit

Surprisingly fluid in his routes, and the second vid is the one he got the hip/back injuries. That could've been a TD pass and a 6/83/1 line. 

We may have seen Ratley do what Willies did week 5 if it wasn't for STs. Per my original post, I'm not sure Willies was actually ahead of Rat on the depth chart.

With Willies out, all we have to worry about is Callaway & Higgins. Callaway seems to be losing favor & Higgins doesn't have nearly as much raw ability as Rat.

Rat looked good last week despite the odd-looking attempt he made near the GL on a missed catch. It seemed like he lost it in the sun or something (not sure).

He was close to 2 TDs so the potential is there with Mayfield slinging him the rock.

Ratley was the only game in town last week but the Browns picked up Perriman and their is some chatter about him picking up some PT.

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Mary Kay Cabot‏Verified account @MaryKayCabot 2h2 hours ago

#Browns Hue Jackson said there's a chance new WR Breshad Perriman can contribute significantly vs. #Bucs. Said he looked 'big, fast' and caught the ball well today in 1st practice

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Sunday's matchup is against the Bucs and it suits both Ratley and Perriman since the Tampa Bay defense ranks dead last defending the pass.

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Worst rated teams verses the pass

NFL Matchup on ESPN‏Verified account @NFLMatchup

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Defending the pass is more important than it's ever been in the #NFL- here are the top defenses this year at doing that.

Perriman is toast

In my Double Flex league I have Ratley in one spot, Callaway the other. At least one should boom and hopefully both.

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Got in my starting lineup. RAT-A-TAT-TAT

IN 

Due to the Dalvin Cook news I'm sitting Ratley for Murray now. Gonna play Callaway I think.

Can Damion Ratley Become the Browns Third Receiver?

Kinda random to see a Ratley thread pop up. I figured he was either injured or arrested when I saw it!

With the Browns TEs and RBs, the WR3 is probably not important for fantasy, but there might be a decent early season role for one of these guys if Landry's hip surgery recovery doesn't go perfectly (or OBJ's core, but that seems pretty low risk). They drafted DPJ, I always liked Taywan Taylor in TN, and Rashard Higgins has done alright as the WR3 at times. Seems like it could be any of those guys. 

Cleveland Browns Training Camp 2020: WR Preview (Part 1)

Excerpt:

4. Damion Ratley - Backup WR

Height: 6-2 | Weight: 200 lbs | Age: 25
Experience: 3 years | College: Texas A&M

Ratley was the main beneficiary of Higgins’ demotion last year. In 13 games, Ratleycaught 12 passes for 200 yards and 1 touchdown. He might be most remembered for two plays last year — first, the pass from Odell Beckham that he couldn’t haul in...

https://twitter.com/sbrsportspicks/status/1178369219030704128?s=21

...and then his touchdown grab against the Bengals late in the year:

https://twitter.com/snfonnbc/status/1211348813522329600?s=21

Ratley has a good combination of size and speed, and showed some promise last year. Ratley and Higgins were among the players who went down to Texas in May for a workout session with Baker Mayfield. All of the receiver positions after Beckham and Landry are really up-in-the-air, and Ratley will have to fight hard for a roster spot, knowing the team has a couple of special team candidate receivers ready to take one spot, and rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones possibly taking another.

Final Roster Odds: 50%

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I like him as a deep threat and Baker seems to love that he never gives up on a play. I don't know how much that translates to when their line performs well and their offense is running like a machine. 

Taywan Taylor would have certainly burst on the scene with a full camp. He's crazy quick and his speed has been timed at shocking numbers. (I can't recall specifics) When the Titans used Taywan, his speed commanded a top corner. Back then, they didn't have anyone else to step up and/or they didn't. It was a wise tactic though by Mularkey and Co to see guys like Ramsey have to cover Taywan and get him off Davis or Matthews. Can we say 4.2 speed for discussion? Teams just don't have that many (healthy) corners that can keep up with Taywan. He was only good for 2-3 catches per game, but absorbing a top corner was big back then.

Taywan was upset after the trade/cut (7th) after destroying the Pats last summer and earning starting time and...we all knew it'd be AJs spot eventually. One Browns writer called him disgruntled and...I get that. I heard very little of him in practices and he got very little time in CLE. Still, I figured some time to reflect and a new camp for a new season could do him a lot of good.  

I love Baker and he's the same gunslinger he was at OU. If the Browns line would hold up, maybe I could see if he matured at all and stays in the pocket to play some scripted way. He's got some Favre to him though and...ramble ramble, I gotta think he would prefer Ratley. I remember Favre WRs being able to catch anything and that includes if they had to come back for it, fight for it, or jump for it. Am I going too far on the Favre comparison? Probably, but still ya gotta figure Baker prefers a determined type rather than a tactician