Wyatt Ray is a polished pass rusher competing for a spot in deep group

Former Boston College pass rusher Wyatt Ray was the one undrafted pass rusher the Cleveland Browns signed to compete for a spot. He offers a polished pass rusher, but has limited upside.

The Cleveland Browns brought in a number of rookie free agent edge players and one they ended up keeping was Wyatt Ray out of Boston College.

He was a productive pass rusher on a talented Eagles defense this past year, but particularly his solo tackle market share wasn't where you prefer it to be. And really, if Ray is going to make it, it'd be as a situational pass rusher. Ray is coming from a program that has defensive coordinator in Paul Pasqualoni that has helped in developing a number of defensive players for the NFL. Harold Landry, Justin Simmons and John Johnson are recent examples.

It would not be a surprise if Ray enjoyed some early success in camp against other rookies simply because he's ahead of them in terms of his technique and polish. He may be able to keep a few of the younger offensive tackles guessing and make plays in the backfield as a result.

The issue for Ray is his athletic testing, which is eerily similar to former Browns defensive end Nate Orchard. Orchard had incredible production at the college level, but his athleticism simply wasn't enough to make it work in the NFL. He's just been too slow. Obviously, the Browns didn't invest a second round pick to get Ray, so if that's where he ends up, it's not the end of the world.

Nate Orchard

Height: 6-3
Weight: 250 lbs
40-Yard Dash: 4.8s
Broad Jump: 115″
Vertical Jump: 31.5″
3-cone: 7.28s
Shuttle: 4.43s
Bench: 29 reps

Wyatt Ray

Height: 6-3
Weight: 257 lbs
40-Yard Dash: 4.83s
Broad Jump: 118″
Vertical Jump: 34″
3-cone: 7.34s
Shuttle: 4.31s
Bench: 25 reps

In that sense, Ray seems like someone who could put up some numbers in preseason against lesser competition and get fans and media to believe in him to see the Browns go ahead and release him because they like the upside of other players on their roster. One example might well be Chad Thomas.

The other issue that drags down Ray is his number. 61. That's brutal for a pass rusher. Just wearing that number will make Ray look slower.

I think Ray could be an interesting player that gets attention early, could make some splash plays in preseason, but the Browns ultimately let go. He may well find his way to another team when rosters get cut down. In a different year, I think Ray could be someone that would make the Browns final 53, but they may simply have too many talented options to keep him.