Charles Clay: Potential Baltimore Ravens Free Agent Target

Dec 7, 2014; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Dolphins tight end Charles Clay (42) runs past Baltimore Ravens defensive end Chris Canty (99) during the second half at Sun Life Stadium. Ravens won 28-13. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

As we head into the offseason and prepare for the craziness that is NFL free agency, we thought it would be fun to take a look ahead at some players that the Ravens might be interested in pursuing.  While we can all dream about seeing our favorite team signing guys like Dez Bryant or Justin Houston (both free agents this year), we’re going to be a little more realistic and only look at players that might actually hit the market and draw interest from the Ravens.

We’ve already scoped out one potential tight end free agent the Ravens might target in Jordan Cameron, and today we’re going to take a look at another athletic, pass catching guy: Charles Clay.  Clay is another tight end with great size at 6’3″ and 255 pounds, and is still young at 25.  And much like Cameron and the Ravens’ own Dennis Pitta, he has yet to reach his true potential.

Clay still ranked as the 14th best tight end in the NFL by Pro Fooball Focus among 67 qualifiers.  Crockett Gillmore was 20th, and Owen Daniels finished 29th.

Clay does have one thing going for him that the other two do not, however, and that is sustained health. He has appeared in 14 or more games in all four seasons since the Dolphins drafted him in the 6th round back in 2011.  Clay has also become a bigger part of the offense the last two seasons, though he continues to fly under the radar a little.  Part of the reason for that lies in a Dolphins offense that has been largely conservative and seems confused about how to best utilize Clay’s skill set on the field.

The result is good but not elite numbers over the last two seasons.  Clay recorded an impressive 69 catches for 759 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2013, but his numbers regressed this year to 58/605/3 despite Ryan Tannehill’s progression as a signal caller.  Clay still ranked as the 14th best tight end in the NFL by Pro Fooball Focus among 67 qualifiers.  Crockett Gillmore was 20th, and Owen Daniels finished 29th.

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Clay is a pass catcher by trade, but he is also very solid in run blocking.  He ranked 9th among all tight ends as a pass catcher, and 11th in run blocking.  His biggest weakness lies in pass protection, where he tumbles all the way down to 57th.  This is a common issue with pass catching tight ends, especially young ones.  These are the types of skills that can be taught and learned, however.

Charles Clay, much like Jordan Cameron, would make for a nice addition to the Ravens’ offense, and he should come relatively cheap.  He has a very high ceiling in an offense that knows how to utilize his unique skill set after spending four years in one that has had a revolving door at offensive coordinator.  A guy like Gary Kubiak could do some serious damage with a guy like Charles Clay.