Summary: Ray was a reserve his first two seasons but elevated his production in 2014 with the opportunity to become a starter. Explosiveness and speed are critical for Ray to win at the line of scrimmage, and analyst Lance Zierlein liked the "extreme passion and purpose" he saw in Ray's pass-rush efforts. Zierlein wrote in a combine profile of Ray that he is "tough and plays with bad intentions on each snap."

Stacking up: NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock ranked Ray as his second-best edge rusher after the NFL combine, but dropped him to fifth in his most recent rankings. Counterpart Bucky Brooks ranked Ray second among defensive ends. Elsewhere, Daniel Jeremiah ranked Ray as the sixth-best overall prospect in his list of the **top 50**.

Son of a Vikings draft pick:Ray is the son of Wendell Ray, who played defensive end at Missouri and was drafted by the Vikings in the fifth round (123rd overall) of the 1981 NFL Draft.