Ezra Cleveland is assuredly in the future plans for Minnesota Vikings offensive line. What are some things to know about him?
The Minnesota Vikings offensive line has been in flux since 2009. That was the last time that the unit was exceptional, and the Vikings front office has struggled to foster consistency at this depth chart position ever since. In the last decade, the offensive line has not typically performed atrociously but is less than desirable compared to other areas of the team. Therefore, its mediocrity or less-than-average play is magnified because mostly every other position performs admirably, or at least passably. This is especially the case for the last five seasons.
Minnesota has tried free agents like Mike Remmers, Riley Reiff, and Alex Boone. Some have clicked more than others, so at least management is trying, right?. The team was dealt a significant longterm blow when left tackle Matt Kalil failed to materialize with the Vikings. It was bittersweet as Kalil, fresh out of college in 2012, was terrific as a rookie in his first campaign. But then he progressively regressed. When a team spends first-round draft capital on a player and he doesn’t live up to expectations, the lasting effect reverberates.
This offseason, Minnesota made Boise State alumnus Ezra Cleveland its prized offensive line possession in the second round of the NFL Draft. Cleveland is theorized to get some action in 2020, although he likely will not start right away.
We know he is a promising prospect, but what are some details about him that we don’t know?
5. Cleveland was the fourth offensive linemen taken in the first two rounds of the Vikings drafts since 2010
Before Cleveland, the Vikings spent first or second-round draft picks on three other offensive linemen during the last decade — Garrett Bradbury in 2019, Brian O’Neill in 2018, and Matt Kalil in 2012. The league average is about four during the time frame, putting them right on par with other NFL squads. Typically, NFL teams can find offensive line gems in later rounds and develop such prospects. To a very interpretive extent, the Vikings have done this but not as successfully as franchises like New England, Kansas City, or Dallas.
Had Matt Kalil actually panned out, he would be 31 years old and entering his ninth NFL season — with plenty of tread left on the tires for the Vikings. But he didn’t work out. The team allowed him to exit-stage-left in 2017, and he joined the Carolina Panthers. His tenure there lasted one year, and Kalil has not played in an NFL football game since January 7th, 2018.
At some point, Minnesota must hit on one of their early-round offensive line selections. Such picks are designed to anchor the group for several years. Otherwise, Minnesota can only hope a late-round find or free agent can pick up the slack.
4. A prototypical lineman he is not
You hear or see the headline, “Vikings Select Offensive Lineman in NFL Draft.” You think the team is getting a hoss of a man. Cleveland is indeed a voluminous man, but he is probably not of the stature you have in your head.
Ezra Cleveland is closer to a basketball power forward than he is a round mound of intimidation. He’s 6’6″ and around 311 pounds. Cleveland is not a wide body that you might have seen 25 years ago playing for the Dallas Cowboys. His technique relies more on agility and athleticism that it does a girthy frame. Put simply, Cleveland will out-nimble a defender before he flattens him. He can do both, but agility is his signature.
Think of this way: Ezra Cleveland is about 50 pounds away from playing tight end. He possesses the traits of a tight end rather than the brute-force size of a Jonathan Ogden.
3. Cleveland hails from the same town as a famous rock and roll artist
Washington state is a garrison of rock and roll music, and that’s where Cleveland was born.
In 1987, the band Alice in Chains formed in Washington and has since sold over 30 million records. Guitarist and singer-songwriter for the band, Jerry Cantrell, grew up in Spanaway, Washington — the same town Ezra Cleveland was born. Spanaway is located about one hour from Seattle.
Alice in Chains is one of the few notable alternative bands in history to suffer the loss of its lead singer, Layne Staley (death by overdose in 2002), and return to national prominence. The band reformed in 2006 with lead singer William DuVall on lead vocals. They were able to recapture their iconic sound and have flourished sans Staley for over a decade.
As for Erza Cleveland, he becomes the Vikings version of man in the box and will probably see some rotational action during the 2020 season.
2. Bleacher Report’s scouting report of Cleveland was…interesting
When your favorite team uses a relatively high-round pick on offensive lineman, you hope that player is a sure-fire commodity, right?
Bleacher Report disagrees. In fact, Cleveland is proclaimed by Bleacher Report to be the complete opposite of a sure bet. On Cleveland, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller concludes:
“As one of the more polarizing players in this class, Cleveland carries a considerable amount of boom-or-bust potential.”
So, if you subscribe to this prognosis, Cleveland is either going to be delightful or a total swing-and-miss. This is likely due to Cleveland’s unconventional style — quick and mobile rather than fat and stationary.
For the Minnesota Vikings scheme, though, this ilk of a lineman is just what the doctor ordered. Offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak fancies a zone-blocking scheme where his offensive linemen are spry and swift. This enables Kubiak to implement his offensive bread-and-butter, a combination of misdirection and play-action playcalling.
Should Kubiak be around the Vikings for an extended stay — which would be a change of pace for Vikings offensive coordinators — Ezra Cleveland has the build to jell aptly with the offensive scheme.
1. For an offensive lineman, Ezra Cleveland is the antithesis of “slow”
We now know that Cleveland is more like a basketball power forward or gridiron tight end that he is a mountainous behemoth. But does that just mean he’s tall and lanky?
Tall, yes. Lanky, no. By lineman standards, Cleveland is slender, but he is by no means a string bean. Interestingly, he’s currently one of the strongest men on the Minnesota Vikings when adjudicated by bench press reps. At the 2020 NFL combine, Cleveland threw up 30 bench press reps which ranked him as the ninth-strongest player in the 2020 draft class.
And then there’s the speed. At the same combine, Cleveland ran a 40-yard dash time of 4.93 seconds. Last year’s starting quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, Jacoby Brissett, ran a 4.94 40-yard dash in the 2016 NFL Draft. Cleveland edges him in the metric by a whisker.
This should indicate how quick Cleveland truly is for an offensive lineman. Brissett is not renowned for speed, but he also does not visually appear slow on the field. If Cleveland can hold his own with Brissett in a foot race, the Minnesota Vikings are holding a pretty damn unique specimen.