Ezra Cleveland's Opportunity To Play Might Be Coming Soon
Through three weeks, most of the Vikings' early-round rookies have seen the field to some degree.
Justin Jefferson (Round 1) just had his breakout game and is established as a major part of the offense. Cameron Dantzler (3) was a full-time player in Week 1, and Jeff Gladney (1) has taken over that role with Dantzler missing the past two games. Troy Dye (4) got his opportunity before being placed on injured reserve and D.J. Wonnum (4) has become part of the defensive end rotation.
The most notable player who has yet to get a chance to play is second-round pick Ezra Cleveland. That might be changing soon, according to general manager Rick Spielman.
“I think he’s going to get his opportunity here shortly," Spielman said of Cleveland on KFAN Radio, per Sean Borman.
Cleveland played left tackle at Boise State and was drafted as a tackle, but has moved inside to guard for his rookie season with the Vikings. He worked at left guard during training camp, though he was firmly behind Dakota Dozier and Aviante Collins and never appeared to be part of the competition for that starting job. Given that he was still learning a new position, it made sense for the Vikings to bring him along slowly.
But at this point, Cleveland has been training at guard for two full months. If he's going to get a shot to play as a rookie, why not make that move soon? The Vikings might as well find out what they have in Cleveland at guard, so they can begin determining if he could be a long-term answer there or if he still projects better at tackle down the road.
So far in 2020, the Vikings' guard play has been the worst in the NFL. They opened the year with Dozier at left guard and Pat Elflein at right guard. Elflein allowed five pressures in Week 1 and then went on IR with a thumb injury. In Week 2, Dru Samia and Dozier combined to allow eight of the Vikings' ten pressures. Last week, they gave up eight more.
There are 79 guards in the NFL who have played enough to qualify for PFF's rankings. Samia, who has allowed 11 pressures in two games, is dead last. His pass-blocking grade of 6.6 is dead last by a wide margin, with the second-worst grade being 21.4. Dozier isn't much higher at 67th overall out of 79.
Even without any NFL experience – Cleveland has played a grand total of seven snaps on special teams – it's hard to imagine the rookie would be worse than Samia, for starters. Cleveland is an incredibly athletic lineman who has received praise from the coaches for improving his technique and his understanding of how to play the position since training camp.
The question is where Cleveland would play and who he would replace. Samia is the obvious weak link, but he's at right guard and Cleveland has primarily been training on the left side. Also, Elflein is eligible to return from IR in Week 5. Dozier has been the best pass-protector of those three, but that's a low bar.
"[Ezra] is basically the swing guy right now on game days at guard behind Dakota and Dru," Gary Kubiak said on KFAN, also per Borman. "We’re trying to get him in the same position we got Dru in – that he’s ready to go in there and play.”
If the Vikings are committed to working Cleveland at guard and potentially keeping Riley Reiff at left tackle for several more years, it's time to get him some NFL reps. The best way to do that is probably to insert him at left guard and roll with either Elflein (when he returns) or Dozier on the right side. Samia may get another chance this week against Houston, but he needs to show signs that he's not the worst guard in the league or his opportunity to start won't last much longer.
For a team struggling mightily with their guard play, particularly when it comes to allowing interior pressure, giving Cleveland a shot could provide a valuable spark.
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