*Walt taking 2014 and 2018 |
Charlie Campbell, Senior Draft Analyst |
Many Teams Grade Ezra Cleveland on Day 3
Updated March 17, 2020By Charlie Campbell. Follow Charlie on Twitter @draftcampbell.
One of the workout warriors from the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine was Boise State offensive tackle Ezra Cleveland. He had an excellent workout in Indianapolis, putting up a blazing fast 40-yard dash time of 4.93 seconds. That caused many in the media to elevate their projection of where Cleveland will go in the 2020 NFL Draft, and some have had him going in the first round. While Cleveland could go in the early rounds, many teams across the league grade him much later. In surveying six different teams, none of them had Cleveland graded as a first- or second-round pick. The teams were split, with three grading him in the fifth round and three grading him in the fourth round.
“I think someone in the league will overdraft him in the second or third round because of the speed, but he has no power,” said an area scout who covers Boise State. “I wouldn’t take him there. He’s a fifth-round pick, at best, for me.”
Cleveland plays a premium position and having his shocking speed could cause a team to fall in love. All six sources said that while their teams graded Cleveland on Day 3, they thought the team that liked him enough to draft him could do so earlier.
“Ezra, we have in the fourth round,” said one director of college scouting. “But I could see a team taking him late in the third [round] after he ran well at the combine. Even though he’s fast, he’s not a unique moving athlete.”
If Cleveland does slide into the fourth or fifth round, many teams around the league will view that as where he belongs. They will also think that it would be a reach for him to go on Day 2, but that’s where they expect another team to pull the trigger and draft Cleveland.
