Vikings select OT Ezra Cleveland

[VikingLord]

Regardless, I hope I’m wrong on this one but I just don’t see the fight in this guy. Keep in mind he’s in the mountain west. He RARELY if ever went up against elite edge talent. Just watch the Florida state game last year. They dug themselves a severe hole early because they were getting dominated up front.

So in your view the most important trait for a rookie NFL OT is "fight" based on how hard he punches a blocking bag in a drill?

If he rarely went up against elite edge talent as you say, why do you believe you have enough information to evaluate his potential as a pro? You don't think Kubiak and Spielman and the Vikings talent evaluators had the same information you had before they selected him?

I am always amazed by how people can be so certain about players their teams draft. The draft is basically a crapshoot for the most part, especially after the first 10 picks are off the board (and often after the first 2 or 3 are off). Even those guys are an educated guess a lot of the time.

The only valid question is was Cleveland a reasonable choice at the spot he was chosen based on what is known about him (and that includes everything known about him, not just what he put on tape)? Further, is it reasonable to believe he can develop?

If the answer to those questions is yes, then he wasn't a bad choice. Cleveland might not pan out. He might flame out as a lot of draft choices ultimately do and/or it might become apparent the Vikings passed on someone who ended up having a better pro career. But even if you watched every snap the guy ever took in college there is no way you can be so objectively certain he was a poor choice, nor so dismissive of anyone on here who doesn't share your opinion.

Give Cleveland a chance and give Kubiak/Spielman/Zimmer some credit. Believe he's likely to fail all you want, but he wasn't a bad choice at the spot where he was drafted.

[fiestavike]

Regardless, I hope I’m wrong on this one but I just don’t see the fight in this guy. Keep in mind he’s in the mountain west. He RARELY if ever went up against elite edge talent. Just watch the Florida state game last year. They dug themselves a severe hole early because they were getting dominated up front.

So in your view the most important trait for a rookie NFL OT is "fight" based on how hard he punches a blocking bag in a drill?

If he rarely went up against elite edge talent as you say, why do you believe you have enough information to evaluate his potential as a pro? You don't think Kubiak and Spielman and the Vikings talent evaluators had the same information you had before they selected him?

I am always amazed by how people can be so certain about players their teams draft. The draft is basically a crapshoot for the most part, especially after the first 10 picks are off the board (and often after the first 2 or 3 are off). Even those guys are an educated guess a lot of the time.

The only valid question is was Cleveland a reasonable choice at the spot he was chosen based on what is known about him (and that includes everything known about him, not just what he put on tape)? Further, is it reasonable to believe he can develop?

If the answer to those questions is yes, then he wasn't a bad choice. Cleveland might not pan out. He might flame out as a lot of draft choices ultimately do and/or it might become apparent the Vikings passed on someone who ended up having a better pro career. But even if you watched every snap the guy ever took in college there is no way you can be so objectively certain he was a poor choice, nor so dismissive of anyone on here who doesn't share your opinion.

Give Cleveland a chance and give Kubiak/Spielman/Zimmer some credit. Believe he's likely to fail all you want, but he wasn't a bad choice at the spot where he was drafted.

That's right.

The first round are the free throws. You always hope your GM is good at free throws. After that, you measure possessions by whether they result in good shots, not whether the shots go in. Over time, good quality shots will go in more than bad quality shots. And any shot is better than a turnover (that is, no shot). Cleveland is a reasonable pick at the point he was taken. After the big 4 tackles, there were a whole slate of high upside guys with major questions. Some questions about technique (Josh Jones), others about injury (Niang), some strength (Cleveland). All of them have a chance to be good. We'll see what happens.