As the picks came off the board to start Friday’s second round of the NFL Draft, just about every position saw some players go. All but offensive tackles. So despite loads of capital to potentially move up, the Vikings stayed put at No. 58, happy to watch the options at their biggest remaining position of need stay largely the same as they were at the start of the night.
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When it came time to pick, Boise State’s Ezra Cleveland — a player often mocked to the Vikings with one of their two first-round picks — was still there. So general manager Rick Spielman snatched him up.
The Vikings also stood pat for their first third-round pick of the night, selecting Mississippi State’s Cameron Dantzler at No. 89 overall. Due up again at No. 105, Minnesota traded it to New Orleans for four picks in the later rounds, giving them a whopping 13 selections on Saturday.
Here’s our instant analysis of Friday’s picks, from Vikings writers Chad Graff, Arif Hasan and Jon Krawczynski.
No. 58: Ezra Cleveland, OT, Boise State
Graff: When the draft started Thursday night, the Vikings thought they’d be considering Cleveland at No. 25. But after they were surprised Justin Jefferson fell to them at No. 22, they picked him and corner Jeff Gladney in the first round and assumed they’d have to trade up early on Friday to pick Cleveland, a large, athletic tackle they’ve been fond of the entire scouting process. Instead, the board fell perfectly for the Vikings and they were able to select a player they considered in the first round with their second-round pick. The move also likely takes the Vikings out of the running for Washington veteran Trent Williams, whom the Vikings considered this week as well.
Hasan: It’s hard not to see Brian O’Neill in the Vikings’ selection of Cleveland. He’s a developmental player who already has high-level athleticism and a good instinct for pass protection who nevertheless needs to add strength and size to his lanky frame. Minnesota hopes to repeat its successful experiment from the 2018 draft. This time, the Boise State tackle has a bit more experience in traditional pass sets and projects as a pass protector more than a run blocker; it’s easy to see the logic behind the pick. Cleveland is much more of a tackle than anything else, so this likely pushes Riley Reiff inside to guard, where he has the fundamental skills to provide an upgrade over Minnesota’s bleak interior situation. It seems as if the Vikings found a way to upgrade their guard position more than their tackle position with their second-round pick — though they hope, of course, it’s both.
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Krawczynski: I don’t know what kind of forces were at work over the first night and a half of this draft, but Vikings fans who have often wondered if their team is cursed have to be getting some consolation with how the board has fallen. Spielman said Thursday night that he planned to be aggressive with all of those draft picks to move up and get players he liked. But guess what? He didn’t have to. A run on wide receivers pushed Cleveland and fellow tackle Josh Jones of Houston down to the Vikings. They chose Cleveland, and now they can move Riley Reiff inside to guard to further strengthen a line that absolutely needed major upgrades.
Is Cleveland up to the task? We will see. If they think Cleveland needs time to develop, he can learn behind Reiff until he is ready to start. But there is no denying that the Vikings had to address the position. Getting Jefferson and Gladney in the first round was needed and helpful, but nothing really matters unless they get an offensive line that doesn’t get pushed around by the league’s best defenses. If they hit on Cleveland, it’s is a massive step in the right direction.
How much did the Vikings need a tackle? They passed up LSU cornerback Kristian Fulton and Baylor receiver Denzel Mims to take Cleveland.
No. 89: Cameron Dantzler, CB, Mississippi State
Graff: After a couple of defensive tackles the Vikings liked went off the board just before they were on the clock, Spielman called an audible and went back to addressing the secondary. After picking a shorter corner (Gladney) in the first round who can play in the slot, Spielman chose a true outside corner in Dantzler here. He ran a slow 4.64-second 40-yard dash at the combine, but he blamed that on a quad injury. His representatives texted the Vikings video earlier this month claiming to show Dantzler running a 4.38-second 40-yard dash, alleviating some of the Vikings’ concerns. Plus, Spielman likes to see how prospects fare against the best players they go against. In an October game against LSU, Dantzler helped limit Ja’Marr Chase to five catches for 48 yards. Given the Vikings’ lack of options at the position, Dantzler could be given an opportunity to compete with Holton Hill for a starting job on the outside right away.
Hasan: Dantzler is going to be a polarizing pick and feels a little more boom-bust than you typically see in the third round. On the field, he’s been remarkably productive, especially as one of college football’s few press-man specialists with the ability to lock down Biletnikoff Award winners. On the testing track, there are open questions about what a more expansive scheme will demand of him given his poor timed speed and the vagaries surrounding a videotaped pro day. You’d like to think the only thing that matters is on-field play, but projection involves a lot more than that, and Dantzler represents that very divide. In terms of usage, he joins the Vikings as one of two lengthy corners in a position to compete for a starting spot and provide some relief against taller receivers, especially in the division. Now the Vikings have a diversity of sizes and skill sets in the secondary, giving them a number of options.
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Krawczynski: For the first time in this draft, the board took a turn against the purple. A couple of coveted defensive tackles — Neville Gallimore and Jordan Elliott — were off the board before the Vikings got on the clock at 89, so they went with another physical cornerback in Dantzler. He was not the fastest player in the world, but his willingness to battle at the line of scrimmage has to appeal to head coach Mike Zimmer. ESPN analyst Louis Riddick noted that Dantzler was the one cornerback in the SEC that he saw give Chase, the LSU stud, trouble because of his toughness. That is what Zimmer loved so much about Xavier Rhodes, and it is also one of the biggest attributes that attracted him to Jeff Gladney in the first round. The Vikings will have one of the youngest secondaries in the league next season, which will make it prone to mistakes. But with Gladney and Dantzler in the mix now, they won’t be backing down from a fight.
| Rd. | Pick | Player | School | Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 22 | Justin Jefferson | WR | |
1 | 31 | Jeff Gladney | CB | |
2 | 58 | Ezra Cleveland | OT | |
3 | 89 | Cameron Dantzler | CB | |
4 | 117 | |||
4 | 130 | |||
4 | 132 | |||
5 | 155 | |||
5 | 169 | |||
5 | 176 | |||
6 | 201 | |||
6 | 203 | |||
6 | 205 | |||
7 | 219 | |||
7 | 244 | |||
7 | 249 | |||
7 | 253 |
(Photo: Don Juan Moore / Getty Images)