Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Minnesota's other first-round pick, cornerback Jeff Gladney, was Ekstrom's No. 2 rookie for the Vikings.
It hasn't always been technically pretty, but Jeff Gladney has been the only cornerback who has been able to stay on the field this season. His seven starts are a position-group high after losing the job to Dantzler out of the gate, but head coach Mike Zimmer is finally seeing Gladney mature in his ability to read and react to defenses. Gladney gave up multiple touchdowns against Atlanta and Green Bay, but he played the best game of his pro career against the Lions with a defense-leading 82.2 PFF grade.
Stack him up against other rookie corners and he looks pretty good. Out of eight rookies that have played 50% or more snaps, Gladney ranks second, per Pro Football Focus, behind only fellow first-round pick A.J. Terrell. He also leads all corners in run defense grade with 12 run stops.
Gladney has played a team-high 488 defensive snaps (85.02 percent) among all cornerbacks in 2020.
Ezra Cleveland, a 2020 second-round pick, has started the past three games at right guard. Ekstrom noted the former Boise State standout has made strong strides in recent weeks.
Ekstrom wrote:
After a rocky first start in a loss to Atlanta, Cleveland's work at guard has coincided with Dalvin Cook's two biggest games of the year as the Vikings have steamrolled the Packers and Lions front sevens.
It's tough to see Cleveland giving up his starting spot now. With Pat Elflein and Dakota Dozier in contract years, Cleveland is the future. The question is: Where? Right guard was probably not the plan entering the offseason, but the Vikings need competent guard play right now more than they need tackle play. Down the road, Cleveland may be asked to reprise his original tackle spot depending on Riley Reiff's future, but at least he's added some positional flexibility to his résumé.
For Ekstrom's full breakdown of Minnesota's 10 rookies who have played in 2020, go here.