Ezra Cleveland (born May 8, 1998) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Boise State Broncos The Boise State Broncos are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Boise State University, located in Boise, Idaho. The Broncos compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Mount ...

and was drafted by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

in the second round of the

2020 NFL draft The 2020 NFL draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

Early life

Cleveland attended Bethel High School in Spanaway, Washington. He committed to

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has b ...

to play

College career

Cleveland played at Boise State from 2016 to 2019. After redshirting his first year in 2016, he became a starter in 2017. During his career he started 40 games. After his junior season in 2019, Cleveland entered the

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

Cleveland was drafted by the

in the second round, 58th overall, in the 2020 NFL Draft. After beginning the season as a backup, Cleveland was named the starting right guard in Week 6 as a rookie, and started nine games. In 2021, Cleveland was named the Vikings starting left guard, and started every game that season and in 2022. In 2023, he returned as the starting left guard and started the first six games.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On October 31, 2023, Cleveland was traded to the

in exchange for a sixth-round pick of the

2024 NFL draft The 2024 NFL draft was the 89th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit on April 25–27, 2024. The draft had an attendanc ...

. On March 8, 2024, Cleveland signed a three-year contract extension with the Jaguars.

Personal life

Cleveland was born 3 weeks early at 11 pounds.

References

External links

Jacksonville Jaguars bioBoise State Broncos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland, Ezra 1998 births Living people People from Spanaway, Washington Players of American football from Pierce County, Washington American football offensive tackles American football offensive guards Boise State Broncos football players Minnesota Vikings players