Boise State is hoping to have at least one player selected in Thursday night’s first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Ezra Cleveland would seem to have the best shot, but Curtis Weaver is holding out hope as well.
The bigger question might be how many former Broncos will get drafted in total? The Broncos could have anywhere from three to five players selected in the seven-round draft, and several others are hoping to land free-agent deals.
Boise State has had a player drafted every year since 2010. They have five first-round picks in program history. Here’s a look at Boise State’s 2020 NFL hopefuls ahead of the three-day draft, which starts with the first round Thursday at 5 p.m. MDT on ESPN:
FIRST/SECOND ROUND
Ezra Cleveland: The left tackle is Boise State’s best chance at having a first-round draft pick for the second time in three years and the sixth time in program history. Cleveland made 40 career starts for the Broncos and was a first-team all-Mountain West Conference selection each of the past two years.
Peter Schrager from NFL.com has Cleveland going No. 25 overall to the Minnesota Vikings. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler also projects Cleveland to the Vikings at No. 25 overall, saying he “played the entire 2019 season with a turf toe issue and still produced quality tape. That combined with his testing and football character and he has a great shot of landing in Round One.” Mock drafts from CBS Sports have Cleveland going No. 26 to the Miami Dolphins (Ryan Wilson) and No. 27 to the Seattle Seahawks (Chris Trapasso). ESPN’s Todd McShay ranks Cleveland as his fifth-best offensive tackle in the draft.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. projects Cleveland as a second-round pick, saying he “looked great in agility drills at the combine and ran a 4.93 40, the third-fastest among offensive linemen. He’s not just a workout warrior, though: He has stellar tape.” The last Boise State offensive lineman to go in the first round was Ryan Clady, who went No. 12 overall to the Broncos in 2008. Whenever he’s selected, Cleveland will be the sixth-straight multi-year starter at left tackle for the Broncos to get drafted.
Curtis Weaver: Weaver was once thought to be a first-round pick, but has been showing up mostly in second-round projections of late. The pass rusher had 34 sacks and 47.5 tackles for loss the past three seasons for the Broncos and was the only player in the FBS to have at least 9 ½ sacks every year. Weaver was the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 before electing to skip his senior season to enter the draft.
USA Today says of Weaver, “if you want a proven sack artist in this year’s draft, there aren’t too many better options. … When you turn on the tape and watch him go up against Mountain West competition, that dominance is apparent.” One criticism against Weaver is that four of his 13 ½ sacks last year came against FCS Portland State, while three came against UNLV. Weaver argues “production is production,” while his agent Ron Slavin points to injuries to both his ankles that he played through.
McShay ranks Weaver as the 10th-best defensive end in the draft, while The Athletic projects him to go No. 50 overall in the second round to the Chicago Bears.