Brandon Cleveland
N.C. State
Scouting Report

Squat, powerful nose tackle who earns his keep by muddying the A-gaps and forcing double teams on early downs. Cleveland's heavy hands and natural anchor make him a plug-and-play run stuffer at the next level — when he gets his hands on you first, you're going backwards. The problem is what happens when he doesn't: short arms and limited lateral range leave him vulnerable to longer guards who can lock him out, and his pass-rush toolkit starts and ends with a bull rush and an occasional rip move. The floor is a 10-year rotational nose who eats 300 interior snaps and does his job; the ceiling isn't much higher, but teams drafting in the late rounds rarely find players this reliable against the run.

Strengths
Weaknesses
Pro ComparisonVincent Taylor

Undersized, stout interior plugger who wins with hand violence and anchor strength rather than athleticism. Like Taylor, Cleveland projects as a rotational nose tackle who can hold up against the run and occasionally collapse the pocket with power but lacks the pass-rush ceiling to be a starter-caliber three-technique.

Trait Grades
🚀 Pass Rush
48
🧱 Run Defense
72
⚡ First Step
48
🤚 Hand Usage
72
🔥 Motor
69
🏋️ Strength
75
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