Joey Cleaver

Joey Cleaver
About Joey
Expert Analysis
Brendan Mankarious | Prep Redzone Scout
Closing out is our first defender who I found in my DMs, Shawnee’s
Joey Cleaver
Joey
Cleaver
6'2" | 220 lbs | LB/TE
Shawnee | 2026
State
NJ
. Cleaver has shown to play off the edge, but is not always sent as a rusher as he covers more time than not. Short passes and play action passes are tough to get by him, as Cleaver does a nice job slipping inside of flat-bound fakers and manages to stay in between them and the quarterback. With urgency, we see Cleaver get to his pass drop, clogging lanes in the process and also taking away the bubble route when he is lined up over a slot receiver. I think Cleaver has some big hit potential to him, as he has shown pop. Additionally, the rising junior has shown to be relatively physical with end men on the line of scrimmage. I think Cleaver has really good potential to be a rare, two-way linebacker at the high school level. He clearly defends the pass well; however, I wish to see more plays of him being more physical, stuffing the run, and more consistent tackling technique before I am, personally, willing to call him that. It is definitely in the cards, however.
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