The last draft pick of Ozzie Newsome’s celebrated stint as Ravens general manager took a while to blossom. But 28-year-old Zach Sieler has finally made it, enjoying a career year after signing a life-changing three-year extension and potentially pushing for a Pro Bowl berth.
He’s just doing it with the Miami Dolphins.
Even in a league full of underdog stories, Sieler’s path to becoming a stalwart on Miami’s defensive line is one of impressively long odds. He was the Ravens’ 2018 seventh-round pick out of NCAA Division II Ferris State, and was waived in December 2019. Even after the Dolphins picked him up, Sieler lived with his wife in a mobile home at a campground by the interstate — for a long time they weren’t sure if they’d need to move at a moment’s notice.
If it sounds like a made-for-TV tale, it sure is. HBO’s “Hard Knocks” picked up on Sieler’s narrative for its in-season series on the Dolphins, highlighting his unlikely rise.
Fullback Patrick Ricard has been watching “Hard Knocks” for Sieler and fellow former Raven DeShon Elliott, who starts at safety for the Dolphins. After Sieler was featured in a recent episode, Ricard shot him a text.
“I think I called him like a big movie star, a superstar, and he joked back,” he said. “He’s been having some camera time, and it’s funny. I’ve been ragging him a little bit about it.”
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Even though Sieler has been gone for four years, he’s still remembered fondly by veterans in the locker room. Brent Urban recalled that Ferris State’s strength-and-conditioning program was underwhelming, so in college Sieler simply followed workout plans that he found on YouTube. And, based on what he could do in the weight room, the videos must have worked.
“He was like freakishly strong,” Urban said. “Worked really hard, considering he was watching YouTube videos and copying them. Hard worker, just a great kid.”
Taken 206 picks after Lamar Jackson in 2018, Sieler will now be tasked with chasing the MVP favorite Sunday. He’s racked up 8.5 sacks and 19 QB hits this season, by far career highs, and has formed a fearsome tandem with fellow DT Christian Wilkins (8 sacks) upfront for the Vic Fangio-led Dolphins defense.
Miami’s turbocharged offense is pretty good TV fodder, and so is a highly quotable coach. In the first episode of the season, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel tells a player he wants his career to go well, “so you can be rich — so then I can be rich.” But an informal survey of Ravens players found few actually watching the show (a popular explanation: after a long day of studying football, the last thing some players want is to watch a show about football).
Linebacker Kyle Van Noy said he was aware of his former teammate Braxton Berrios’ moment of spotlight on the show (his TikTok influencer girlfriend, Alix Earle, plucking his eyebrows). “That’s Berrios right there.” Roquan Smith said he has respect for McDaniel, who has become a viral sensation for his dry sense of humor. “I actually like his personality from afar, in a sense, and the way he carries himself.”
Few of these impressions, however, have been drawn from “Hard Knocks” viewing, it seems.
But there are a few Ravens who think that, if anything, the show has at least presented an opportunity for an improbable success story to get a moment in the spotlight.
“I know how hard he worked,” Ricard said of Sieler. “He got cut after his second camp here. And, ever since he got to Miami, he’s just been having a great career. He’s earned it, so I want to make sure he gets the recognition he deserves, and he certainly has been.”
