Ben Cleveland Helping Ravens Move in New Directions
The Baltimore Ravens reportedly have high hopes for guard Ben Cleveland after selecting him No. 94 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Cleveland was a fan favorite during his days at Georgia, in part due to his devastating work in run blocking and partially because of the legendary status he achieved through seemingly folklore stories about the mountain man. It stems from mythical tales of his weight-room accomplishments to him eating squirrels he shot in his front yard.
He was one of the strongest offensive linemen in the 2021 class and that is a big reason why the Ravens selected him.
Cleveland will be blocking for the 2019 NFL MVP, quarterback Lamar Jackson. Despite winning a playoff game this past season, Jackson and the Ravens took a step back in 2020 after they went 13-3 in 2019.
During their historic 2019 season, the Ravens' offensive strategy was simple: run the ball, run the ball and run the ball some more. Fans were enthralled with the three-headed rushing monster of Jackson and running backs Mark Ingram II and Gus Edwards.
What was lost by many was how they got those yards. The Ravens pounded the ball between the tackles to set up various outside counters, tosses and play-action passes.
In 2020, the Ravens tried to omit the first step. They didn't run the ball between the tackles as often and, as a result, finished the season 10-6. Jackson was less effective as a passer, not because he regressed but because they weren't setting him up for success with their game plan.
Cleveland will allow the Ravens to revert to their 2019 form. The AFC North is littered with talented interior defensive linemen, but the Ravens organization expects Cleveland to be a major difference-maker from Day 1.
Baltimore is the ideal situation for Cleveland. He will immediately become one of their best north-to-south run blockers and has the speed to get to the second level to continue plays.
His weakness is that quicker interior defensive linemen beat him to the spot time and time again when pulling. Fortunately for Cleveland, Jackson is the most complete athlete at quarterback in the NFL and he will be able to compensate for Cleveland’s misgivings when pulling because Jackson will already be around the corner making his cut.
Many believe the race for the AFC North will come down to two teams: the Ravens and the Cleveland Browns.
In order to beat the Browns, the Ravens will have to punish them between the tackles. They aren't going to beat them on the edge, as Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney are one of the NFL’s best edge tandems.
That means that Cleveland will have to anchor the interior line for the Ravens to claim the division title. The organization seems to believe he is up to the call, and for that reason, we will see a lot of Cleveland starting with Game 1.
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