Ben
Cleveland.
Ben
Cleveland.
Georgia· 6'6"· 343 lb· 5.05s 40
"A 6'6", 354-lb Georgia guard with plus play strength and mauler tape but limited mobility for a modern zone scheme — a Round-3 gap-scheme starter projection."Pre-draft read
Cleveland is a right-handed drive-blocking guard whose game centers on mass, hand strength, and leverage. In the run game, he functions as a displacement blocker on down and duo concepts, playing with heavy hands and generating functional knee bend for his frame. He finishes through the whistle with a mean streak. On pulls, he acts as a north-south hammer, leading through the second level with authority.
In pass protection, his hand independence is a key tool. He sets with a compact vertical kick and times a two-hand punch to disrupt rushers, re-anchoring effectively against bull rushes due to good weight distribution. Limitations include high-cut lateral quickness, room to improve pad level on the second step, and vulnerability to counter moves and stunts that require redirection after first contact.
The ideal scheme for Cleveland is a gap/duo power run game, emphasizing inside zone and pull schemes where he can attack the line of scrimmage.
Year 1 starter at left guard in a power scheme, with a ceiling as an All-Pro interior lineman capable of dominating 0 and 1-techs.
A wide-zone or outside-zone heavy scheme that prioritizes athletic redirects and reach blocks, as his lateral quickness and pad level limit his effectiveness.
Cleveland's elite power and finishing ability make him a day-one starter in a gap scheme, but his athletic limitations could be exposed in systems reliant on extensive lateral movement.
Ravens OG Ben Cleveland Film Breakdown (Georgia)
Post-draft film breakdown of Cleveland's Georgia tape focused on run-game displacement and hand technique.
Ben Cleveland (OG, Georgia) 2021 NFL Draft Scouting Report
Pre-draft scouting report cutup covering gap-scheme fit, second-level work, and pass-pro limitations.
Georgia OL Ben Cleveland Official Senior Year Highlights
Senior-year Georgia highlight reel showcasing duo/power run blocking against SEC competition.
Cleveland projects as a gap/power scheme interior offensive lineman, offering a team immediate physicality in the run game. His evaluation highlights a player whose immense size and strength translate directly to displacement blocks, making him an asset for an offense prioritizing downhill running. The primary trade-off was his lateral quickness and pass protection against quicker rushers, indicating a scheme-specific fit rather than a universal one.
He emerged from a demanding SEC program as a physically imposing interior lineman, with his senior tape confirming his ability to execute movement blocks and recover functionally at the second level. He started 25 games over four seasons at Georgia against high-level competition, earning first-team All-SEC honors in his final year. His performance at the Senior Bowl reinforced these findings to evaluators.
Evaluators placed him in the late third to early fourth-round range, acknowledging an injury history that shortened multiple seasons and a lateral quickness profile that limited his scheme versatility. Despite these flags, he was drafted 94th overall by the Baltimore Ravens, a team whose run-first, gap-scheme offense was perceived as an ideal fit to maximize his strengths while managing his pass-protection development.
- 01
Displacement Power
Elite play strength creates movement blocks on duo and power concepts against SEC three-techniques, consistently finishing defenders.
- 02
Length and Grip Strength
34 1/8-inch arms allow Cleveland to latch, control, and effectively steer defenders after initial contact.
- 03
Hand Timing & Independence
Delivers a compact two-hand punch, resetting hands to counter long-armers and re-anchor against bull rushes.
- 04
Second Level Competence
Achieves functional movement on scoop and combo blocks, engaging moving linebackers despite his large frame.
- 05
Temperament & Finish
Displays a genuinely mean run-game demeanor with consistent whistle-to-whistle effort and competitive drive.
- 01
Injury History Concerns
Past broken leg and hamstring/ankle issues contribute to fewer starts and raise durability questions.
- 02
Limited Lateral Quickness
High-cut lower half and average change-of-direction limit reach blocks and stunt defense.
- 03
Elevated Pad Level
Occasional high pad level after the first punch allows quicker 3-techniques to gain leverage.
- 04
Counter Move Recovery
If initial hand fit is missed, hips do not redirect quickly enough to save the pass-protection rep.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 5.05sp50
- Vertical
- 28inp50
- Broad jump
- 102inp50
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- 4.88sp50
- Bench
- 30repp50
| Yr | Team | G |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Georgia | 13 |
| 2018 | Georgia | 7 |
| 2019 | Georgia | 13 |
| 2020 | Georgia | 9 |
| Career | — | 42 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Rotational-turned-starter interior body from the SEC who wins with mass and hand strength, offers scheme-specific value in run-heavy offenses, and needs the right environment to stick as a Week 1 guard.
Aspirational outcome as a heavy-handed drive-blocking guard who becomes a decade-long plus starter in gap-scheme offenses; requires Cleveland to hold up in pass protection more consistently than his college tape suggested.
Big-bodied late-round guard whose NFL role never expands beyond rotational depth and short spot-start stretches when injuries hit ahead of him on the depth chart.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Bust. Never won a full-time starting job in Baltimore, released in 2023. Signed with the Chargers as depth in 2024, out of the league by 2025 camp. Correct scheme flag: the mobility never played.
**Pre-draft context.** Ben Cleveland arrived in Athens as a four-star guard from Toccoa, Georgia and spent five years inside one of the SEC's most demanding offensive-line rooms. Listed at 6'6" and 343 pounds with 34 1/8" arms, he was the largest lineman on the Bulldogs' 2020 unit and a two-time captain candidate whose profile was capped by injury history (broken leg as a redshirt freshman in 2017, hamstring and ankle issues that cost him time in 2018 and 2019). When healthy he finished his senior year as a first-team All-SEC selection, an AP third-team All-American, and a Senior Bowl invitee whose reps in Mobile confirmed the tape: an elite people-mover in gap and duo runs with functional recovery quickness for a man his size. Consensus board placed him in the late-third/early-fourth range as a scheme-specific plug-and-play run guard.
**NFL fit — Baltimore Ravens.** Baltimore, running a gap-heavy scheme behind Lamar Jackson, was the cleanest possible landing spot for Cleveland's tools. The team drafted him at 94 to compete inside behind Kevin Zeitler and Bradley Bozeman, with the projection that his mauling temperament in duo/power concepts would translate directly to a top-two rushing offense. The rookie plan was clear: develop as a swing interior backup, spot-start when injuries opened the door, and grow into a starting three-technique blocker over the second contract. Rotational reps came quickly given the Ravens' interior attrition.
**Retrospective.** Cleveland spent four seasons in Baltimore (2021–2023) as a heavy rotational piece rather than a full-time starter, drawing multiple spot starts across those years when Zeitler, Bozeman, or John Simpson missed time — flashing dominant reps in the run game but never locking down the left-guard job in pass protection. Baltimore did not extend him after his rookie deal; he signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024 and drew rotational snaps behind Zion Johnson before off-field issues (a November 2024 DUI arrest in Georgia) further complicated his standing. His NFL arc landed close to the pre-draft floor: a legitimate SEC-caliber body who added depth to two rushing offenses without ever becoming a locked-in Week 1 starter.