Baltimore Ravens pick Georgia OL Ben Cleveland in 3rd round of 2021 NFL Draft

The fifth Georgia player off the board in the 2021 NFL Draft is offensive lineman Ben Cleveland. The 6-foot-6 340-pound guard was taken by Baltimore with the No. 94 overall pick (3rd Round).

Cornerbacks Eric Stokes and Tyson Campbell were the first two Bulldogs selected. Stokes went to Green Bay with the No. 29 overall pick on Thursday night. Campbell was taken by Jacksonville with the first pick of the second round on Friday night. Outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari gave UGA three picks inside the top 50 when he was taken by the New York Giants with the No. 50 overall pick. Inside linebacker Monty Rice was the fourth when he was selected at No. 92 overall.

Cleveland started games in four different seasons at Georgia and totaled 25 total starts in his Bulldog career. He came on at the end of his redshirt freshman season (2017) and won the starting right guard job of Solomon Kindley, making five starts including the SEC Championship win over Auburn, the Rose Bowl win over Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff and the loss to Alabama in the National Championship game.

He entered the 2018 season as a starter and was at right guard for the first four games. He suffered a fractured fibula (non-weight-bearing bone) in his leg and the injury hampered him for the rest of the season. Cleveland made seven starts at right guard in 2019 while sharing time with Cade Mays and then started nine of 10 games in 2020. All of his starts as a Bulldog came at right guard.

Cleveland was a household name in recruiting circles as a freshman in high school. When the 2016 recruiting cycle ended, Cleveland was the nation’s No. 90 overall prospect, No. 10 offensive tackle, and No. 12 prospect in Georgia. He committed to Georgia in July of 2014, approximately 18 months before he enrolled.