Baltimore Ravens fans were widely divided on its picks on day two of the 2021 NFL Draft. These tweets stood out to us about the team’s two selections.
Honestly, Baltimore Ravens Flock should be used to this kind of drafting by now. The team rarely takes the name-brand players in the draft and instead opts to take lesser-known and high-quality guys. Does it always work? No, of course not, but it feels like the Ravens, believe it or not, know better than the fans. Who would’ve thought?
This could be the case for day two of the 2021 NFL Draft. Baltimore elected to draft Georgia guard Ben Cleveland and SMU cornerback Brandon Stephens even though there were some relatively big names remaining on the board. Fans may not have been thrilled, but plenty of pundits and players seemed to like the picks. Here are some of our favorite reactions to the selections of Cleveland and Stephens.
https://twitter.com/PFF_College/status/1388329687143919616
Georgia is a run-heavy college offense, or at least they have been historically, so Cleveland definitely has some experience as a run blocker. This is definitely an encouraging stat to see, however. If Cleveland can bring some of that success to the next level he could easily earn a starting spot sooner rather than later.
Ben Cleveland showing up to his first day of Ravens practice: pic.twitter.com/0UFp7Dp8Kx
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) May 1, 2021
Cleveland stands at 6’6″ 335-lbs. Just like this “Long Boi,” Cleveland stands out in a big way. Cleveland can easily man-handle guys with his massive size, but it’ll be up to him to continue crafting his skillset to become a well-rounded starter for Baltimore.
Which one is The Mountain from GOT and which one is new #Ravens G Ben Cleveland? Can’t say for sure. pic.twitter.com/E1joF96fVk
— 👽utstandin Brandon Productions (@outstndnbrandon) May 1, 2021
Have you ever see Cleveland and The Mountain in the same room? Yeah, me neither.
GM Eric DeCosta said Brandon Stephens fits the profile of a Ravens safety, even though he played cornerback in college. He'll defer to the coaches, though.
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) May 1, 2021
It’s also worth noting that Stephens played running back at UCLA. The kid is a very athletic player with some real versatility. It’ll be interesting to see how the Ravens develop and use him as a rookie.
Brandon Stephens is a very good athlete. Think he's a lot like LJarius Sneed last year in that he played out of position some but his athleticism will be more at home in the NFL. #Ravens are good at this draft thing.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) May 1, 2021
For what it’s worth, L’Jarius Sneed had a wildly successful as a rookie for Kansas City. This is very high praise for a prospect that the average fan hasn’t even heard of. Don’t fairly expect him to be a big-time contributor on day one like Sneed had to be, but maybe down the road, he could turn into something special.
we got a GREAT ball player even better dude.
— pro. (@jamesproche3) May 1, 2021
Maybe a bit biased, but Stephens’s former teammate, James Proche, has some high praise for the 104th overall pick.
Love it or hate it, the selections of Ben Cleveland and Brandon Stephens felt like classic Baltimore Ravens picks. Both of these guys have the potential to become important pieces for the Ravens, but expectations should be tempered and we must allow them time to develop. in the meantime, welcome to the Flock, Ben Cleveland and Brandon Stephens!