AFC North Draft Grades
by adelfish | 7 years ago | 0 Comments
AFC North
The 3 time champ owns this division in the Baltimore Ravens, and then there’s the rest. Coach Reid returns to the Pittsburgh Steelers after a brief sabbatical, Coach Eikim continues his great offseason work with the Browns, and Coach Corn is just trying to get to 5 wins. Let’s see how these four improved their teams, and how the last three made efforts to slow down Baltimore.
Baltimore Ravens
After going 16-0, and going 3-0 in the playoffs and winning your second straight championship, how much room is there for improvement? The way they continue to keep this team in such great shape, is they go by the ‘Bill Belichick’ model of replacing guys before it’s too late. The Ravens let C.J. Mosley and some of their linebacking corps walk, so they decided to take two of their first round assets, and attack that position.
Parrish Hambrick was the first pick in the draft for Baltimore at 7th overall, a 21 year old out of UCLA who was touted as the best overall tackler in the draft at any position. Pair that with great athleticism, and brutal power in terms of breaking off blocks and hitting in the open field, this is a recipe for a great linebacker. He will start for the Ravens day one, I love this pick.
Ryan Booth was the other linebacker selection in the first round by Baltimore, from San Jose St. - he was actually pegged as a late round prospect due to some unknown knee concerns that he had throughout his senior year, but the physicals cleared him, and Baltimore got a steal. High football IQ guy, similar talent level to Hambrick in terms of athleticism. He has more work to do in terms of getting around pulling guards, but this guy will be just fine for Baltimore down the road.
Offensive guard Lawrence Biletnikoff out of Texas was their final 1st round selection, 6’4 guard who was one of the most impressive on the bench press at the combine, and one of the most athletic in the cone drill. Biletnikoff right now will struggle for playing time, maybe in goal line formations with a pulling guard - but this pick was for the future. When these offensive lineman have contracts due, Baltimore can save that money and plug in Lawrence.
The rest of Baltimore’s draft seemed to be a crapshoot, I wasn’t a fan of their second round choice, defensive end Riley Sheffield out of Georgia Tech. Lacking true strength, and not fast enough to be a dynamic speed rusher in this league, Sheffield seems to be just a ‘guy’. Hard to justify taking that in the second round.
I did like the choice in the fourth round of quarterback Miles Schlegel from Ohio State, he will not be playing anytime soon (barring injury to Haskins), but this is the kind of guy you want to groom - strong arm, has won before, and and has great escape-ability in the pocket.
Overall, Baltimore did well with their three top 32 picks, and after that they took some shots in the dark they may not work out.
FINAL GRADE - B-
BEST PICK - PARRISH HAMBRICK (1st Round)
WORST PICK - RILEY SHEFFIELD (2nd Round)
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals had an interesting draft, one that made me smile a few times, and one that made me scratch my head in disbelief a few times. Armed with two 1st round picks and three 3rd round picks, they had some room to grow as a roster.
With the 6th overall pick in the draft, the Bengals added Sean Sturdivant, linebacker from Ole Miss to their talented group that already featured Frank Roper and Kevin Love, two of the best backers in the AFC. Sturdivant is a very solid player, with already borderline elite pass rushing abilities, and many were wondering before the draft if he could play linebacker in a 4-3 and a 3-4. It will be interesting to see how the Bengals use him, but I personally love the pick.
With the 19th pick, despite Bucky Hodges having a career year at the position for Cincy, the Bengals opted for Mass tight end, Jack Balogh. A speedy prospect with some of the better natural receiving talents at the position in the class, and a great head on his shoulders. He is my #1 tight end on the board, and the Bengals got him at 19. Overall, I like the pick - the Bengals already had good depth at the position with Hodges and Lekkerkerker, but adding Hodges’ eventual replacement isn’t a bad idea. I think they could have gotten a better player here, and addressed a bigger need (OL), but I’m fine with the pick.
The third round is where things start to derail, especially with the selection of tight end Scott Navarre with the 4th pick in the 3rd round. Navarre, 24 year old out of Iowa, is a classic Big Ten tight end; bruiser, great receiving skills, and can be plugged in essentially anywhere in the offense. But I question the pick because of the aforementioned reasons for picking Balogh. Now, you’ve added a 1st round prospect to the fold, AND a 3rd round prospect, and they plan to keep Hodges and Lekkerkerker...I’m confused. They had huge holes at the interior on both sides of the line, and right tackle, and they decided to go for another tight end. Although Navarre is a talented player, I don’t like this choice.
Two choices after Navarre, the Bengals finally address a big need, and select Kansas guard Kazeem Hughes, 23 year old guard who could start immediately for them. I really like the pick, as Hughes slipped in the draft due to testing poorly on the bench, and struggling in his last year at Kansas with holding up against mauling defensive tackles. In the Red Zone, with help on both sides, Hughes could really improve. He is an elite run blocker already, paving the way at Kansas for 3 straight 1000 yard backs, and the Bengals only hope that translates here.
Last pick to go over in depth, was the Bengals selecting linebacker Risean Wade with their final 4th round choice - Wade is an athlete, pure and simple. Has yet to develop his skills as a true linebacker, but if he is given time to learn, could be a very good special teamer, or even a 15-20 snap guy in a defense. Cincinnati let him walk in preseason, and he has now found a home in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, it seems Cincinnati only hit on one of their three 3rds.
Overall, Cincinnati had some good early selections, but using two of their three 3rds to select at the exact same positions addressed in the 1st round was very confusing. I’m not sure how much better they really got.
FINAL GRADE: D+
BEST PICK - KAZEEM HUGHES (3rd Round)
WORST PICK - SCOTT NAVARRE (3rd Round)
Cleveland Browns
Cleveland loaded up on draft assets last year, they knew that they were in a transitional period due to the trade of Hunter Snyder and the departure of running back Ezekiel Elliott. Armed with three 1st round picks, and arguably the best scouting team in the league, the Browns had an opportunity to make some noise.
I talked to the Browns before the draft, and they said that they would be thrilled to see Cesar Sayers fall to them at 17 - and loe and behold he did. Former Wisconsin Badger, Sayers lacked true straight-line speed, which diverted other teams away, but he may be the best all around back in the draft outside of Patriots rookie Jaron Dyson. His open field moves are the best we’ve seen in a long time, and his ability to break tackles has been compared to the likes of Le’Veon Bell. Sayers is the workhorse now in Cleveland, and they desperately need a run game to spark their offense. Overall, I don’t love the pick, but I understand it was a need pick for the Browns.
One of my favorite picks in their draft is at 20th overall, in right tackle Nico Furrey from Ohio State - probably the best all around blocker in the draft, and he somehow fell this far. Furrey will not have to start right away in Cleveland, they have a great offensive line already, but they will develop him and plug him in once they are ready.
At the 30th overall pick in the 1st round, the Browns opted for safety Ross Brewer from Arkansas State, a speedy back-end guy with very raw abilities across his skillset. I believe Brewer has potential to be a Harrison Smith kind of player, testing at the top of his class in the Mojilic, and already possessing great God-given talent. Another best player available, I could see Brewer usurping Artaves Newhouse sooner rather than later.
My favorite pick from the Browns outside of Nico Furrey was defensive lineman Glenn Young from West Virginia, a true bullrush kind of player. Tested towards the top of any defensive lineman on the bench, and flashed in the cone drill and 40 yard dash. Young played primarily defensive end in college, but the Browns have moved him inside to defensive tackle, where he could be extremely disruptive. I love this choice.
The Browns added depth on both sides of the line later through the draft, and speedy receiver Malcolm Coleman from Kansas State, but they did their real damage with their first four picks. I commend the Browns to stick to their board and take best player available, although their selection of Sayers at the top may be their worst.
FINAL GRADE: B
BEST PICK - ROSS BREWER (1st Round)
WORST PICK - CESAR SAYERS (1st Round)
Pittsburgh Steelers
After the return of Coach Reid, the Steelers seem to have a light at the end of the tunnel, and remain the Ravens’ toughest shot in the AFC North. This front office has been known to always bolster their defense, and they did that again in this draft.
Starting in the 1st round, the Steelers selected Nebraska cornerback Marvin Arceneaux, a great press corner who reminded many scouts of Xavier Rhodes coming out. The Steelers wanted personality and toughness in their secondary, and Arceneaux is that in a nutshell. Despite lacking elite speed at the position, he makes up for it in his ability to break on the ball, and easily the best man on man corner in the draft. I love this choice for the Steelers.
Offensive tackle Tremayne Hicks has been a weak spot on the line for Pittsburgh now for a couple seasons, and they grabbed a steal in D.J. Harper in the middle of the second round, touted by many as the smartest tackle in the draft - Harper was known to turn around and dissect the blitz at Texas. Harper has a great future, and I could see him starting very early in his career.
Tight end Allen Fiala was my third ranked tight end in the draft (after the two selected by the Bengals), and the Steelers got him in the 3rd round! The Steelers completely gutted all of their depth at the position, so Fiala will step in as a day one starter. Hitting on a day one starter in the third round, at a skill position such as tight end, is a great choice.
The remaining picks in the draft seem to be purely depth. I didn’t love either of the pass rusher selections they made in round 4 and 5, in Jelan Pritchett and Jakhari Hill respectively. Both of these guys finished towards the bottom tier in the defensive line class, and will likely be practice squad bound or bottom of the active roster. Will be interesting to see how Coach Reid develops them.
Overall, I think Pittsburgh grabbed 3 starters in the first 3 round, and after that they addressed need picks with depth. They will see immediate dividends paid from this draft.
FINAL GRADE: B
BEST PICK - D.J. HAPRER (2nd Round)
WORST PICK - JELAN PRITCHETT (4th Round)