AFC North Draft Analysis

Baltimore Ravens

17. CJ Mosley  ILB  Alabama

48. Timmy Jernigan  DT  Florida St.

79. Terrence Brooks  FS  Florida St.

99. Crockett Gillmore  TE  Colorado St.

134. Brent Urban  DT  Virginia

138. Lorenzo Taliaferro  RB  Coastal Carolina

175. John Urschel  OG  Penn St.

194. Keith Wenning  QB  Ball St.

218. Michael Campanaro  WR  Wake Forest

Immediate Impact:  ILB CJ Mosley, DT Timmy Jernigan, FS Terrence Brooks

It’s hard not to see these three players stepping in as starters at their respective positions and once again Ozzie Newsome proves he’s better at this draft thing than most GMs.  Mosley should slide in ahead of veteran Josh Bynes and 2^nd year man Arthur Brown next to Daryl Smith at ILB.  Mosley is tailor-made for the Raven defense and he will excel.  Jernigan isn’t a natural fit as five-technique DE but he’s more talented than Brandon Williams and Chris Canty is aging so he should win a job outside of NT Haloti Ngata.  FS Terrence Brooks is a great fit because he allows Matt Elam to move to his more natural position of SS and Brooks is an experienced player coming from a major program his transition should be quick.

Best Value:  Mosley, Jernigan and Brooks

I told you Newsome was better at this than pretty much everyone.  Mosley was the top ILB and he got him at #17.  Jernigan has 1^st round talent but dropped due to some character concerns but Newsome knows his locker room and organization can handle him.  Brooks is just a great get in the third round at a need position and Newsome stole him.

Sleeper:  WR Michael Campanaro

I haven’t scouted Campanaro but I remember watching one Wake Forest either this last year or the year before and I remember he was all the Demon Deacons had on offense.  Wake Forest hasn’t been very good and Campanaro has had some injury issues but if he’s healthy he could be a find at #218 in the draft.

Overall Analysis:

Three immediate starters out of a draft is pretty hard to beat and Newsome added developmental players like G John Urschel, QB Keith Wenning and WR Campanaro.  Wenning could easily win the third QB spot behind Joe Flacco and Tyrod Taylor and eventually replace Taylor as Flacco’s backup.  Urschel is a brilliant guy (seriously he already has a Master’s degree in Math and is working on a second one) and he could develop at guard.  The one big miss here is at RT where Newsome failed to get any offensive line help other than Urschel.  This leaves Ricky Wagner as the man to beat and that could prove to be a problem.  Wagner is a nice player to have as a backup swing tackle but as a full-time starter he is a liability.  Perhaps if Urschel can prove to be a worthy starter at OG they could move Kelechi Osemele outside to RT but I think that weakens two positions.  They should look to sign a free agent RT for a year I’m thinking Eric Winston would be nice stop-gap.

Cincinnati Bengals

24. Darqueze Dennard  CB  Michigan St.

55. Jeremy Hill  RB  LSU

88. William Clarke  DE  West Virginia

111. Russell Bodine  C  North Carolina

164. AJ McCarron  QB  Alabama

212. Marquis Flowers  OLB  Arizona

239. James Wright  WR  LSU

252. Lavelle Westbrooks  CB  Georgia Southern

Immediate Impact:  CB Darqueze Dennard, RB Jeremy Hill

Dennard becomes the starter opposite Leon Hall on day one because he’s a major upgrade from the aging Terrence Newman.  Hill gives the Bengals the option of dropping BenJarvus Green-Ellis completely and going with a backfield of Giovani Bernard and Hill.

Best Value: CB Darqueze Dennard

Beauty was in the eye of the beholder when it came to CB’s in this draft but Dennard was definitely one of the top ones and getting him 24^th overall was a steal.  He adds youth and physicality to a secondary that needed both.

Sleeper:  C Russell Bodine

C Trevor Robinson is penciled in as the new starter after the release of Kyle Cook but Bodine will give him a run for his money.  Bodine was the strongest guy at the combine doing 42 reps on the bench press and has two years of starting experience in college.  Robinson has the inside track but if he doesn’t perform he will lose the job.

Overall Analysis:

Dennard is a starter, Hill is the new thunder to Bernard’s lightning and Bodine is a player that at the very least adds depth at center which was needed.  DE Will Clarke fits the Bengals profile at DE given that he’s 6’6 and that will allow him to work into the rotation and maybe take some playing time if last year’s rookie Margus Hunt isn’t up to the task.  QB AJ McCarron was a value pick in the 5^th round, although I thought that was about right for him.  He slots in as the third QB behind starter Andy Dalton and new backup Jason Campbell my only issue with him is that if the Bengals really are dissatisfied with Dalton why draft his carbon copy?  Perhaps McCarron’s championship pedigree leads them to think he could have more success in the playoffs than Dalton since that is Dalton’s one big issue.  I’m not a McCarron believer so I think if the Bengals really want to do better at the QB position they will have to try again next year.  The other three draft picks are unlikely to make the roster although OLB Marquise Flowers does play a position of need.

Cleveland Browns 

8. Justin Gilbert  CB  Oklahoma St.

22. Johnny Manziel  QB  Texas A&M

35. Joel Bitonio  OL  Nevada

71. Christian Kirksey  LB  Iowa

94. Terrance West  RB  Towson

127. Pierre Desir  CB  Lindenwood

Immediate Impact:  CB Justin Gilbert, QB Johnny Manziel, OL Joel Bitonio

Gilbert takes over the starting CB spot opposite Joe Haden and kicks Buster Skrine inside to cover the slot where he belongs.  Manziel has a bigger impact on the franchise as a whole and he will eventually replace Brian Hoyer and it may be sooner rather than later.  Bitonio has versatility and while he may be penciled in at OG to start he could beat out RT Mitchell Schwartz moving Schwartz inside instead.

Best Value:  QB Johnny Manziel

Getting Manziel at #22 may seem like a bad omen given former #22 picks for the Browns Brady Quinn and Branden Weeden.  However, Manziel is a value pick there because he’s a legitimate starting QB candidate and he’s the new face of the franchise.  Manziel’s presence helped the Browns sell tickets like crazy and created buzz like they haven’t had in years.

Sleepers:  LB Christian Kirksey, RB Terrence West

It surprised me that Kirksey went in the third round only because he wasn’t being talked about much leading up to the draft.  While he spent his career at Iowa playing outside linebacker he will move to ILB in the Browns 3-4 defense and he will be a great fit.  Kirksey can cover better than most linebackers and he’s a great tackler.  He can blitz when needed and he covers a lot of ground with his speed.  Craig Robertson is penciled in as the starter next to Karlos Dansby but don’t bet on him remaining there, Kirksey can take that job.  RB Terrence West was a record setting RB at Towson and he is a perfect fit for Kyle Shanahan’s offense and the new zone blocking scheme.  Ben Tate is the new starter but he has a history of missing time and West could take advantage of those opportunities.

Overall Analysis:

The Browns only drafted six players but they made them count.  Even seventh rounder Pierre Desir brings a lot of potential and he might beat out Leon McFadden as the fourth corner behind Haden, Gilbert and Skrine.  This draft will ultimately be judged by Johnny Manziel’s success or failure but I’m glad the Browns only gambled with the 22^nd pick and not their original 4^th overall selection.  As a matter of fact the trade they made with the Bills to move back from #4 netted them an extra 1^st rounder next year.  They didn’t address the WR position even with Josh Gordon’s impending suspension and that may mean taking on an injury risk veteran like Santonio Holmes or Miles Austin.  Regardless this draft was done extremely well and even if Manziel bombs out grabbing starters like Gilbert and Bitonio and potential starters like Kirksey and West should pay dividends down the road.  Out of all of the smaller draft classes this is my favorite and I don’t think the Browns missed on any of their picks.

Pittsburgh Steelers

15. Ryan Shazier  LB  Ohio St.

46. Stephon Tuitt  DE  Notre Dame

97. Dri Archer  RB  Kent St.

118. Martavis Bryant  WR  Clemson

157. Shaquille Richardson  CB  Arizona

173. Wesley Johnson  OL  Vanderbilt

192. Jordan Zumwalt  OLB  UCLA

215. Daniel McCullers  DT  Tennessee

230. Rob Blanchflower  TE  UMass

Immediate Impact:  LB Ryan Shazier, DE Stephon Tuitt

Shazier becomes a starter at ILB next to Lawrence Timmons and he brings youth and blazing speed to the Steelers defense.  Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau will find ways to use Shazier’s skills both in coverage and as a blitzer making Pittsburgh’s pass rush that much more effective.  Stephon Tuitt is the quintessential five-technique DE and the Steelers needed a new starter there.  Many believed Tuitt’s skills could fit as a DT in a 4-3 but he is a much more natural fit at DE on a three man line.

Best Value:  NT Daniel McCullers

Let’s just say pound-for-pound the Steelers are getting their money’s worth out of this 6^th round pick.  McCullers is almost 6’7 and 355 lbs. on a good day.  He is a run stuffing NT in every sense and he could not have ended up on a better team.  The Steelers only ask their NT’s to hold the point of attack, occupy blockers and keep them off of their linebackers.  The slightly undersized and speedy Ryan Shazier is going to love having McCullers in front of him because it will keep guards and centers busy and unable to get to him.

Sleepers:  RB Dri Archer, WR Martavis Bryant, OLB Jordan Zumwalt

Archer is a small speedy back with excellent hands and he will be a great complement to LeVeon Bell out of the backfield.  Martavis Bryant was overshadowed at Clemson by Sammy Watkins but now his 6’4 frame can cast a shadow over the smaller WR’s like Antonio Brown, Lance Moore and Markus Wheaton.  Bryant isn’t going to out play those guys but he’ll bring the size Ben Roethlisberger has been asking for ever since Plaxico Burress first left.  Zumwalt was overshadowed also while at UCLA by more heralded teammates Anthony Barr and Myles Jack but he could be a fantastic fit as a pass rushing OLB for the Steelers and gives them some depth.

Overall Analysis:

As always the players the Steelers drafted were good ones and they will give them some new young players at key spots (LB, DL, and WR). Shazier, Tuitt, Archer, Bryant, McCullers and Zumwalt should all contribute this year.  The issue with this draft was virtually ignoring the secondary and the offensive line.  CB Shaquille Richardson isn’t an upgrade on the aging Ike Taylor and while OL Wesley Johnson brings a lot of versatility they needed more help on the offensive line than one man can provide.  Many consider Dri Archer a reach in round 3 and he may have been but he has electrifying speed and great hands which is something missing from the Steelers backfield.