2017 AFC North Draft Review
Baltimore Ravens
- Marlon Humphrey CB Alabama
- Tyus Bowser OLB Houston
- Chris Wormley DT Michigan
- Tim Williams OLB Alabama
- Nico Siragusa OG San Diego St.
- Jermaine Eluemunor OG Texas A&M
- Chuck Clark FS Virginia Tech
Immediate Impact: CB Marlon Humphrey, DT Chris Wormley
The Ravens signed Brandon Carr in the off season at CB but he’s 30-years old and he might be better suited to be third CB and with Jimmy Smith and Marlon Humphrey around that’s exactly where he’ll be. Wormley is a DT/DE tweener which is perfect because it means he can play DE in the Ravens 3-4 defense and he will excel at it.
Best Value: OLB Tim Williams
Are you kidding me? The Ravens get arguably the second best pure pass rusher in the entire draft at #78 overall. How do they always get so lucky? Williams has a few holes in his game and he has character questions but he couldn’t be going to a better place to handle those issues. GM Ozzie Newsome will get him on the right path and Williams could become a major pass rushing threat.
Sleeper: OLB Tyus Bowser
Yes, he’s a second-round pick but not a lot of people know who he is so he’s a bit of a sleeper. The Ravens let Elvis Dumervil go this off season and Terrell Suggs isn’t getting any younger so they need reinforcements at OLB. Bowser is going to team with Tim Williams to be the next generation of pass rushing OLBs for the Ravens.
Overall Analysis
Ozzie Newsome is some sort of wizard and somehow, he ended up with three potential starters for this year (Humphrey, Bowser and Wormley) and a pass rushing specialist that can spell Terrell Suggs (Tim Williams). There is nobody else that consistently pulls out great drafts like Newsome and the Ravens front office. Siragusa and Eluemunor add depth on the offensive line where the Ravens have lost some players in free agency the last couple of years. I don’t know much about Chuck Clark but he’ll probably at least be a special team’s ace or something.
Cincinnati Bengals
- John Ross WR Washington
- Joe Mixon RB Oklahoma
- Jordan Willis DE Kansas St.
- Carl Lawson DE Auburn
- Josh Malone WR Tennessee
- Ryan Glasgow DT Michigan
- Jake Elliott K Memphis
- JJ Dielman OT Utah
- Jordan Evans OLB Oklahoma
- Brandon Wilson CB Houston
- Mason Schreck TE Buffalo
Immediate Impact: WR John Ross, RB Joe Mixon, DE Jordan Willis
John Ross is the definition of a deep threat and he will take the top off of every defense in the league. He should open things up for AJ Green because he’ll be touchdown waiting to happen. He gives them a dynamic offensive weapon. Now Bengals fans just have to hope Andy Dalton has the arm strength to get it to him deep. Mixon is the most divisive prospect in the draft for non-football reasons (I’ll get to that later). However, he is a supremely talented RB and with Gio Bernard out with a knee injury and unlikely to be ready to play any time soon Mixon has a chance to play a big role. Jeremy Hill hasn’t been the most consistent RB so Mixon will have a shot at the job. Willis is a pass rusher that the Bengals desperately need opposite Carlos Dunlop.
Best Value: DE Jordan Willis
Getting a potential starting DE in round three is fantastic value. Willis has the size and all-around game to replace Michael Johnson and be a pretty good player.
Sleeper: DE Carl Lawson
The Bengals didn’t skimp on trying to improve their pass rush after taking Willis they grabbed Lawson. He’s not the long, lanky pass rusher teams usually want but he knows how to get to the QB. Lawson’s biggest issue was staying healthy at Auburn and if the Bengals deploy him correctly as a pass rushing specialist it should help him stay healthy.
Overall Analysis
The Bengals gambled multiple times in this draft for various reasons and this draft class will be defined by how those gambles pay off. John Ross is a speed demon at WR who also has legitimate receiver skills, he’s not just a fast guy. However, he has a slight build and he’s had injuries and if those become issues and he can’t suit up his skills are of no use. Mixon is the most polarizing prospect in the draft because he’s supremely talented but has the most significant off-the-field incident in his past and it’s of the level of Ray Rice. Mixon was always going to get a second chance from the NFL and it’s up to him to change the story of his life. If he’s a model citizen and Pro Bowl caliber RB it won’t make people forget his past but he’ll be a good redemption story. Lawson is another injury gamble that could pay off big or blow up in their face. The Bengals drafted a kicker so that’s not usually a good thing. They only added one offensive lineman after losing two of their better guys, Andrew Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler, so they have to hope previously drafted linemen step up. They drafted quite a few guys and the later picks will have a tough time making a pretty solid roster.
Cleveland Browns
- Myles Garrett DE Texas A&M
- Jabrill Peppers SS Michigan
- David Njoku TE Miami
- DeShone Kizer QB Notre Dame
- Larry Ogunjobi DT Charlotte
- Howard Wilson CB Houston
- Roderick Johnson OT Florida St.
- Caleb Brantley DT Florida
- Zane Gonzalez K Arizona St.
- Matthew Dayes RB North Carolina St.
Immediate Impact: DE Myles Garrett, SS Jabrill Peppers, TE David Njoku
Garrett is a special talent and with the Browns making a move to Greg Williams as their defensive coordinator he will count on Garrett to be his star pass rusher. There seems to be a lot of people that don’t like the Jabrill Peppers pick and it comes down to them thinking he doesn’t have a position, to me that’s his strength. Peppers will line up at SS but Williams will use him to come up into the box on running downs, cover TEs and RBs over the middle and when necessary he can cover guys out of slot. NFL offenses are no longer traditional so defenders don’t need to be either. After they drafted Njoku the Browns cut incumbent TE Gary Barnidge meaning they will be counting heavily on Njoku to be a major part of the offense.
Best Value: OT Roderick Johnson
The Browns currently have former Seminole Cam Erving penciled in at RT since he was replaced at C by free agent signee JC Tretter but Erving hasn’t really worked out at either position so far. Johnson is a big man at 6’7 300 lbs. and he played LT at Florida St. but he’s better suited for the right side. After adding Tretter and OG Kevin Zeitler to LT Joe Thomas and LG Joel Bitonio Johnson would be the last piece to their overhauled offensive line.
Sleeper: DT Larry Ogunjobi
Garrett may be the headliner here but if Greg Williams is going to transition this defense from a 3-4 to a 4-3 Ogunjobi is going to be an important piece to the puzzle. The team doesn’t have an abundance of DT talent and this guy has a chance to make a major difference. He’s a smaller school player that showed up big at the Senior Bowl and while he’s a bit raw he’ll plug up the middle really well.
Overall Analysis
I really like this draft class overall. Garrett is a future defensive start, Peppers is a swiss army knife in the secondary and Njoku is a talented TE. Ogunjobi and Johnson will either be starters or major contributors right away. CB Howard Wilson was a nice pick up who could give them nice depth and a potential starter at CB at some point. In the seventh round they drafted a kicker, which they need, and a potential third down back, which they also need. This class will largely be defined by their three first round picks but there are two others that could make this draft incredible. The Browns finally pulled the trigger on a QB in round two with DeShone Kizer. I’m not a fan of Kizer but the Browns didn’t reach here they grabbed him where is value was appropriate. Kizer is a physically gifted player that needs plenty of work on the mental side of things and from a maturity and leadership perspective. Taking him #52 overall and hoping that Hue Jackson can work his magic on him is a completely understandable plan. This doesn’t preclude the Browns from grabbing one of the top prospects next season if they think Kizer isn’t going to work out. Also, if he flames out during the season or isn’t good enough during training camp to win the job from Cody Kessler or Brock Osweiler then he’s just a second-round pick that became a backup QB, no harm no foul. The other “lottery ticket” pick the Browns took was DT Caleb Brantley in the sixth round. Brantley has 1st round type talent but he’s currently under investigation for assault and in his case his background as a character risk before these issues really made him drop. Browns GM Sashi Brown already said that if something comes from this investigation the team has no problem cutting Brantley, that’s much easier to do with a 6th round pick than if he had been taken in the 2nd round like a lot of people thought he would. If Brantley is cleared he has starter potential and would be a major disruptive force on the Browns new defense. There is a legitimate chance this draft turns around the fortunes of the entire franchise and it isn’t even dependent on the QB they took. Garrett, Peppers, Ogunjobi, Wilson and maybe Brantley could all become major pieces to an outstanding defense in the near future.
Pittsburgh Steelers
- TJ Watt OLB Wisconsin
- JuJu Smith-Schuster WR Southern California
- Cameron Sutton CB Tennessee
- James Connor RB Pittsburgh
- Joshua Dobbs QB Tennessee
- Brian Allen CB Utah
- Colin Holbach LS Louisville
- Keion Adams DE Western Michigan
Immediate Impact: OLB TJ Watt, CB Cameron Sutton
The Steelers are currently counting on Bud Dupree, who missed more than half of last season with an injury, and James Harrison, who is about to turn 39, at OLB so Watt will find plenty of playing time. He’s still a bit raw since he hasn’t always played defense and yet he shows loads of potential and he fits the Steelers scheme like a glove. Sutton is one of the more underrated CBs in this draft and the Steelers need help. Artie Burns was solid last year but if I were Ross Cockrell I would be afraid of Sutton. Even if Sutton can’t beat out Cockrell he should at least be the nickel corner for Steelers. Either way he’ll play a lot this year.
Best Value: CB Cameron Sutton
He could be the starting CB in place of Cockrell or he could be the nickel back instead or he could be Mike Mitchell’s eventual replacement at FS. That gives Sutton many paths to success in the NFL and getting that at the end of round 3 is pretty good value.
Sleeper: WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
I know, another 2nd round “sleeper”. Here’s why. Smith-Schuster is the opposite of Antonio Brown and Eli Rogers, he’s big, physical and doesn’t have elite speed. The Steelers really missed Martavis Bryant while he was suspended last year for failing drug tests and while he’s been reinstated I don’t think the Steelers want to take the chance of not having that skill set around again. Bryant is on thin ice and if he doesn’t come back looking great he may find himself looking for work elsewhere. Smith-Schuster should also make veteran Darrius Hayward-Bey very nervous about his roster spot.
Overall Analysis
Watt, Smith-Schuster and Sutton will all play pivotal roles this season for the Steelers and that makes this draft pretty solid. Another player that could really help this season is RB James Connor. He’s not just a great story because he beat cancer just to get to this point he’s a really good RB too. Obviously, the Steelers have LeVeon Bell so they don’t need a RB to take over but they let DeAngelo Williams go and they need someone to complement Bell. Connor is a power back that could take some of the short-yardage carries off of Bell’s shoulders and keep him healthy. Also, if Bell does get banged up, and he has in the past, Connor can step in a be a pretty solid runner. The Steelers are taking shot on QB Josh Dobbs, I don’t know that Dobbs can be Ben Roethlisberger’s eventual replacement but he’s worth the investment. Dobbs needs time and regardless of what Big Ben says I don’t think he’ll retire all that soon (he’s got at least a good 3-4 years left). The Steelers took a shot on a CB too in Utah’s Brian Allen and if you’re going to take a shot you might as well take it on a CB that is 6’3 215 lbs. especially when most of your CBs are 6’0 or less. Taking a long snapper isn’t usually a great draft pick but it’s not like the Steelers roster is full of holes so if they think he has a legitimate shot to take the job I understand it. Their final pick probably ends up cut or on the practice squad.
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