AFC North Draft Review
Once again, the Ravens had a fantastic draft, they always do. It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s Ozzie Newsome or Eric DeCosta making the picks, they are just really good at it. They picked players at LB that will help immediately, they got a very valuable RB, and they got depth at d-line, o-line and WR. Well done Ravens. They Bengals are resetting their franchise with Joe Burrow leading the way. They got him some help at WR and some much-needed help at LB. I’m not the biggest fan of Jedrick Wills moving to LT but the rest of the Browns picks are quite good. They can really help the team moving forward. The Steelers took some solid players but they didn’t take anyone in the draft that is going to change the trajectory of the team. They did trade their first-round pick for Minkah Fitzpatrick and he certainly changed their defense last season when he showed up. He’s the best safety the team has had since Troy Polamalu.
Baltimore Ravens
(28) Patrick Queen LB LSU
(55) JK Dobbins RB Ohio St.
(71) Justin Madubuike DL Texas A&M
(92) Devin Duvernay WR Texas
(98) Malik Harrison LB Ohio St.
(106) Tyre Phillips OL Mississippi St.
(143) Ben Bredeson OG Michigan
(170) Broderick Washington Jr. DL Texas Tech
(201) James Proche WR SMU
(219) Geno Stone S Iowa
Immediate Impact: LB Patrick Queen, LB Malik Harrison
Baltimore has always had great defenses but the 2020 version was looking at a major liability at inside linebacker, until the draft. Patrick Queen is a no-doubt starter at ILB but they didn’t stop there, Malik Harrison should start too. Queen is the sideline-to-sideline player who will tackle everything in sight. Harrison is the block-shedding monster who will attack the line of scrimmage in the run game and come downhill. These two are going to complement each other extremely well and they will start together relegating LJ Fort and Chris Board to backup roles where they belong.
Best Value: LB Malik Harrison
The Ravens always have a great draft because they do better than everybody else in the middle rounds of the draft. Harrison was a third-round pick but he was actually the team’s fifth choice overall. Harrison is a starter for them at a position of need and they got him 98th overall, that’s awesome value.
Sleepers: OG Ben Bredeson, S Geno Stone
The Ravens drafted Tyre Phillips, an OT from Mississippi St., at the end of the third round based on his potential to move inside to guard. They backed that up by taking Bredeson, from Michigan, in round four. Phillips is all about potential, he’s a massive man with great power but he was only a one-year starter and now they want to move him inside. Bredeson was a four-year starter at OG for the Wolverines and he has great technique. I think Bredeson is more likely to push for Marshall Yanda’s old starting spot before Phillips. Stone is an instinctual player who lacks elite size or athleticism. He reads things well and understands where to be, that’s basically the definition of an Iowa safety. The Ravens have Chuck Clark and Earl Thomas at safety but the depth doesn’t exactly scream quality. Stone will make the team as a backup safety and as a special team’s demon initially and don’t bet against him getting some playing time on defense.
Overall Analysis
The Ravens are the best drafting team in the NFL. It started with Ozzie Newsome for many, many years and now it’s his former right-hand man Eric DeCosta continuing the great work. Patrick Queen has a legacy of great LBs to live up to and I believe he will. Some people thought the team reached for JK Dobbins because they have one of the best run games in the league. However, Mark Ingram will be 31 by the end of the season and Gus Edwards has never proven to be the work horse. Dobbins fits their style as a low to the ground power back. The Ravens also continued a tradition of drafting a position before a need becomes obvious. The defensive line looks really good but the truth is they are aging and drafting Justin Madubuike was a smart move for the future. WR Devin Duvernay is a speed demon who excels in the slot and slot receiver Willie Snead didn’t have a great connection with Lamar Jackson. Malik Harrison may never be the star Patrick Queen can be but every Batman needs a Robin. Phillips and Bredeson were solid mid-round investments the team needs to try to replace future Hall of Famer Marshall Yanda. Broderick Washington was another solid investment in trying to make the d-line younger, he has some versatility along that three-man front. James Proche isn’t winning any sprinting contests but he is a reliable receiver they got in the sixth round. Stone was a wise choice to take a shot on in round seven. Anybody who was hoping to make up ground on the Ravens is going to have to hope Lamar Jackson regresses because this draft is only going to make the rest of the team better around him.
Cincinnati Bengals
(1) Joe Burrow QB LSU
(33) Tee Higgins WR Clemson
(65) Logan Wilson LB Wyoming
(107) Akeem Davis-Gaither LB Appalachian St.
(147) Khalid Kareem DE Notre Dame
(180) Hakeem Adeniji OL Kansas
(215) Markus Bailey LB Purdue
Immediate Impact: QB Joe Burrow, WR Tee Higgins
The Bengals didn’t draft Joe Burrow to sit and learn, they drafted him to be the face of the franchise. He’s the best QB they have had since Carson Palmer, sorry Andy Dalton but it’s true. Dalton is off to Dallas now so that leaves the team with only Ryan Finley left with Burrow at QB. Burrow has a chance to be a star in the NFL. Higgins might be able to help Burrow achieve being a star and become one himself. He has loads of talent and all the physical traits of a dominant WR. He won’t have to step in right away as the team has AJ Green and Tyler Boyd to carry the load but he should pick up as much as he can from those two.
Best Value: WR Tee Higgins
This one comes with a caveat. If Higgins lives up to his enormous potential, he could be one of the top ten WRs in the NFL and getting that guy at #33 overall is incredible value. The problem is he isn’t a completed project yet. He has some issues with route running execution and he isn’t great after the catch. He’s a brilliant jump ball WR and he will make life easy on Burrow because you only have to get it within his area code and he can catch it. If he turns into Michael Thomas, he’s a steal, if he turns into Kelvin Benjamin, he’s a colossal bust.
Sleeper: LB Akeem Davis-Gaither
The Bengals needed LBs and they got LBs and I like Davis-Gaither better than the rest. He’s a freaky fast (sorry Jimmy Johns) LB who can come off the edge as a rusher and cover in the passing game. Guys like Germaine Pratt, Jordan Evans, and Josh Bynes are the vets on the team and I can see Davis-Gaither taking a job very quickly with this team. So could Logan Wilson but Davis-Gaither was a lower pick.
Overall Analysis
This draft will forever be judged by Joe Burrow’s career and that’s what happens when you’re the first pick in the draft. However, there are other picks here who can really help this team. Burrow is going to be good as long as the team invests in the offense around him and for now the only issue is, they didn’t get him any real help on the line. However, last year’s first-round pick LT Jonah Williams should be healthy this season, that will help. They did take Higgins and while they have Green and Boyd, Green is on a one-year franchise tag for now and coming off an injury while Boyd is probably better as the #2 guy. Higgins could be a great combination with Burrow. At LB the team needed a reset because they haven’t been good there in a while. They spent three of their seven picks at the position so clearly, they realized the issue. Logan Wilson, Akeem Davis-Gaither and Markus Bailey are all good coverage LBs who fit into the new look of the NFL. All of them, including seventh-round pick Bailey, should make the roster and contribute. I wouldn’t be shocked to see one or both of Wilson and Davis-Gaither starting this year. DE Khalid Kareem is athletically limited but the Bengals aren’t stacked at DE either so he could make the team as a backup. He probably isn’t ever going to be a starting DE but he could be a solid backup. Adeniji is a project that needs to transition to OG from OT but with some coaching he could be a solid guard. He has some good athletic traits he just lacks any type of refinement.
Cleveland Browns
(10) Jedrick Wills Jr. OT Alabama
(44) Grant Delpit S LSU
(88) Jordan Elliott DL Missouri
(97) Jacob Phillips LB LSU
(115) Harrison Bryant TE Florida Atlantic
(160) Nick Harris C/G Washington
(187) Donovan Peoples-Jones WR Michigan
Immediate Impact: OT Jedrick Wills Jr, S Grant Delpit
I’m not really a big fan of Wills as a LT prospect but he is going to have to play there because the team signed Jack Conklin to a massive contract to be their RT and he isn’t moving to the left side. For better or for worse Wills will transition to the left side. Even if he struggles, he’s probably better than their other options; moving Conklin or playing Chris Hubbard there full-time. Grant Delpit is the one guy who didn’t have an incredible year at LSU last season, he was human compared to most of his teammates but he still won a National Title. He fell a bit but he’s going to push Andrew Sendejo to a backup role and start next to Karl Joseph.
Best Value: C/G Nick Harris
The Browns did a nice job of addressing their OTs, in the case of Conklin they did great, less so with Wills. On the interior JC Tretter is a solid center and Joel Bitonio is a good guard. Wyatt Teller is serviceable at LG but he could lose his job. Harris isn’t an overwhelming physical player but he’s a technician on the interior. He is probably better at center than guard but he can be better than Teller. He is best suited for the zone-blocking scheme which is exactly the type of offense Kevin Stefanski will install with the Browns. Harris could end up a starter and he was a fifth-rounder.
Sleeper: LB Jacob Phillips
The Browns LB corps has undergone quite the change as they lost Joe Schobert and Christian Kirksey. They need help to replace those two because BJ Goodson, a free agent signee, isn’t really starter material. Phillips wasn’t a big name at LSU but he was a productive player. He probably won’t ever be a star but he can start for the Browns given their depth chart.
Overall Analysis
For the Browns’ sake I’m worried about Wills transition to LT. He has plenty of physical ability to do it but it’s about a comfort level moving up to the NFL and transitioning to a position he didn’t play at Alabama. He’s also moving to a zone-based running scheme which will be a change up for him. If Grant Delpit gets healthy and plays like he did two years ago he has Pro Bowl caliber talent at safety. The Browns have been shuffling safeties for a while, it would be nice if he locks down a spot for the next decade. Jordan Elliot should be a good fit as a backup DT, he can push the pocket from the inside which is a trait the defense sorely needs. Jacob Phillips has starter potential on a team that needs another starting LB, good fit. Harrison Bryant might find it hard to find playing time with Austin Hooper coming in as a free agent to join David Njoku but Stefanski likes using TEs so he’s good depth. Phenomenal value in the Harris pick, he can be a guard for now and could eventually be JC Tretter’s replacement. Donovan Peoples-Jones is a dynamic athlete who simply never lived up to that talent at Michigan. It could be the fact he played with well below average QBs at Michigan so he should hope Baker Mayfield ups his game. The Browns do have Odell Beckham Jr and Jarvis Landry but those two are turning 30 and there isn’t much depth, Peoples-Jones might get some playing time this year.
Pittsburgh Steelers
(49) Chase Claypool WR Notre Dame
(102) Alex Highsmith OLB UNC-Charlotte
(124) Anthony McFarland Jr. RB Maryland
(135) Kevin Dotson OG Louisiana-Lafayette
(198) Antoine Brooks Jr. S Maryland
(232) Carlos Davis DT Nebraska
Immediate Impact: WR Chase Claypool
This is a stretch but because I really don’t expect any of these guys to make much of an impact. If anyone could Claypool is the best bet. The Steelers have JuJu Smith-Schuster but they rely far too much on him in their passing game. James Washington hasn’t broken out in his first two years and Diontae Johnson was just okay last year. A lot of that was probably due to an unstable QB position with Big Ben out. Claypool gives the team a different look as he’s a 6’4 player with good speed, they don’t have a big-bodied WR. If Washington and Johnson don’t stake their claim to being the #2 behind JuJu than Claypool may emerge.
Best Value: RB Anthony McFarland
McFarland is a heck of a RB and while the team has James Connor, Jaylen Samuels and Benny Snell Jr., McFarland gives them a different look. Connor and Snell are power big power backs with thick builds and really aren’t threats to take it to the house, they are grinders. Samuels is also a bigger back but he has more skills in the passing game. McFarland is small, shiftier and a threat to take it all the way at any time. He has the speed they need to add to the backfield and I think he may make Snell expendable or Connor if he keeps getting injured.
Sleeper: OG Kevin Dotson
The team needed to get some help on the line and Dotson is a big boy who anchors well and can run block too. He needs a little time, especially pass blocking, but there is an opportunity to play. Ramon Foster retired this off season and while the team signed Stefen Wisniewski, he is a replacement level player. Dotson could move up the depth chart quickly if he proves he can hold his own in the passing game.
Overall Analysis
The team has a pretty solid roster which is good because this draft class is more about potential than production. They traded their first-round pick for Minkah Fitzpatrick and that was a wise move considering how he turned around their defense last season after the trade. Claypool is a solid prospect at WR but he’s going to have to develop to be effective which is exactly what you can say about James Washington and Diontae Johnson. Alex Highsmith could become a nice pass rusher at OLB but the team has its starters in Bud Dupree and TJ Watt. RB Anthony McFarland has long-term value but for now he’s just part of the committee hoping to find his place. I like Dotson moving forward but they have veterans at guard. Brooks and Davis are really deep depth if they make the roster. Brooks might help on special teams. This isn’t a draft that is going to push this team over the hump but getting Big Ben’s return should do most of that heavy lifting.
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