AFC North

Cincinnati Bengals

I never thought I would see a day where I could honestly say the Bengals walked away from Draft Day with what I consider the best overall draft class. This is a team that is notorious for not spending money on their scouting department, but they’ve managed to walk away with a very talented group of players. Andre Smith made an awful lot of wrong moves before the draft and shot down a lot of draft boards due to his behavior. And while I think this may have been a bit high for him to go, I won’t argue with it either. He’s a very good overall tackle prospect and can play right away at RT and eventually move over to protect Carson Palmer’s blindside. Now only if he could sign a contract and get into camp! The fact that Rey Maualuga fell all the way to the 38th pick in the draft is completely beyond me. He is one of the better physical, traditional 4-3 MLB’s I have seen in a while and I felt he was worthy of a top 15 pick. I have no idea why so many teams passed on him, but there must have been some concern. As I said previously though, an awful lot of teams are going to pay for that decision. Maualuga should start from day one and this team desperately needs a physical inside presence to set the tone in the run game. To then turn around and be able to grab Michael Johnson in the third was bordering on insanity. Yes, I was one of the people who said Johnson was overhyped due to his athletic potential and not his production. But he was easily worth a shot in the second round at the very least, even if he was used strictly as a pass rusher at first. Johnson should be in the rotation at DE right away, and this is a team desperate for pass rushing help, so I think he will also help turn this defense around drastically. Getting one of my personal favorite TE’s over the past few years in Chase Coffman in the third was a steal as well. Yes, he has issues with staying healthy, but if he does stay healthy he is far and away the best offensive weapon at the position that the Bengals may have ever had. He will definitely contribute in the passing game right away. It didn’t stop there though as Jonathan Luigs provides good depth at center, and was a great value in the fourth. Kevin Huber was the best punter in this draft (and one of the better punters I’ve seen come out in some time), and getting him in the fifth was a coup. Morgan Trent isn’t a great corner, but he will provide depth and again was a good value. Fui Vakapuna is a big RB who will probably move to FB for the Bengals and is a solid all around athlete for the position. A player that I really liked, undertackle Clinton McDonald of Memphis, was a downright steal in the 7th. He may need some time, but I really like his pass rush ability from the interior. He’s not an every down player as he doesn’t have the bulk to hold up, but he’s a good rotational option for passing downs. All in all, this was an outstanding draft and it may be enough to help the Bengals get over the top and save Marvin Lewis’ job this year.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers draft was not exciting or ‘sexy’ at all, but it just fit the mold of what they do year-in and year-out. Their veteran scouting department knows the type of player this team looks for, and they stick to that blue print very tightly. Ziggy Hood was a very nice pick at the end of the first round, as he was one of the fastest rising prospects going in to draft day. I have to admit that I didn’t think he’d be a great fit as a 3-4 DE, but he has the ability to play it and play it well. This was a major need for the team, and instead of reaching for a center like Max Unger, they went with the value in Hood. Snagging Kraig Urbik in the third also fills a big need. He will push for playing time and is a typical Steelers offensive lineman. He’s a big body that is nasty, tough, and good in the run game. Mike Wallace was a nice sleeper WR that I think can make some noise as a pro. He’s a bit undersized, so he may have to be used out of the slot to begin with, but he has game breaking speed and good hands. He can return punts and kicks which is a huge plus for a team that needs more bodies in this area. Other than that, only one other pick caught my attention and that’s 7th round center A.Q. Shipley of Penn State. I’m very concerned about his short arms, but it’s a bit easier to mask at the center position. It’s a no risk pick in the end because he could very well be the starting center for the next ten years, or if the arm length issue is a problem, it was only a late 7th round pick so it’s not hard to swallow if he’s cut.

Baltimore Ravens

Ozzie Newsome is the GM I most respect in the league, with the Charger’s AJ Smith close behind. He knows the game inside and out, he knows this team and its identity, and he knows the value of the draft extremely well. Other than the Kyle Boller fiasco of a few years ago (which I have to admit I was all about Boller as well going in to the draft), Newsome has really not missed on many draft picks what so ever. This year is no exception, and I think part of it has to do with a bit of luck as well. If you would have asked me going in to the draft if I thought Michael Oher would have fallen to the 23rd pick in the draft, I would have laughed in your face. I’m pretty confident in stating that Oher will start on the right side immediately and will make 22 teams in the NFL very upset that they passed on him. He could play LT, and I think that may be his best spot, but Jaired Gaither is going no where soon as he’s an absolute beast that not many people even know about (who by the way was another absolute steal that Ozzie got in the supplemental draft for what I believe was a 4th or 5th round pick). It didn’t stop with Oher though as the Ravens lucked out and had Paul Kruger fall to them as well. He was a bit of a ‘tweener player who didn’t quite fit at DE or rush OLB, which is EXACTLY the kind of player the Ravens find every year in the draft and they end up developing into monsters. Look no further than Jarrett Johnson if you want to see what Paul Kruger will end up doing for this team. He’s a very similar player who they will bring along slowly and he will eventually be a force for them as a hybrid outside defender. Lardarius Webb is a very athletic corner who was really only lacking in big time experience. With the slim depth at this position, I would assume he will see a good amount of reps right away. Getting MLB Jason Phillips in the 5th was another steal. I thought Phillips would be gone in the late 3rd round more than likely as he fit very well into a 3-4 defense. He gives Baltimore the flexibility to run more 3-4 looks as he will fit with Tarvaris Gooden for the back up spot behind Ray Lewis (and he gives them the ability to continue this look once Ray retires as well). Davon Drew of East Carolina was one another TE I really liked. He’s a very good pass catcher, and is a bigger guy, but needs to work on matching his blocking skills to that size. In any case, he’s solid depth at a position where injuries have killed the Ravens in the past. Cedric Peerman was underrated by most experts due to his injury history and his history of fumbles. For a 6th round pick though, he’s worth the risk. He can return as well so I wouldn’t be surprised if he sticks on the active roster as well. Overall another masterful job by one of the draft’s best talent evaluators.

Cleveland Browns

And here is where we come back down to Earth a bit. I won’t argue too much with the Brown’s draft as I like some parts of it, I just think that they got too little in return for letting the Jets move up to draft Sanchez. Why Mangini wants more former Jets retreads I do not understand. It’s like Shannahan a few years back with taking the Brown’s castoffs in Denver. Some players just aren’t good enough, and no change of scenery will fix that. I can see wanting players familiar with your system, but it didn’t work then so it won’t work now. New blood via the draft would have been a much better way to go. I cannot argue one bit with Alex Mack in the first though. You all know by now that I love Mack, and I think he will be a Pro Bowler in a very short period of time. If they can all stay healthy, the Browns may have the best LT/LG/OC combination in all of football. Cleveland needed WR depth as well, but taking both Brian Robiskie AND Mohamed Massaquoi in the second round may have been a bit overzealous. I like both players but I think the Browns would have been better off addressing the defense instead of taking Massaquoi. Now, if Braylon Edwards leaves after this season, then my thoughts on this become a moot point because they will need all the talent they can get. David Veikune as a late second rounder was also very puzzling. He’s changing positions from DE to OLB, and I think he has the talent to do this, but there were other defenders on the board that I think would have been better fits than Veikune. He’s only going to be asked to help in the pass rush right away, so I don’t think the return on investment adds up. I really liked Kaluka Maiava out of USC, and I think he suffered from playing behind three first round LBs (yes, Maualuga went in the second, but he should have been a first). He’s versatile enough to play inside or outside in this defense and he’s going to be a great special teams player no matter what. Besides Mack, he was the best value the Browns got on draft day. The other media experts really liked Coye Francis (CB out of San Jose State), but I wasn’t impressed with what I saw. He’s tall, physical, and good on the jam but he’s too stiff to turn and run with guys. If they play him up on the line all the time then he will do just fine. If they ask him to play off zone coverage, he may struggle. At the end of the say, he’s a 6th rounder so it doesn’t matter that much. I did not like James Davis at Clemson at all, but he’s gone to the perfect team to prove himself. The RB depth on the Browns is perilously thin, so he’ll get a shot to make this team and get some touches. In fact, I’m really surprised they did not address this position earlier in the draft.