2014 AFC North Draft Grades

After missing the postseason last year the Ravens are looking to get back to the postseason which starts with their defense.

Once Lewis retired following the 2012 season, the Ravens needed a middle linebacker and Newsome went back to his alma mater at the University of Alabama where he found inside linebacker C.J. Mosley. The Ravens drafted Mosley in the first round and he is expected to be the general for a defense that was 12th last season. Haloti Ngata is entrenched as the Ravens starting nose tackle in their 3-4 defense, but Newsome drafted another big body up front on the defensive end in the second round when he selected Florida State defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan. Jernigan has tremendous power and we will be able to hold his own as far as being able to rush the passer.

In the seventh round the Ravens selected Wake Forest wide receiver Michael Campanaro. Campanaro is in that “Wes Welker” mode and he will make friends with Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco who will look for him on third downs to move the chains.

Newsome and Ravens head coach John Harbaugh will develop this draft class and they will be vital to the team’s future success.

In the past five seasons the Cincinnati Bengals have made the postseason four times which is a testament to their drafting. If the Bengals are going to keep up with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North, they could not afford to take a step backwards this past weekend at the NFL Draft.

The Bengals cornerbacks are getting older and thus Darqueze Dennard was drafted in the first round out of Michigan State University. In the last two years Dennard was an All-Big Ten performer at cornerback. The Bengals used a first round pick last year on cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick and now they have their secondary in place for the next few years.

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis selected LSU running back Jeremy Hill in the second round. Hill had some off-the-field issues in college which makes the pick interesting being that the Bengals have had a long history of players being in trouble with the law.

The Bengals lost defensive end Michael Johnson in free agency, but they did not skip a beat as they picked West Virginia defensive end Will Clarke in the third round. Clarke will start off being a situational pass rusher, but as times goes on he should have a bigger impact defensively for Cincinnati.

The fifth round saw the Bengals tab Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron. All McCarron did in college was win as he was 36-4 with two national championships, but he was taken in the round that I expected him to go in. McCarron is a smart quarterback, but I do not see him pushing Bengals starting quarterback Andy Dalton for playing time although he could be a viable backup.

Overall it was a pretty good haul for the Bengals this past weekend at the draft as they are set up once again to contend in the AFC North.

Cleveland Browns

Grade: C-

Best Pick: Johnny Manziel-Quarterback-Texas A&M

The Cleveland Browns re-entered the NFL in 1999 and they have yet to win a division title while they only made the playoffs once. Since 1999 the Browns have had 20 different starting quarterbacks which is a good reason why they have not had that much success in that period. 

The Browns entered the NFL Draft last week owning the fourth overall pick, but they made a trade with the Buffalo Bills moving to the ninth overall selection. The Browns would then swap picks with the Minnesota Vikings to own the eighth overall pick. At this point most people expected the Browns to select Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, but instead they opted for Oklahoma State cornerback Justin Gilbert. As a result of trading running back Trent Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts last season, the Browns also had the 26th overall pick. The Browns would make a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for the 22nd slot where they selected Manziel.

What Manziel gives the Browns is star power, but in typical Cleveland Browns fashion they found a way to mess things up. 

Drafting Manziel was good, but the Browns failed to draft a wide receiver for him to throw the football to. After allegedly failing a drug test Browns Pro Bowl wide receiver Josh Gordon is expected to be suspended by the NFL for the 2014 season which severely limits what the Browns can do offensively. Browns wide receiver Nate Burleson recently broke the same forearm that he injured last year while eating a slice of pizza in his car as a member of the Detroit Lions which depletes the receiving core in Cleveland that much more.

Like I said on The 300lbsofsportsknowledge Show this week, getting Manziel is good, but it doesn’t mean anything if he does not have talent around him.

Since 1974 the Pittsburgh Steelers have won more Super Bowl Championships (six) than any other NFL team which goes back to their ability to draft. That was once again on display at the 2014 NFL Draft.

The Steelers were able to select Ohio State outside linebacker Ryan Shazier in the first round. In the 2013 NFL Draft the Steelers selected outside linebacker Jarvis Jones and now they are hopeful that they have their edge rushers for the next few years.

In the second round Notre Dame defensive tackle Stephon Tuitt was available when the Steelers selected and thus he will now be wearing the black and gold in 2014. Tuitt will give the Steelers more size on their defensive line and he could be another pass rusher for Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.

After missing the postseason in the last two seasons the Steelers are hungry to back there and if they do this draft class will have a hand in it.