OTAs and minicamp are over, and we are now in the dark period of the NFL calendar before training camp. The 2019 NFL Draft has come and gone, and now it’s time to get in to the picks. I dig in to the selections and analyze if the team made the right picks, addressed their needs, ignored their needs, reached for a player, etc. I get in to all that and much more in this series. Let’s continue with the AFC North.
Baltimore Ravens
Selections: Round 1: WR Marquise Brown; Round 3: DE Jaylon Ferguson, WR Miles Boykin; Round 4: RB Justice Hill, G Ben Powers, CB Iman Marshall; Round 5: DT Daylon Mack; Round 6: QB Trace McSorley
Analysis: With Lamar Jackson as the new franchise quarterback, the Ravens needed to give their young signal caller some new toys. Marquise “Hollywood” Brown was the first receiver off the board at No. 25 and is a speed demon. The Ravens are expected to be a run-first offense, but the speed of Brown can take the top off of defenses and open up that running game. Joining Brown in the receiving group is Miles Boykin. At 6′-4″, 220 lbs, Boykin has rare size and speed, running a 4.42 at the combine. They both have opportunities to be starters, with Willie Snead, Seth Roberts, and Michael Floyd as the other options and aren’t major locks for starting snaps.
To help with the aforementioned running game, Baltimore got Justice Hill in the fourth. Hill is a smaller shifty back and will pair nicely with power backs Mark Ingram and Gus Edwards. The Ravens lost a lot on the defensive side of the ball, including Terrell Suggs, Za’Darius Smith, and Eric Weddle. Jaylon Ferguson was regarded by some as a potential first-rounder, but he fell to the Ravens in the third round, and joins a young crowded pass rushing depth chart that is wide open without Suggs and Smith. With their final pick, the Ravens took quarterback Trace McSorley. McSorley is a super athletic quarterback, and may be used as a Swiss-army knife similar to New Orleans’ Taysom Hill.
Conclusion: This was a decent draft for the Ravens. Their defense took a hit in free agency, and I thought they’d put a little more focus into that, but I do like their approach in putting some weapons around Lamar Jackson. One thing Ravens fans should be a bit nervous about is that there are a lot of open competitions at many positions, including receiver, running back, and pass rush. Ingram is the assumed starter, but Gus Edwards performed well last season as an undrafted rookie. Snead was essentially the third receiver last season, and although he’s the veteran of the bunch, he’ll have to compete for snaps. Matt Judon now sits atop the pass rushing depth chart, but young guys like Tyus Bowser and Tim Williams will look to compete along with former Bronco Shane Ray.
The Ravens have a very different looking team from years past, and a new era has begun in Baltimore. The focus of the draft was to build around Lamar Jackson, and they did just that. The defense wasn’t heavily focused on in the draft, which makes me think they like what they have on their roster in the young guys ready to push for starting jobs. Will they contend this year? Maybe, but they are clearly rebuilding. Whether they are ready now is unclear, but if not this year, then soon.
Cincinnati Bengals
Selections: Round 1: OT Jonah Williams; Round 2: TE Drew Sample; Round 3: LB Germaine Pratt; Round 4: QB Ryan Finley, DT Renell Wren, G Michael Jordan; Round 6: RB Trayveon Williams, LB Deshaun Davis, RB Rodney Anderson; Round 7: CB Jordan Brown
Analysis: The Bengals pretty much have needs everywhere, but there were some positions I feel they should have addressed over others. I highlighted that the Bengals had a clear need at linebacker, and I had Devin Bush mocked to them at No. 11. However, the Steelers leapfrogged them and took Bush at No. 10. So now, with the next pick, the Bengals took the first offensive lineman off the board, Jonah Williams. Williams is expected to be the starting left tackle, with Cordy Glenn moving to left guard, pushing longtime starter Clint Boling out of the lineup. The Bengals gave the worst tackle in football Bobby Hart big money this offseason, and I bet they are regretting that move now after taking Williams. (Update: The Bengals cannot catch a break. Williams suffered a torn labrum and is expected to miss his rookie season, so Glenn will be moving back to left tackle.)
The Bengals are notorious for retaining their own players and they did just that again this offseason with tight ends Tyler Eifert and C.J. Uzomah. Eifert has never been able to stay healthy in his six years in the NFL, and Uzomah filled in nicely for him last year after Eifert’s devastating ankle injury. Looking to build insurance, and possibly looking for a new starter, the Bengals took Drew Sample in the second round. Eifert likely won’t be ready for the start of the season, so Sample has a chance to earn snaps.
I really like the Germaine Pratt pick, and is the type of player they need at linebacker. A converted safety, Pratt has the speed the current Bengals linebackers don’t, and has elite coverage skills. He will be one of the biggest sleepers from this draft class, and someone to keep an eye on as the season progresses. Ryan Finley was the sixth quarterback taken in the draft, and is expected to compete for the primary backup job to Andy Dalton with Jeff Driskel.
Conclusion: The Bengals have been the definition of blah for the past decade-plus under Marvin Lewis, but now Zac Taylor comes in and hopes to spice up a talented Bengals roster. They’ve got one of the best receivers in the game and a young star running back. There was talk about the Bengals taking a quarterback early to challenge or replace Dalton, but for now, it’s his offense, and this is a huge year for the nine-year vet. If he doesn’t perform under Taylor, then a shakeup at the position could be in order in 2020.
This draft class won’t blow you away, but the Bengals did address some needs with upgrades and depth. I’m always intrigued by a team’s offensive line, and the Bengals could have new starters all over the line. I’ll be curious to see how all these picks shake out, as this is an important year for the future of Cincinnati moving forward.
Cleveland Browns
Selections: Round 2: CB Greedy Williams; Round 3: LB Sione Takitaki; Round 4: Sheldrick Redwine; Round 5: LB Mack Wilson, K Austin Seibert; Round 6: Drew Forbes; Round 7: CB Donnie Lewis Jr.
Traded first round pick for WR Odell Beckham Jr.
Analysis: Without a first round pick, the Browns sat back and watched without the worry of looking for a franchise quarterback, while knowing they acquired one of the premier talents at wide receiver with that pick. In the second round, the Browns traded up and took a projected first rounder, and highly-regarded top corner in the draft, Greedy Williams. The Browns took Denzel Ward fourth overall last year and became a Pro Bowler as a rookie. Now with Williams, they’re looking to build a dominant secondary filled with young guys and veterans in what should be a top defense in the NFL. There was no consensus top cornerback in the draft, and Williams was definitely in the conversation among the top guys.
After cutting ties with Jamie Collins, the Browns added some young talent to their linebacker corps in Sione Takitaki and Mack Wilson. Wilson is an absolute steal in the fifth round as he was considered the third-best linebacker in the draft behind Devin White and Devin Bush. Wilson and Takitaki will compete for a potential starting job and join veteran starters Christian Kirksey and Joe Schobert. Sheldrick Redwine could be an intriguing player for them for years to come, as veteran safeties Damarious Randall and Eric Murray are in contract years and could earn a starting spot.
The Browns have had some kicker trouble in recent years with little consistency. They parted ways with Zane Gonzalez, their 2017 seventh-rounder, mid-season last year, and signed then-rookie Greg Joseph, who did okay. But looking for some competition, and a likely replacement for Joseph, the Browns drafted another kicker in Austin Seibert in the fifth round to hopefully find some consistency.
Conclusion: The Browns have been the laughing stock of the NFL for decades, but now, they look like one of the biggest powerhouses on defense with a high-flying offense. The defense has been good for a few years now, but now with the additions of Williams, Takitaki, and Wilson, along with the other major additions in free agency, this defense looks to be elite. The offense showed its potential last season under Baker Mayfield, but now with adding a top receiver in Beckham with essentially their first round pick, this offense can take the necessary leap.
This was one of the better drafts of 2019, and GM John Dorsey continues to build a championship roster. After a very strong and aggressive free agency, being very active in the trade market, and another strong draft, the Browns will hopefully live up to the hype and be a threat in the AFC in 2019 and years to come.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Selections: Round 1: LB Devin Bush; Round 3: WR Diontae Johnson, CB Justin Layne; Round 4: RB Benny Snell; Round 5: TE Zach Gentry; Round 6: DE Sutton Smith, DT Isaiah Buggs, LB Ulysees Gilbert; Round 7: OT Derwin Gray
Analysis: The Steelers have taken a hit this offseason with the loss of their star offensive playmakers. They have been able to replace those players with young stars who have performed admirably thus far. The Steelers right now don’t look like their typical powerhouse selves, but they’ve always been good about building depth and having next-man-up mentality. However, after losing Ryan Shazier to a devastating spinal injury in 2017, the Steelers have struggled to replace his Pro Bowl-type play. With Shazier attempting a comeback to play football again, the Steelers decided to make a rare trade up in the first round and take linebacker Devin Bush 10th overall. The trade up was definitely needed as the Broncos, who they traded with, or the Bengals (11th pick) likely would have taken Bush. Bush will look to be the starting inside linebacker alongside veteran Vince Williams and former Rams starter Mark Barron.
Without a second-round pick from the Devin Bush trade, the Steelers had to wait to make two selections in the third, with one of those picks as part of the Antonio Brown trade. With that pick, Pittsburgh selected wide receiver Diontae Johnson. Johnson is an interesting player as his draft comparison was AB, both are undersized and can play inside and out. The Steelers could’ve used a bigger receiver to pair with JuJu, but I guess an AB replacement can’t really hurt, right? The other third round pick was used on cornerback Justin Layne. I originally had the Steelers taking a cornerback in the first round at 20th overall as they’ve had struggles at the position beyond Joe Haden. Artie Burns hasn’t played like a first-rounder, and former mid-rounders Cameron Sutton and Brian Allen haven’t produced. The Steelers did bring in former Chief Steven Nelson on a three-year deal to be a starter, and nickelback Mike Hilton has become a premier player at the position, especially on corner blitzes and covering the slot.
Other notable picks include running back Benny Snell, who is a compact downhill power back who could be a good compliment to James Conner, and tight end Zach Gentry, who will look to be the primary backup to Vance McDonald after losing Jesse James in free agency. The fifth-round pick to select Gentry was the other pick in the AB trade, so basically Antonio Brown was traded for Diontae Johnson and Zach Gentry. That is something that Steelers fans and critics will be watching as their careers in Pittsburgh progress with AB’s Oakland years.
Conclusion: The Steelers had a rare trade up in the draft this year, but it was necessary for a potential star player and a major position of need. The offseason storylines and trade surrounding Antonio Brown was one of the biggest in the NFL, and to trade a player of his caliber for only a third and a fifth seems unfair. Definitely a major storyline for years to come, and I’m sure AB will love the spotlight of it. The Steelers took a hit this offseason, but their next man up mentality and new acquisitions will hopefully propel them forward. Don’t count them out just because of this new-look team, the Steelers are not ready to give up the crown of the AFC North without a fight.
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