Fbkid's AFC North draft grades

The draft is now over so it is time to grade the teams to see how they did in the draft. I will be grading the teams and doing them by division. The first installment is the AFC North which is one of the toughest divisions in football. All of these teams have had great success building through the draft so it should be interesting to see who gets the best grade.


Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens should be happy with their draft as they traded down and got the guy they wanted in Joe Flacco. The only problem was they didn't have to trade up to 18 to get him. The Ravens probably could have got him at 26. Ravens fans agree with that as well. Just check Blogimore Ravens for more on the matter. Flacco though has a cannon arm which is something that the Ravens haven't had in a quarterback in a while. Ray Rice was a good pick in round 2 as he is very durable and is a good insurance policy for Willis McGahee. Tavares Gooden was a good pick in round 3 as he should develop and gives the Ravens depth to help a linebacker corps that is aging. Tom Zbikowski was a good pick in the 3rd round as well as he will help out immediately on special teams. Marcus Smith was a decent pick in the 4th round as the Ravens are still looking for a big play receiver. Smith is more of a project at this moment. Overall the Ravens had a good draft but they needed to address the cornerback position as both Samari Rolle and Chris McAllister are aging.

Grade:C+


Cincinnati Bengals: Lots of Bengals fans don't like the draft they had but it wasn't as bad as people think. Keith Rivers was a great value at number nine as he will be starting at linebacker for years to come. Jerome Simpson is a good pick in the second round but the problem is that more established receivers such as Malcolm Kelly and Limas Sweed were still on the board. Pat Sims was a good value in the 3rd round as he filled a need and many people had him as a first day pick. Andre Caldwell was a good pick in the 3rd round as he should immediately make an impact. Anthony Collins was a good pick in the 4th round as he brings depth to the offensive line. The Bengals got some good players in the draft and chances are that some of the picks will play from the start. If Mario Urrita pans out as a 7th round pick and turns into a good redzone target this draft looks a lot better.

Grade: C



Pittsburgh Steelers: Many people say the Steelers had the best draft out of any team. But lots of that is based on the name recognition of the class. Rashard Mendenhall was a good value for where the Steelers were picking and should compliment Willie Parker to improve the Steelers ground game. Ben Roethlisberger wanted a tall receiver and he got one in Limas Sweed in the second round. Sweed was a great value in the 2nd round and could start in a few years. The best pick the Steelers had was Bruce Davis as he fits perfectly with the Steelers 3-4 scheme. He and Lamarr Woodley should be book ends for the Steelers at linebacker for years to come. Dennis Dixon was a bit of a reach in round 5 as he will mainly be used on gadget plays. The Steelers got good value for where they picked but they didn't address the biggest need with the offensive line. If they addressed that more it could have been a great draft.

Grade:B


Cleveland Browns: The Browns didn't have a pick in the first three rounds but if you look closer they got great value out of those picks. With those three picks the Browns got Brady Quinn, Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers. I'm sure the Browns aren't complaining about that haul. Both Williams and Rogers are pro bowl caliber defensive tackles and where the Browns were taking it's not like Glenn Dorsey or Sedrick Ellis would have fallen to them. Unlike a quarterback they could have drafted, Quinn already knows the playbook and should start in a few years. In the 4th round Beau Bell was a good pick as he should get some playing time right away. Martin Rucker was a decent pick in round 4 as the Browns now have two great pass catching tight ends in Rucker and Kellen Winslow. The Browns didn't do much in the draft with the picks they had but what makes the draft is what came with the picks they traded away.

Grade:B