Evaluating the AFC North Drafts

[pnies20]

10 minutes ago, MOSteelers56 said:

I was just talking about the picks themselves. I mean, yeah no crap, if you drafted one of the top 3 WRs with the 17th pick then you'd be ahead of everyone. I was just talking about the actual draft selections.

I think they were all about even. Each team got a few darn good players. 

[MistaBohmbastic]

NGL I think the Steelers are in for a long few years if they think Justin Layne is gonna be their guy to cover Callaway/Beckham.

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

11 minutes ago, MistaBohmbastic said:

NGL I think the Steelers are in for a long few years if they think Justin Layne is gonna be their guy to cover Callaway/Beckham.

Eh, I don’t know if they think he’s gonna be all that.

I mean, he’s a 3rd round pick, expecting him to be the lead dog in the secondary isn’t terribly reasonable.

Just because he can’t lock up OBJ one on one doesn’t mean he can’t be a good player.

[MOSteelers56]

13 minutes ago, MistaBohmbastic said:

NGL I think the Steelers are in for a long few years if they think Justin Layne is gonna be their guy to cover Callaway/Beckham.

I don't imagine we drafted him with the intentions of him being a lockdown #1 CB. I think next year, we'll be looking hard at 1st round CB. Layne's ceiling, to me at least, is probably going to be a good #2 in the league. We're not hurting for CB right now. We've got Haden and Nelson, but we may be needing a legit #1 pretty soon. We'll have to deal with a lot more new WRs in the North.

[MOSteelers56]

38 minutes ago, pnies20 said:

I think they were all about even. Each team got a few darn good players. 

Except for the Bengals! Hahahaha! It's fun to make fun of the Bengals. 

Crapping on the Bengals: Bringing AFC North fans together since 2002

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

5 minutes ago, MOSteelers56 said:

Except for the Bengals! Hahahaha! It's fun to make fun of the Bengals. 

Crapping on the Bengals: Bringing AFC North fans together since 2002

Eh, since 02 nobody has been crapping on the Bengals, they’ve been crapping on us.

[MOSteelers56]

11 minutes ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

Eh, since 02 nobody has been crapping on the Bengals, they’ve been crapping on us.

That's a fair point. Let's change that date to 2016.

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

Just now, MOSteelers56 said:

That's a fair point. Let's change that date to 2016.

2017 wasn’t exactly a high point for us either 😂 

Perhaps last Halloween.

[pnies20]

1 hour ago, MOSteelers56 said:

Except for the Bengals! Hahahaha! It's fun to make fun of the Bengals. 

Crapping on the Bengals: Bringing AFC North fans together since 2002

I was pretty upset they drafted Germaine Pratt... he was my favorite kid round prospect. Jonah Williams will be good somewhere on that line. 

Other than that, yeah, it was pretty meh. Rodney Anderson could be good.

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

1 hour ago, pnies20 said:

I was pretty upset they drafted Germaine Pratt... he was my favorite kid round prospect. Jonah Williams will be good somewhere on that line. 

Other than that, yeah, it was pretty meh. Rodney Anderson could be good.

They definitely got some guys who can play, but there wasn’t a single player they took that had me thinking “damn, that guy’s gonna be a pain in the arse.”

[pnies20]

17 minutes ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

They definitely got some guys who can play, but there wasn’t a single player they took that had me thinking “damn, that guy’s gonna be a pain in the arse.”

Bro I’m tryna 40 bomb people all year. We can’t do that if they draft solid players. Busts only.

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

1 minute ago, pnies20 said:

Bro I’m tryna 40 bomb people all year. We can’t do that if they draft solid players. Busts only.

Well I’m not w negative Nancy like you.

We’re gonna 40 bomb those fools in Cincy regardless.

[Horseunit]

Evan Silva dropping the hammer on the Steelers Draft.

Pittsburgh Steelers

1 (10). Michigan LB Devin Bush

2 (66). Toledo WR Diontae Johnson

3 (83). Michigan State CB Justin Layne

4 (122). Kentucky RB Benny Snell

5 (141). Michigan TE Zach Gentry

6 (175). Northern Illinois OLB Sutton Smith

6 (192). Alabama DT Isaiah Buggs

6 (207). Akron LB Ulysees Gilbert

7 (219). Maryland OT Derwin Gray

Overview: Even if GM Kevin Colbert felt he had to do it, turning Antonio Brown into returner/slot guy Johnson and Jesse James clone Gentry reflects poorly from an on-paper grading standpoint. And Colbert kicked off the draft with a desperate trade up, sending the 52^nd pick and next year’s third-rounder to Denver for an off-ball linebacker at No. 10 overall. Layne’s production-athleticism combo made him a worthwhile third-round target for Pittsburgh’s cornerback need, but Snell was a poor fourth-round investment with minimal receiving production and brutal athletic results. Smith reminded me of Shea McClellin during the pre-draft phase as a big-time small-school producer with a questionable position fit. Buggs projects as a one-trick, two-down role player. When considering all factors – including trading a Hall of Famer for peanuts – this was one of the most disappointing hauls in the league.

Grade: D

[Horseunit]

Cleveland Browns 

2 (46). LSU CB Greedy Williams

3 (80). BYU Sione Takitaki

4 (119). Miami S Sheldrick Redwine

5 (155). Alabama LB Mack Wilson

5 (170). Oklahoma K Austin Seibert

6 (189). Southeast Missouri OG Drew Forbes

7 (221). Tulane CB Donnie Lewis

Overview: Cleveland’s stone-cold robbery of the Giants in the Odell Beckham trade gives this draft class’ grade a rocket booster after New York came away with only Jabrill Peppers, Dexter Lawrence, and Oshane Ximines in exchange for a Hall of Fame talent. Stopping Williams’ reportedly medical-related freefall is another feather in GM John Dorsey’s cap; there wasn’t a better press corner in this draft. Takitaki is an over-aged off-ball linebacker who had a tumultuous college career, and Redwine is a height-weight-speed project who may max out on special teams. Wilson gives the Browns a potential fallback option if they don’t extend MLB Joe Schobert’s deal, and Forbes is a plus athlete who dominated his FCS competition but is limited by short arms. All in all, I found this to be a boom-or-bust draft. When you factor in OBJ, of course, it becomes an exponentially more impressive haul.

Grade: A-

[Horseunit]

Cincinnati Bengals

1 (11). Alabama T/G Jonah Williams

2 (52). Washington TE Drew Sample

3 (72). NC State LB Germaine Pratt

4 (104). NC State QB Ryan Finley

4 (125). Arizona State DT Renell Wren

4 (136). Ohio State G/C Michael Jordan

6 (182). Texas A&M RB Trayveon Williams

6 (210). Auburn LB Deshaun Davis

6 (211). Oklahoma RB Rodney Anderson

7 (223). South Dakota State CB Jordan Brown 

Overview: The Bengals went by the book with first-rounder Williams in a meeting of value and need, but this draft went downhill from there. Blocking TE Sample managed 46 career catches and averaged 10.6 yards per catch as a four-year starter, never earning higher than honorable mention in the Pac 12. Finley is almost 25 years old and at best projects as a long-term backup. Even as both running back picks are intriguing prospects, they seemed like overkill for a team that already rosters Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard at affordable costs. Taking one of them and signing another back in undrafted free agency would have made more sense. Pratt, Wren, and Jordan were quality third/fourth-round stabs and helped Cincinnati’s grade as potential eventual starters. Still, there were at least a dozen prospects that went after Sample who should’ve gone before him, and the same goes for Finley near the top of round four. I think it’s entirely possible the Bengals got only two first-year contributors from this ten-man haul.

Grade: C-