NFL Roster And Draft Class Breakdowns: AFC North
Let’s stay in the north but move to the other conference. It seems like each team now has stability at quarterback for the first time in a while, which should make things very interesting. This is a division with some of the most heated rivalries in the sport. How will things shake out? Let’s break it all down.
Pittsburgh
Let’s get started with the Steelers. The depth chart and part of the draft class analysis are provided by ESPN.
QB - Kenny Pickett
RB - Najee Harris
WRs - Diontae Johnson, George Pickens, Allen Robinson
TE - Pat Freiermuth
FB - Monte Pottebaum
OL from left to right - Dan Moore Jr, Isaac Seumalo, Mason Cole, James Daniels, Chukwuma Okorafor
Offensive rankings - 23rd overall, 24th passing, 16th rushing, 24th receiving
Pickett should have a better feel for the system as he enters the season as the undisputed starter. Pickens had a breakout rookie season and now he’s got a similar type of pass catcher across from him in Allen Robinson. Two big bodies that can go get the ball. We should still expect a heavy dose of the run game, but Pickett needs to take control of this offense. They drafted three players on the offensive side of the ball.
OT Broderick Jones, round 1, Georgia
TE Darnell Washington, round 3, Georgia
OG Spencer Anderson, round 7, Maryland
Jones is ideally the future starter at left tackle. Washington should be able to contribute right away. He’s 6’7 and an athletic freak of nature. Washington is fast for his size and should easily get in during two tight end packages. This now gives them a quality option if Freiermuth goes down. Anderson is likely just a depth option at this point.
Let’s check out the defense which is projected to run the 3-4.
DL - Larry Ogunjobi, Keeanu Benton, Cameron Heyward
LBs - T.J Watt, Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, Alex Highsmith
Corners, strong safety, free safety - Patrick Peterson, Joey Porter Jr, Damontae Kazee, Minkah Fitzpatrick
Defensive rankings - 13th overall, 19th against the pass, 9th against the run
The Devin Bush experiment at middle linebacker failed in Pittsburgh. It’s rare to see them whiff on a first round defensive player. Cole Holcomb comes over from Washington who has been solid, and Elandon Roberts will be a good compliment to him. I question the addition of Patrick Peterson who is getting up there, but it could just be a bridge option until they can draft or get another young corner. Here the defensive draft picks.
CB Joey Porter Jr, round 2, Penn State
DT Keeanu Benton, round 2, Wisconsin
LB Nick Herbig, round 4, Wisconsin
DB Cory Trice, round 7, Purdue
The pipeline from Madison Wisconsin to Pittsburgh is still alive and well. If you followed along with the best fits series, we got one! Benton was my prediction and he fits the hole for the starting nose tackle. He has a lot of power and won’t be pushed back easily. Herbig is a rotational pass rusher who will probably get looks in sub packages. Porter Jr is a legacy story after Joey Porter played and coached with them for so long. He instantly becomes the best corner on the team. Expect Trice to be regulated to special teams to start his career.
Cincinnati
Moving on to the Bengals.
QB - Joe Burrow
RB - Joe Mixon
WRs - Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd
TE - Irv Smith
OL - Orlando Brown Jr, Cordell Volson, Ted Karras, Alex Cappa, Jonah Williams
Offensive rankings - 9th overall, 5th passing, 29th rushing, 3rd receiving
The run game needs to get going again. It can’t be a lopsided offense like Burrow’s rookie year or he’ll get tossed around. The revolving door at tight end continues as this year Irv Smith gets a fresh start after not panning out with Minnesota. It’ll be hard to crack the rotation in this offense if you aren’t already an everyday player, but these guys are going to try.
WR Charlie Jones, round 4, Purdue
RB Chase Brown, round 5, Illinois
WR Andrei Iosivas, round 6, Princeton
Iosivas is a track star with 4.2 speed, but that alone won’t give up an instant starting opportunity with maybe the best receiver trio in the AFC. Jones is a speedster too running a 4.43. He led the nation in receptions with 110 with 1,361 yards and 12 TDs. Brown was third in rushing yards in the country in a season where he reached All-American status. If Mixon is starting to slow down, he has the best chance to make an impact as a rookie.
Let’s get into the 4-3 defense.
DL- Sam Hubbard, DJ Reader, BJ Hill, Trey Hendrickson
LBs - Logan Wilson, Germaine Pratt, Akeem Davis-Gaither
Corners, strong safety, free safety - Chidobe Awuize, Cam Taylor-Britt, Nick Scott, Dax Hill
Defensive rankings - 16th overall, 23rd against the pass, 8th against the run
No pressure, but Dax Hill did nothing as a rookie. Literally nothing. If that happens again we are entering bust territory. It’s a division with good quarterbacks. A bottom half pass defense isn’t going to cut it. That’s probably why they loaded up on some reinforcements.
DE Myles Murphy, round 1, Clemson
CB D.J Turner, round 2, Michigan
S Jordan Battle, round 3, Alabama
CB D.J Ivey, round 7, Miami
Have to sneak in that Cincy drafted a punter in Brad Robbins in round six from Michigan. Murphy is a stud coming off the edge and will be a starter at some point. Turner is a first round talent that slipped that will added depth to the secondary. Battle was a star at Alabama who will be backup for now. Nic Scott starts in his place for now probably to just give Battle some time to develop. Scott isn’t the long term answer, he’s the bridge guy. Ivey will head to special teams.
Cleveland
Can the Browns get it together? Probably not, but we’ll talk about them anyway.
QB - Deshuan Watson
RB - Nick Chubb, Jerome Ford
WRs - Amari Cooper, Elijah Moore, Donovan Peoples-Jones
TE - David Njoku
OL - Jedrick Wills Jr, Joel Bitonio, Ethan Pocic, Wyatt Teller, Jack Conklin
Offensive rankings - 14th overall, 22nd passing, 6th rushing, 23rd receiving
First of all, shout out to Jerome Ford who know actually has a chance to contribute now with Chubb now that Kareem Hunt and D’Ernest Johnson are moving on. I love the addition of Moore who wasn’t getting a chance with the Jets. DPJ is the most underrated pass catcher in the game. Put some respect on his name. Is anyone else curious if Njoku will request a trade again only to withdraw it? Just me? Okay, moving on. If with Watson the Browns can’t have a top ten passing offense, something is very wrong here. I’ll go one step further - top five. I find it odd that out of four offensive draft picks, only one was a pass catcher.
WR Charles Tillman, round 3, Tennessee
OT Dawand Jones, round 4, Ohio State
QB Dorian Thompson - Robinson, round 5, UCLA
C Luke Wypler, round 6, Ohio State
Tillman can get vertical well with good size, but again why was he the only addition in the draft from that department? How does a backup quarterback help you throw the ball better? You can at least make a case for the linemen for depth purposes. I love DTR. He deserves to be a starting quarterback. Sadly, that won’t happen with the Browns.
Let’s talk 4-3 defense.
DL - Myles Garrett, Dalvin Tomlinson, Jordan Elliot, Za’Darius Smith
LBs - Jerimiah Owusu-Koramoah, Anthony Walker Jr, Sione Takitaki
Corners, strong safety, free safety - Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome II, Grant Delpit, Juan Thornhill
Defensive rankings - 14th overall, 5th against the pass, 25th against the run
The defense should be better. Smith was a good signing to pair with Garrett. Keep your eyes on Deplit. We’re still trying to figure out what exactly he is as a player in his second season (injured as a rookie). He had four picks, can he do it again? Oddly, only two draft picks were added to address the run defense.
DT Siaki Ika, round 3, Baylor
DE Isaiah McGuire, round 4, Missouri
CB Cameron Mitchell, round 5, Northwestern
Tomlinson is an older player so maybe Ika is the replacement for him. McGuire will have a tough go getting in the rotation. But again, why only two d-linemen to improve a really bad defense in the trenches? Doesn’t make any sense.
Baltimore
Wrapping up this one with the Ravens.
QB - Lamar Jackson
RB - J.K Dobbins
WRs - Rashod Bateman, OBJ, Zay Flowers
TE - Mark Andrews
FB - Patrick Ricard
OL - Ronnie Stanley, Ben Cleveland, Tyler Linderbuam, Kevin Zeitler, Morgan Moses
Offensive rankings - 16th overall, 28th passing, 2nd rushing, 29th receiving
The lopsided rushing offense domination is over. There’s a new sheriff in town and his name is Todd Monkin. Monkin comes over to the NFL ranks after leading Georgia’s offense to back to back titles. I personally wouldn’t leave a a program where you have a good thing going. But, if there is anyone to get this offense back on track, it’s him. He’ll have some help.
WR Zay Flowers, round 1, Boston College
OT Malaesala Aumavae - Laulu, round 6, Oregon
OG Andrew Vorhees, round 7, USC
Flowers is a big addition and should take that offense to the next level. The linemen are most likely just developmental projects. The run will still be part of what they do, but it won’t be the crazy ratios we’ve seen with Greg Roman at the helm. You all know I love my fullbacks, and hopefully Mr. Ricard isn’t going anywhere. He gets a lot of action and touches on offense, and even plays a little d-line.
3-4 defense folks.
DL - Justin Madubuike, Michael Pierce, Broderick Washington
LBs - Odafe Oweh, Roquan Smith, Patrick Queen, Tyus Bowser
Corners, strong safety, free safety - Rock Ya-Sin, Marlon Humphrey, Kyle Hamilton Marcus Williams
Defensive rankings - 10th overall, 26th against the pass, 3rd against the run
The Ravens are almost always fundamentally sound on defense. That pass defense struggled A LOT. I like the pairing of Queen and Smith getting another year together. Ya-Sin has bounced around and struggled, so I don’t love him getting paired with Humphrey. I also don’t love they only one DB was drafted to help the secondary.
LB Trenton Simpson, round 3, Clemson
LB Tavius Robinson, round 4, Ole Miss
CB Kyu Blu Kelly, round 5, Stanford
Alright look, the Ravens know how to draft. The Ravens know how to develop, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Their track record proves that. But I’m really confused here. An inside and outside linebacker that in all likelihood won’t start right away and a corner who probably isn’t ready. He’s smart, but does he have the skill to play outside in the NFL right away? As much as he has upside, not yet. Simpson was one of the best, if not the best backer in the draft, so it’s a nice pickup for sure. But I think a corner would have been the better pick here. A good player, but probably the wrong team to start his career. Granted Queen’s future is up in the air after this season, so this could be a plan for the future.
My Projection
This will be a competitive division where every game will be a bloodbath. I’ve got the Bengals winning the division again. I’m stuck between the Steelers and Ravens for second place, and I think both teams can sneak in as a wildcard team. I’m not sold on the Browns after years of thinking there were back only to get let down. I think in year one with Watson they struggle to get on the same page and the defense will have to pick up the slack a little too much to be successful.