Around the AFCN

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I thought the Rudolph pick for the Steelers was a wise move. I thought for sure he was going to New England... I haven't watched a lot of him, but what I did see makes me think he's going to be a good pro.

For the foreseeable future I think Rudolph will develop into a solid backup. I don't see him as anything more right now, but as it is with any prospect you never know what their true upside is. He's got a lot of Roethlisberger's traits which is good. In that way he should be tailor-made for this offense giving him the best chance to succeed at this level. Time will tell.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

My thoughts on Baltimore's draft:

1.25 - Hayden Hurst - TE, South Carolina
1.32 - Lamar Jackson - QB, Louisville
3.19 - Orlando Brown - OT, Oklahoma
3.22 - Mark Andrews - TE, Oklahoma
4.18 - Anthony Averett - CB, Alabama

This draft screams transition years lol. They made a lot of moves in this draft but still didn't come away with much value. They passed up on a lot of good players that could have upgraded their defense. Drafting 2 TEs is a head scratcher. Hurst should instantly be able to help spark Flacco's passing game. Jackson will be an intriguing rookie to follow. We know how the team is getting disgruntled with Flacco. So should Flacco continue to stumble, the pressure will be on for Harbaugh to get Jackson involved. Orlando Brown was once projected in the 1st round, but his athleticism & upside were seen as VERY limited after his poor combine. Didn't know anything about Averett, but drafting CBs is never a bad idea even if its not a need.

My grade: C+

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

My thoughts on Cleveland's draft:

1.1 - Baker Mayfield - QB, Oklahoma
1.4 - Denzel Ward - CB, OSU
2.1 - Austin Corbett - OT, Nevada
2.3 - Nick Chubb - RB, Georgia
3.3 - Chad Thomas - DE, Miami
4.5 - Antonio Callaway - WR, Florida
5.13 - Genard Avery - LB, Memphis
6.1 - Damion Ratley - WR, Texas A&M
6.14 - Simeon Thomas - CB, Louisiana

Think I've already said this a few times but i'll reiterate. I like Mayfield as a player, but I do not think he's a good fit in the AFCN. His skills were already questionable to translate to success at the NFL level, so putting him in the cold-weather & tough defenses of the AFCN will put the odds against him. I do like his competitiveness & overall demeanor, which is something I don't think Cleveland has had at the QB position for a very long time, so he'll have a fighting chance to succeed. Ward is a good reactionary CB with good awareness & closing speed. If used correctly he should be a decent CB in the NFL. Corbett & Chubb have good upside to be serviceable starters. Thomas & Callaway are sneaky good picks. IIRC the Steelers were taking a good look at Avery. Overall they had a solid draft. I still struggle to give them a high grade considering the talent they passed up in the 1st Rd.

My grade: B-

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

My thoughts on Cincinnati's draft:

1.21 - Billy Price - C/G, OSU
2.22 - Jessie Bates - S, Wake Forest
3.77 - Sam Hubbard - DE, OSU
3.78 - Malik Jefferson - LB, Texas
4.112 - Mark Walton - RB, Miami (FL)
5.151 - Davontae Harris - CB, Illinois St
5.158 - Andrew Brown - DT, Virginia
5.170 - Darius Phillips - CB, Western Michigan
7.249 - Logan Woodside - QB, Toledo
7.252 - Rod Taylor - OL, Mississipi
7.253 - Auden Tate - WR, FSU

Once again Cincinnati was my favorite draft out of the AFCN. I think that's 2-3 years running now? Bengals have been very good at finding quality pieces on day 2 of the draft. Getting Bates, Hubbard & Jefferson was a homerun in my book. Everyone here should know by now my love for Bates. He should be a solid starter for them for many years. Hubbard should be able to push for a starting role this year. Jefferson is very raw, but he's definitely a Burfict clone (without the baggage). He's incredibly talented but needs some work to develop into a starter. Mark Walton is definitely Jeremy Hill's replacement. He should be a very serviceable player behind Mixon. Don't know enough about Harris or Phillips, but I like Andrew Brown. Never heard of Woodside or Taylor, but they could be valuable depth pieces. Auden Tate has good upside for a late 7th pick.

My grade: A-

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Recapping my AFCN grades:

BAL - C+
CLE - B-
CIN - A-
PIT - C-

 

[cincygrad]

It's interesting because a lot of Bengals fans seem frustrated by the draft. I think this frustration has more to do with the fact that Marvin doesn't get much impact out of rookies and we've had more than a few 'projects' that haven't worked out.

On paper, I think they made good moves. Now lets see how Marvin 'coaches them up.'

 

[ATL96Steeler]

My thoughts on Cincinnati's draft:

1.21 - Billy Price - C/G, OSU
2.22 - Jessie Bates - S, Wake Forest
3.77 - Sam Hubbard - DE, OSU
3.78 - Malik Jefferson - LB, Texas
4.112 - Mark Walton - RB, Miami (FL)
5.151 - Davontae Harris - CB, Illinois St
5.158 - Andrew Brown - DT, Virginia
5.170 - Darius Phillips - CB, Western Michigan
7.249 - Logan Woodside - QB, Toledo
7.252 - Rod Taylor - OL, Mississipi
7.253 - Auden Tate - WR, FSU

Once again Cincinnati was my favorite draft out of the AFCN. I think that's 2-3 years running now? Bengals have been very good at finding quality pieces on day 2 of the draft. Getting Bates, Hubbard & Jefferson was a homerun in my book. Everyone here should know by now my love for Bates. He should be a solid starter for them for many years. Hubbard should be able to push for a starting role this year. Jefferson is very raw, but he's definitely a Burfict clone (without the baggage). He's incredibly talented but needs some work to develop into a starter. Mark Walton is definitely Jeremy Hill's replacement. He should be a very serviceable player behind Mixon. Don't know enough about Harris or Phillips, but I like Andrew Brown. Never heard of Woodside or Taylor, but they could be valuable depth pieces. Auden Tate has good upside for a late 7th pick.

My grade: A-

Best draft in the DIV on paper...I'm not as high on the two 3rd round picks, but both were mentioned as potential 2nd rounders....obviously we liked Bates a lot.

Even with the 1 yr real with the fragile TE, Eifert, I thought at least one pick would go there.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

My thoughts on Cleveland's draft:

1.1 - Baker Mayfield - QB, Oklahoma
1.4 - Denzel Ward - CB, OSU
2.1 - Austin Corbett - OT, Nevada
2.3 - Nick Chubb - RB, Georgia
3.3 - Chad Thomas - DE, Miami
4.5 - Antonio Callaway - WR, Florida
5.13 - Genard Avery - LB, Memphis
6.1 - Damion Ratley - WR, Texas A&M
6.14 - Simeon Thomas - CB, Louisiana

Think I've already said this a few times but i'll reiterate. I like Mayfield as a player, but I do not think he's a good fit in the AFCN. His skills were already questionable to translate to success at the NFL level, so putting him in the cold-weather & tough defenses of the AFCN will put the odds against him. I do like his competitiveness & overall demeanor, which is something I don't think Cleveland has had at the QB position for a very long time, so he'll have a fighting chance to succeed. Ward is a good reactionary CB with good awareness & closing speed. If used correctly he should be a decent CB in the NFL. Corbett & Chubb have good upside to be serviceable starters. Thomas & Callaway are sneaky good picks. IIRC the Steelers were taking a good look at Avery. Overall they had a solid draft. I still struggle to give them a high grade considering the talent they passed up in the 1st Rd.

My grade: B-

I don't like the top of their draft, but both should be day one starters. Passing on the DE Chubb imo was a mistake, but imo puts a lot of pressure on the Thomas pick. Ogbah is closer to solid than good. Adding another edge beast would've been my direction.

Chubb, RB...I do like, a kid you can root for, but the UGA RB he's likely taking over for, Crowell was not a bad player, Chubb has more power, but I don't know if his production will be much better than Crowell.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

It's interesting because a lot of Bengals fans seem frustrated by the draft. I think this frustration has more to do with the fact that Marvin doesn't get much impact out of rookies and we've had more than a few 'projects' that haven't worked out.

On paper, I think they made good moves. Now lets see how Marvin 'coaches them up.'

It's a lot easier to grade looking from the outside in. Naturally I tend to be a lot more critical of the Steelers, but I feel like I have a fair understanding of the division teams. But for the Cincy draft i think it had a little more to do with "want" vs "need". The players they drafted were ones that I wanted badly. But in terms of their needs I still think they graded out equally.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Best draft in the DIV on paper...I'm not as high on the two 3rd round picks, but both were mentioned as potential 2nd rounders....obviously we liked Bates a lot.

Even with the 1 yr real with the fragile TE, Eifert, I thought at least one pick would go there.

I think TE Kroft earned the starting position last year. He & Uzomah have proven to work in that system, albeit with some inconsistencies. I think Kroft is a sleeper for next year's fantasy football season.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

My thoughts on Baltimore's draft:

1.25 - Hayden Hurst - TE, South Carolina
1.32 - Lamar Jackson - QB, Louisville
3.19 - Orlando Brown - OT, Oklahoma
3.22 - Mark Andrews - TE, Oklahoma
4.18 - Anthony Averett - CB, Alabama

This draft screams transition years lol. They made a lot of moves in this draft but still didn't come away with much value. They passed up on a lot of good players that could have upgraded their defense. Drafting 2 TEs is a head scratcher. Hurst should instantly be able to help spark Flacco's passing game. Jackson will be an intriguing rookie to follow. We know how the team is getting disgruntled with Flacco. So should Flacco continue to stumble, the pressure will be on for Harbaugh to get Jackson involved. Orlando Brown was once projected in the 1st round, but his athleticism & upside were seen as VERY limited after his poor combine. Didn't know anything about Averett, but drafting CBs is never a bad idea even if its not a need.

My grade: C+

More sizzle than substance I thought at the top for the moves they made...like Hurst, and Brown, doubling down on TE I didn't get that.

Jackson...2019 before we see much of him unless BAl is knocked of the playoff picture early...like some of what this kid can do, but I need to see him do it before I can buy in on him as a pro.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

All the headlines in Balt this week are about Flacco still not contacting Jackson or reaching out to him in any way. I hope Joe never contacts Jackson, it will make a nice season long distraction!!!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Holy shit! Dude looks like a refrigerator... What are they putting in the water over there @cincygrad ? Did they have to widen the door frames at the practice facility?

 

[cincygrad]

Holy shit! Hope he hasn't had to pee in a cup lately.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Holy shit! Hope he hasn't had to pee in a cup lately.

I'm sure once that pic surfaced he received a "random" test in the mail.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Holy shit! Dude looks like a refrigerator... What are they putting in the water over there @cincygrad ? Did they have to widen the door frames at the practice facility?

WTF?

I'm a Lawson fan, but his freakin arms look like tree trunks...yeah he might need some "down" time.

 

[cincygrad]

 

[cincygrad]

To be fair, he's always been a bit of a monster. Though, he might be taking it to ridiculous levels.

If last year was a preview of what he can be as an NFL player, the Bengals got super lucky to grab him when they did. Not often that a guy from a power program gets missed on this badly.