AFC North Draft Grades

Cincinnati Bengals Draft Grade 2020 & Draft Class

Cincinnati Bengals Draft Grade 2020

You really can’t go wrong with Joe Burrow at the number one spot. Fresh off the greatest season in NCAA history, he will make an immediate impact and has a bright future ahead of him.

They followed up their no-brainer 1st overall pick with another weapon in Tee Higgins. They have an extremely deep and talented WR core, but they have been plagued by injuries all across the board. There were a couple of WRs that I preferred over Higgins, but that would be nitpicking.

That leaves their main weakness up from on defense so they followed up by drafting 2 solid prospects at linebacker. I think they drafted Akeem Davis-Gaither at a much better value, but Logan Wilson is a great pick as well. Khalid Kareem also helps up front as a proven edge rusher.

Pittsburgh Steelers Draft Grade 2020 & Draft Class

Pittsburgh Steelers Draft Grade 2020

This makes the 4th season in a row in which the Steelers spent either a 2nd or 3rd round pick on a Wide Receiver. They hit on Juju, whiffed on James Washington and Diontae Johnson is to be determined. Chase Claypool is a physical freak who rose on the draft boards after the combine, but is still very raw. I don’t believe he is anywhere near polished enough as a route runner to make a big splash in his rookie year.

I think Claypool was actually their best pick of the draft. Alex Highsmith and Anthony Mcfarland both seem like boom or bust guys with the latter most likely. Highsmith produced in college, but is very undersized for the NFL level. Mcfarland will be the fastest running back for the Steelers, but has yet to prove he can handle a full workload. At best he will become a 5-10 touch per game back.

Interior lineman Kevin Dotson was drafted at a solid value, but is already 24 years old and is limited athletically.

Cleveland Browns Draft Grade 2020 & Draft Class

Cleveland Browns Draft Grade 2020

I think everyone was a year early on the Browns hype. While I think they are far from a Super Bowl winning team, I think this might be the season they sneak into the playoffs as I mentioned in my NFL Power Rankings.

Every scout seemed to have 4 offensive lineman in the draft essentially side by side in terms of potential and Jedrick Wills was one of them. This Browns offense is loaded with talent, but their offensive line was the clear weakness. Jedrick Wills is an immediate difference maker. Interior lineman Nick Harris was also drafted with the 160th pick of the draft and I think they drafted him at a tremendous value.

Addressing their defensive needs was also addressed. Grant Delpit and Jordan Elliott were both great picks who can step in as a starter in their rookie year. Their pick of Jacob Phillips is one that I think they could have gone without because he is very limited athletically.

Baltimore Ravens Draft Grade 2020 & Draft Class

Baltimore Ravens Draft Grade 2020

Patrick Queen with the 28th pick is an A+ pick. In my mind he should have been the first linebacker off the board. For a Super Bowl contending team to get him late in the first speaks lengths for the deep draft class.

I love J.K. Dobbins as a player, but I wasn’t a big fan of the landing spot. This pick tells me that they are giving up on Justice Hill and Gus Edwards. It will be interesting to see what kind of workload he gets as I can’t see him overcoming Mark Ingram as the starter.

My 2nd favorite pick of their draft was Devin Duvernay. In any other draft class he is one of the first couple Wide Receivers taken off the board. He is a physical freak who I could see winning the starting spot in the slot over Snead by the end of the season.

Most of the rest of their picks this draft was addressing the run game either offensively or defensively. They grabbed two average values up front with Ben Bredeson and Tyre Phillips, but neither will live up to recently retired Marshall Yanda.

Their attempt to fill the void in the defensive run game was addressed with Justin Madubuike and Malik Harrison. I can’t nitpick because they are both average prospects drafted at a decent value.

For more than the AFC North Draft Grades:
AFC East Draft Grades
NFC East Draft Grades
AFC West Draft Grades
NFC West Draft Grades
AFC South Draft Grades
NFC South Draft Grades
NFC North Draft Grades