Draft Grades - AFC North: Browns fill multiple voids; Bengals lack of risk backfires
With the 2016 NFL Draft officially complete, theScore's NFL editors hand out their initial grades for how teams fared during all seven rounds.
NFC
EAST | NORTH | SOUTH | WEST
AFC
EAST | NORTH | SOUTH | WEST
Cincinnati Bengals
| Rd. | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | CB William Jackson |
| 2 | WR Tyler Boyd |
| 3 | LB Nick Vigil |
| 4 | DT Andrew Billings |
| 5 | G Christian Westerman |
| 6 | WR Cody Core |
| 7 | S Clayton Fejedelem |
Cincinnati played it relatively safe, addressing a couple of needs during this year's draft. William Jackson will feature in nickel packages and will push Dre Kirkpatrick in competition for the team's left cornerback spot, but it may constitute a reach for a player that could solely end up in sub-packages in 2016. Andrew Billings represents excellent value for the draft slot and will benefit from the tutelage of standout defensive tackle Geno Atkins. However, the rest of the Bengals picks are relatively uninspiring and the team may regret not taking a few more calculated risks.
Grade: C
Pittsburgh Steelers
| Rd. | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | CB Artie Burns |
| 2 | S Sean Davis |
| 3 | DL Javon Hargrave |
| 4 | OT Jerald Hawkins |
| 6 | LB Travis Feeney |
| 7 | WR Demarcus Ayers |
| 7 | LB Tyler Matakevich |
The Steelers addressed their rampant woes at secondary by taking Artie Burns and Sean Davis in consecutive rounds. Burns possesses world-class speed, but there's some concern about whether he's physically ready for the NFL. Pittsburgh found excellent value at linebacker on Day 3 as Travis Feeney and Tyler Matakevich inexplicably slid to the bottom two rounds of the draft. It appears that the Steelers developed a coherent strategy based around taking the fastest players available and the philosophy could pay off with teams electing to use four and five-wide receiver sets with increased frequency.
Grade: B-
Cleveland Browns
| Rd. | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | WR Corey Coleman |
| 2 | DE Emmanuel Ogbah |
| 3 | DE Carl Nassib |
| 3 | OT Shon Coleman |
| 3 | QB Cody Kessler |
| 4 | LB Joe Schobert |
| 4 | WR Ricardo Louis |
| 4 | S Derrick Kindred |
| 4 | WR Seth DeValve |
| 5 | WR Jordan Payton |
| 5 | G Spencer Drango |
| 5 | WR Rashard Higgins |
| 5 | DB Trey Caldwell |
| 7 | LB Scooby Wright III |
The Browns accumulated a wealth of picks to fill in a myriad of voids, and leave the weekend a much better team than they were Thursday. Emmanuel Ogbah and Carl Nassib will immediately step in and elevate a unit that ranked 28th in sacks last season, while Rashard Higgins is one of the best value picks of the entire draft. Although the Browns lost Mitchell Schwartz and Alex Mack in free agency, the Browns can shift Joel Bitonio down the line as Shon Coleman will be a viable Week One starter. Scooby Wright would've been a top-50 pick if he didn't suffer a knee injury early last season, and may crack the starting lineup by 2017. Cleveland's new regime is off to an excellent start.
Grade: A-
Baltimore Ravens
| Rd. | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | OT Ronnie Stanley |
| 2 | LB Kamalei Correa |
| 3 | DE Bronson Kaufusi |
| 4 | CB Tavon Young |
| 4 | WR Chris Moore |
| 4 | OT Chris Lewis |
| 4 | DT Willie Henry |
| 4 | RB Kenneth Dixon |
| 5 | DE Matt Judon |
| 6 | WR Keenan Reynolds |
| 6 | CB Maurice Canady |
Baltimore insists that Ronnie Stanley was the player they wanted all along, but that could be posturing on its behalf, as Laremy Tunsil's stock dropped due to the now-infamous bong hit video. Stanley will immediately start at offensive tackle, but there's some wonder if the pick could be allocated elsewhere. Although the Ravens accrued a number of picks, few inspire confidence, and while Keenan Reynolds is arguably the feel-good story of the draft, he may have to serve his naval commitment. The Ravens failed to alleviate a number of their woes, and didn't make up much ground on the rest of their divisional rivals.
Grade: C+