2024 NFL Draft Grades: AFC North
Let’s have a talk. Just you and me. The 2024 NFL Draft is in the books. You can make the choice now. You can choose to read other people’s draft grades. You know, the grades where you get lied to and nobody has the balls to hand out anything lower than a C for any of the teams. OR you can read mine where I tell the truth. The choice is yours.
By the way, how come nobody grades Mel Kiper’s draft grades after the fact? I’ll happily stack up my resume compared to anybody else out there. It’s not a battle they will win based on past evidence. We’re moving to the AFC North next. Let’s do this thing.
Baltimore Ravens: Grade C+
- Round 1, Pick 30: Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson
- Round 2, Pick 62: Roger Rosengarten, OT, Washington
- Round 3, Pick 93: Adisa Isaac, Edge, Penn State
- Round 4, Pick 113: Devontez Walker, WR, North Carolina
- Round 4, Pick 130: T.J. Tampa, CB, Iowa State
- Round 5, Pick 165: Rasheen Ali, RB, Marshall
- Round 6, Pick 218: Devin Leary, QB, Kentucky
- Round 7, Pick 228: Nick Samac, OL, Michigan State
- Round 7, Pick 250: Sanoussi Kane, S, Purdue
They got off to such a hot start. Landing Nate Wiggins at pick 30 is awesome value. I’m pretty positive he was there 0% of the time when I did the mock draft simulator videos. Just fabulous work sitting there and getting him at 30. This team really needed another corner too.
Except they ended up getting two good corners. TJ Tampa at the end of the 4th is really good value. They upgraded at corner big time and that was a huge area of need for them.
I just can’t get on board with basically anything else that they did. Roger Rosengarten may turn into a quality right tackle. I did think they passed on better options though. Adisa Isaac, I’m not a huge fan of. Just don’t think he’s a good enough athlete to pan out. They really needed pass rushers and if this is the only guy you’re coming away with, they’re in trouble.
Just a lot of throwing picks down the toilet. Something Eric DeCosta is really good at. Devin Leary… like WTF was that? Was he trying to replicate Trace McSorley? Not sure where Rasheen Ali fits on a roster that has Derrick Henry, Keaton Mitchell, and Justice Hill. He’s fine but I don’t think that was a smart use of their resources. Especially when you look at other teams getting better players at the position that went undrafted.
The Tez Walker pick was cool but he can’t catch so I’m sure that fit next to bimbo Lamar will be great!
Cincinnati Bengals: Grade A
Round 1, Pick 18: Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia
Round 2, Pick 49: Kris Jenkins, DL, Michigan
Round 3, Pick 80: Jermaine Burton, WR, Alabama
Round 3, Pick 97: McKinnley Jackson, DL, Texas A&M
Round 4, Pick 115: Erick All, TE, Iowa
Round 5, Pick 149: Josh Newton, CB, TCU
Round 6, Pick 194: Tanner McLachlan, TE, Arizona
Round 6, Pick 214: Cedric Johnson, Edge, Ole Miss
Round 7, Pick 224: Daijahn Anthony, S, Ole Miss
Round 7, Pick 237: Matt Lee, OL, Miami
Put in your Bengals Super Bowl tickets now. I’m not even kidding. I’ve been critical of Mike Brown in the past. Good luck getting Mike Brown to do something he doesn’t want to do. Everybody’s phones were online during the draft. Except for Mike Brown. He doesn’t trade and does not care. It is what it is.
This year, his approach worked because players just kept falling in his lap over and over. Not going to give him an A+ just because some of these picks probably won’t work. Jermaine Burton is a knucklehead and I thought that was too high to take him. Especially when Charlie Jones will handle the slot role. All the Iowa tight end is constantly hurt and the Arizona tight end just isn’t good. Minus that stuff, the Bengals knocks this out of the park.
To get that freak Amarius Mims at 18 is a steal. That’s just a product of how many quarterbacks went early. Plugging Mims on that offensive line with the weapons they already have is scary. Then you come away with Jenkins and Jackson at defensive tackle. While already having Trey Hendrickson on the edge? Great work there. Those two bulldogs are going to help a lot. I really like snagging Josh Newton too.
Send in the tickets. Things are set up for Cincy to be really good in 2024.
Cleveland Browns: Grade D
Round 2, Pick 54: Michael Hall Jr., DL, Ohio State
Round 3, Pick 85: Zak Zinter, OL, Michigan
Round 5, Pick 156: Jamari Thrash, WR, Louisville
Round 6, Pick 206: Nathaniel Watson, LB, Mississippi State
Round 7, Pick 227: Myles Harden, CB, South Dakota
Round 7, Pick 243: Jowon Briggs, DL, Cincinnati
Hard to go higher when you threw picks down the toilet in the Deshaun Watson trade. That trade finally concludes this year. In reality, this draft is going to be decided by Michael Hall. I like the player but how much of a needle mover is he? He’s undersized and may be a rotational guy for a while.
I do actually like some of the middle round picks. Count me in for Zinter, Thrash, and Watson. Just not sure it’s enough when you’re missing so many picks. I think they salvaged it enough from being an F but it’s hard to come away with gold working with scraps. Might be some scraps that help but can’t see how this class becomes a game changer for the franchise.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Grade A-
Round 1, Pick 20: Troy Fautanu, OL, Washington
Round 2, Pick 51: Zach Frazier, C, West Virginia
Round 3, Pick 84: Roman Wilson, WR, Michigan
Round 3, Pick 98: Payton Wilson, LB, NC State
Round 4, Pick 119: Mason McCormick, OL, South Dakota State
Round 6, Pick 178: Logan Lee, DL, Iowa
Round 6, Pick 195: Ryan Watts, CB, Texas
Omar Khan is building a reputation. He’s smart and proved so last year. This class this year is damn good too. I can’t quite go A+ but it’s close. Mostly because they missed on the high end tackles. Fautanu isn’t a bad consolation prize but he’s on the older side and might have to be a guard. Thus, I’m not sold they fixed the long term tackle issue.
Still, the offensive line got way better. Frazier should really help them at center. Former wrestler who gets it. Moves well in the lower half. Again, I’m maybe nitpicking here but I think you could have done more damage with the Mason McCormick pick but the way they improved this offensive line can’t be ignored.
With that said, I’m not sure they made a glaring mistake the entire draft. How about the third round where they snagged Roman Wilson and Payton Wilson? Just solid work there. More so with the linebacker part. This is the first time in a long time Pittsburgh has real linebackers.
Even the 6th round picks they deserve credit. I don’t know who needs to hear this but Lee and Watts are going to be great depth pieces for this team.
Credit to Pittsburgh. They did really well.
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