2023 NFL DRAFT GRADES: AFC NORTH

BY ADAM GREENE

Our draft grade journey enters the center of the country as we target the AFC North. It happens to be the home of the only team that’s been able to seriously compete with the Kansas City Chiefs the last two seasons — the Cincinnati Bengals. As I’m prone to saying regarding the national media’s attentions and unabashed favorites, the Bengals are the Buffalo Bills you’ve been waiting for.

And they got better, no question, as did every team in the AFC North. No one blew it and I gave some solid grades all around.

Once again, the ground rules are that, without a first round pick, it is impossible to get an “A” grade of any kind. Secondly, outside of the quarterback position, a team must be looking for guys who can start immediately, even if they don’t need them to immediately start, when picking in the first three rounds. The reason that QB is the exception is, most of the time, a team has to reach for one. At most, in any draft, there are two that appear to be sure fire NFL starters. Everything else is a guess and our draft last weekend was no exception.

BALTIMORE RAVENS

Odds to win the Super Bowl: +1800

The Haul: Round 1: Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College, Round 3: Trenton Simpson, LB, Clemson, Round 4: Tavius Robinson, Edge, Ole Miss, Round 5: Kyu Blu Kelly, CB, Stanford, Round 6: Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, OL, Oregon, Round 7: Andrew Vorhees, OG, USC

The Ravens are consistently one of the best drafting teams in the NFL, which is why they’ve been in contention pretty much since Y2K was a thing (ask your parents about that). Still, I’m not nuts about this draft. I wasn’t nearly as high on Zay Flowers as the rest of NFL punditry, placing him seventh on my list of Top 10 wideouts heading into the draft. I still liked him and felt, in the second round, he would be an ideal fit for any team. In the first, it seems a little high, but as draft day grew closer, the love for Flowers seemed to grow exponentially. He’s certainly a starter and, as we’ve discussed, if that’s the worst you can say about a guy you grab in the first three rounds, you’ve definitely done your job.

They traded away their second round pick Roquan Smith from the Bears midseason. Considering that Smith, between the two teams, recorded 169 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 11 tackles for a loss, that’s a solid return on a second rounder. Trenton Smith was my fifth ranked linebacker and they nabbed him in the third, so that was some great value. Tavuys Robinson in the fourth is a guy that should contribute right away, but the pick I really like is (and I’m sorry for every Ravens beat writer who has to learn this name) Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu from Oregon in the sixth who posted a 77.0 grade from Pro Football Focus and allowed just three sacks over the last two seasons in the Pac-12.

Grade: B+ (A if you factor in the Smith trade)

CINCINNATI BENGALS

Odds to win the Super Bowl: +950

The Haul: Round 1: Myles Murphy, Edge, Clemson, Round 2: DJ Turner II, CB, Michigan, Round 3: Jordan Battle, Safety, Alabama, Round 4: Charlie Jones, WR, Purdue, Round 5: Chase Brown, RB, Illinois, Round 6: Andrei Iosivas, WR Princeton, Round 6: Brad Robbins, Punter, Michigan, Round 7: DJ Ivey, DB, Miami

To grab Myles Murphy out of Clemson when they did, literally my fourth ranked edge rusher coming into the draft, is nothing short of a coup. Cincinnati has worked diligently over the last two seasons to build up the weaknesses on their team so this year they could actually go with the best players available on their board, which is good because Cincy is going to be picking late in the first for a while as long as Joe Burrow is their quarterback. DJ Turner II didn’t make my Top 10 cornerbacks list, but it’s not because he’s not a great pick, especially in the second round. There were so many quality corners in this draft, I just had to pare it down. The kid was a two year starter for Michigan, was a key player in back to back College Football Playoff appearances and scored a 77.4 grade from Pro Football focus. He allowed a 68.3 passer rating in 2022 and an even lower 54.8 in 2021. He can play.

Grabbing Jordan Battle, who was my third ranked safety heading into the NFL’s Annual Amateur Player Selection Meeting was larcenous. Especially since the team lost both Jesse Bates and Vonn Bell in free agency this past offseason. Paring Battle with free agent acquisition Nick Scott from the Los Angeles Rams might not be a push for what they lost out of the gate, but in a season or so, they won’t miss either guy that walked. I’m very intrigued by the Charlie Jones pick in Round 4. Cincy is loaded at wide receiver at the moment, but as guys get paid, not everyone is going to get to stay. Jones had freakish production for the Boilermakers in 2022, catching 110 passes for 1,361 yards and 12 touchdowns against a Big Ten schedule. He’s 6-0 and 188 pounds and, while you never want to compare a fourth rounder to an NFL superstar, trying to find a Cooper Kupp on Day Three isn’t the worst idea. Especially since Kupp himself was a third round pick.

Grade: B+

CLEVELAND BROWNS

Odds to win the Super Bowl: +4500

The Haul: Round 3: Cedric Tillman, WR, Tennessee, Round 3: Siaki Ika, DT, Baylor, Round 4: Dawand Jones, OT, Ohio State, Round 4: Isaiah McGuire, DE, Missouri, Round 5: Dorian Thompson-Robinson, QB, UCLA, Round 5: Cameron Mitchell, CB, Northwestern, Round 6: Luke Wypler, Center, Ohio State

The fact that the Browns got any serious talent in this draft is nothing short of a miracle. Cedric Tillman, taken in Round 3, could have easily gone in Round 2 and the kid had a stellar season at Tennessee and aced the combine. As I mentioned at the start, the goal with picks in Rounds 1-3 are to get starters. Siaki Ika looks like a prototype nose tackle, who delivered the good last season with Baylor and landed a 74.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. He had 15 quarterback hurries last season and 24 in 2021.  

Outside of the third round, Cleveland played it safe. They took players from Power 5 schools that came in as big time recruits and, in the case of Ohio State, played with and against some of the best college football players on the planet. Dawand Jones gave up all of zero sacks in 2022 and finished with an 82.1 PFF Grade. If he doesn’t start this season, he’ll work his way onto the offensive line in the next two. Dorian Thompson-Robinson was a guy plenty of punditry had going in the third round, spoken of in the same breath as Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker and the Browns nabbed him in the fourth. And, in the seventh, Luke Wypler, much like his teammate Cleveland took earlier in the day, put up an elite PFF score of 82.5 and allowed just one sack in three seasons starting for the Buckeyes.

Grade: B-

PITTSBURGH STEELERS

Odds to win the Super Bowl: +6600

The Haul: Round 1: Broderick Jones, OT, Georgia, Round 2: Joey Porter, Jr., CB, Penn State, Round 2: Keeanu Benton, DT, Wisconsin, Round 3: Darnell Washington, TE, Georgia, Round 4: Nick Herbig, LB, Wisconsin, Round 7: Cory Trice, Jr., CB, Purdue, Round 7: Spencer Anderson, OG, Maryland

It’s a whole new era for the Pittsburgh Steelers who made a rare trade up in the first round to ensure they’d get Broderick Jones to keep Kenny Pickett upright as a Day One starter. The trade didn’t matter, because the guy every single yinzer on the planet wanted to add in the first round, the Steelers stole in the second as Joey Porter, Jr. dropped down the draft board and right onto the team I had him going to with their opening pick. Keeanu Benton had 36 tackles, 10 for a loss, 4.5 sacks and two passes defended for Wisconsin last season and looks, at 6-4 and 317 pounds, every bit like a prototype Pittsburgh defensive lineman.

But as good as the first two rounds went for Pittsburgh, I could have never imagined that Darnell Washington would not only fall to the third, but land on a team that can deploy him in a two tight end set with Pat Freiermuth. If you think Steeler fans always fall in love with one star tight end, wait until they have two on the same team. Williams is a physical freak at 6-7 and 265 pounds and was my third highest rated tight end in this draft class. The guy that really excites me that I missed on my radar heading into draft is Nick Herbig. He’s undersized for an edge rusher at 6-2 and 227 pounds, but for Wisconsin last season, TJ (and JJ) Watt’s old stomping grounds, he recorded 47 tackles, 15.5 tackles for a loss and 11 sacks. That was after a 61 tackle, 14.5 tackle for a loss and nine sack sophomore campaign. Producing half that as a situational edge rusher in the NFL will net a man an 8-9 year career and a very fat bank account. And they grabbed him in the fourth.

Grade: A+

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