AFC North | AFC South | AFC East | AFC West | NFC North | NFC South | NFC East | NFC West
A thorough assessment of a team’s draft can’t truly be reached for another three years or so. That said, with tighter rosters and larger rookie contracts, a successful draft must yield at least some immediate help. With that in mind, here’s a look at how AFC North teams fared over the weekend—both from a big-picture NFL standpoint as well as a fantasy perspective—taking into account how key needs were (or weren’t) addressed and the impact potential of the players acquired.
Baltimore Ravens
The run-first Ravens traded up when OT Michael Oher slid down the board to them, and in rounds two and five they addressed depth needs at linebacker with OLB Paul Kruger and ILB Jason Phillips. CB Lardarius Webb has the kind of speed and playmaking ability the Ravens love in their secondary, and both he and sixth-round pick RB Cedric Peerman can contribute in the running game. TE Davon Drew joins a mix that includes Todd Heap and L.J. Smith, who between them are good for at least a half-dozen DNPs a season. With Derrick Mason getting on in years and Mark Clayton showing flashes of first-round talent but no real consistency, a wide receiver was definitely on Baltimore’s wish list; failure to address that position is their only glaring error on draft day—though the post-draft signing of undrafted free agent Eron Riley from Duke offers hope.
Fantasy nugget: Few coordinators know how to use their running backs in the passing game quite like Cam Cameron. To that end, Peerman could carve out that niche in the offense should Ray Rice falter or be pressed into feature-back duty due to Willis McGahee problems.
You must be a Huddle Member to continue reading this article or feature.
|
|