Pittsburgh Steelers
Last Season’s Record: 11-5
Positional Needs: LB, S, WR, QB
For many teams making it to their conference’s respective championship game means they had a successful season; however, for the Steelers this means they fell short of their goal. The offense was lethal throughout the year and should look to be even better next year assuming Martavis Bryant can stay clean. The Steelers have a Hall of Fame QB completing passes to arguably the best WR in the game and handing off to arguably the best RB in the league who runs behind one of the better offensive lines in the league. In the NFL today, having a good offense is more important than ever. You need to be able to score points when necessary and keep the ball out of the opposing team’s hands.
As good as the Steelers’ offense is, their defense still holds them back. After making some noticeable progress between 2015 and 2016 defensively, their defense is still the weaker unit of the two. With young talent getting more experience by the day, the defense may no longer be a cause for concern much longer. Even with a good run and with a team that looks poised to be back in the playoffs for the next few seasons, they have areas that could still use an upgrade.
For starters, Big Ben made it known this year that he only has a few short years left in him before he hands the reigns over to someone else. Drafting a backup QB with starting potential in the later rounds of this draft is one of the bigger issues the Steelers need to address. Another WR that can command some defensive attention opposite of Antonio Brown is another concern. Marcus Wheaton has never blossomed into the player the coaching staff was hoping and Sammie Coates is only a poor man’s Martavis Bryant. Now, if Bryant can revert back to 2015 form and stays away from the green then this need will not be as big as it currently seems. TE is a spot the Steelers could use an upgrade at, but I don’t see the Steelers reaching for one early.
With Timmons leaving, the Steelers could use another ILB to pair with Ryan Shazier. OLB is much the same as Bud Dupree looks to be a future defensive-player-of-the-year but needs someone opposite him. The secondary is loaded with early round selections that simply need more time to blossom into the unit they are expected to be. The Steelers will focus on LB more than the secondary but might take a DE or 2 as well since rushing the QB is still something they struggle with at times.
Baltimore Ravens
Last Season’s Record: 8-8
Positional Needs: LB, WR, CB
The Ravens epitomize what AFC North football is all about. They have a stingy defense, run the ball down the opposing team’s throat, and hit them with a long ball every now and then. The only thing is that last season they weren’t quite at the level NFL fans are accustomed to seeing them at. While they have Joe Flacco they will always have an open invitation to the playoffs, but sometimes that just isn’t enough. Howling concerns at the WR position have left him with not much to work with and the RBBC (running back by committee) carousel they dealt with last year left this offense with much to be desired.
The defense has seen better days but, just like the Steelers’, it is a younger group that will need another season or 2 under their belt before they are back to typical form. Next year they will be back in the playoff hunt once again, but I don’t expect much improvement on their record, maybe another win will fall their way.
The biggest concern for the Ravens offensively has to be in the WR department. Steve Smith isn’t coming back, Breshad Perriman missed 2015 only to return in 2016 dinged up, and Mike Wallace has been bouncing around since he left the Steelers. Flacco needs a reliable deep threat to create openings for the running game which could also use a single back to step up and take control of that backfield.
The defense was much better than in 2015 but is still weak against the run. That starts with the linebackers; gone are the days where Ray Lewis imposed his will on the opposing running game. The Ravens need someone to replace Zach Orr who has announced his retirement after 3 NFL seasons due to lingering neck injuries and CJ Mosley can’t do it all himself. If they can land a solid core at LB and further solidify their secondary in some of the later rounds, the Ravens will be back in business.
Cincinnati Bengals
Last Season’s Record: 6-9-1
Positional Needs: OL, LB, WR
The Bengals suffered one of their more disappointing seasons in recent memory last year. A team that had made the playoffs a number of seasons in a row (without winning a game in the playoffs as well) missed them entirely with a poor record. This team looked poised to possibly win the division before the season, but suffered injuries that affected them mightily toward the middle. The Red Rifle came back to Earth after taking off during 2015 for a career season. Losing 2 of his better targets in Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones in the offseason was also a bigger impact than anyone could have guessed. He also lost AJ Green for a solid portion of time and started the season off without Tyler Eifert. The Bengals need to surround Dalton with better weapons to make this offense great again.
Defensively the Bengals looked to be solid before 2016 but really look to be a question heading into 2017. If they can piece together a defense that ranks toward the middle of the pack and they can find some weapons for the Rifle to fire at, then the Bengals can once again continue their regular season success that ends up dying out during the playoffs.
Besides Vontaze Burfict, the Bengals really don’t have anyone at the LB position anyone outside of Cincinnati knows. Burfict is also a liability for the Bengals as he has missed some time due to suspension over the last few seasons. They need a LB core that they can build around because their secondary is actually very strong.
Their O line holds them back as well; Andy Dalton got knocked around last year more than he had been recently and they have one of the better RB duos in the NFL between Gio Bernard and Jeremy Hill. As for the rest of the offense, as I have already said, Dalton needs someone he can throw to besides AJ Green and Tyler Eifert. They are arguably one of the best players at their respective positions, but when they are the only options for Dalton it can make getting them the ball difficult. Taking another stud WR has to be the top of their priority list during this draft.
Cleveland Browns
Last Season’s Record: 1-15
Positional Needs: Everything
And here we are, the red-headed stepchild of the NFL, the Cleveland Browns. If you didn’t know by now that the Browns were bad then you haven’t been walking and talking for very long, which further confuses me on how you are reading this now. Anyway, the Browns have sucked for a long time; they have been utterly terrible the last few years. They will continue to play poorly for, at the very least, the near future, and at this point I actually don’t think they would be able to beat Alabama in an exhibition.
The Browns were lucky enough not to become the 1st team to go winless since the 2008 Detroit Lions by winning their week 16 matchup against the Chargers, another team that is hopeless. They have seemingly adopted a new philosophy in trading away all of their talent in order to accumulate a bunch of draft picks that they may or may not use well; it is too soon to tell. If this ploy leads them to having a successful future then I think we may see other teams start to adapt the same strategy; my money is on all of this going down in flames though. Next season I don’t see them doing much better and unless the Chargers, Bears, or Jaguars take another step back, they are likely to wind up with the #1 draft pick in 2018 as well.
As for the draft itself, the Browns have acquired a bunch of draft picks so you will be hearing their name a lot if you decide to tune in. For comedic purposes I said that their position needs were all positions and I actually mean that, there is not 1 position I believe they are at least league average in. Anyone could try arguing that Isaiah Crowell was pretty good to which I would tell you that he will never perform at that level again, and he still wasn’t what I would consider “good”.
The Browns will be selecting players from numerous different positions during this draft and the next. You won’t see much activity in the free-agent market with them as that seems to be antagonistic to their current strategy. To all you Brown’s fans out there, stay strong. I feel your pain as I have been a Cubs fan my entire life and I can tell you that it will eventually get better. Also, don’t you dare sign Theo Epstein should he become available in 5 years.
