AFC North Draft Stereotypes

It’s nearly Draft Day.  Or, as it’s become, Draft Week.

Our AFC North squads have surely done their respective research and are ready to not take the vacc-

Sorry.  They are ready to DRAFT THEIR PREFERRED PLAYERS.

Over the years, some narratives have formed regarding the draft practices and handling of rookie/first contract personnel by our beloved AFC North teams.  As with most rumors/insults/aspersions, there’s a grain of truth to each.  It’s certainly worth noting that such claims are usually generated by opposing fans, so one has to expect a hefty degree of hyperbole and exaggeration.

But again, a grain of truth.

Here’s some old/new tropes to ponder while we wait for the draft to begin.  Enjoy.

“The Ravens are unable to draft good wide receivers.”

Source: Empirical evidence, trolls

This one’s really kind of a no-brainer, because, for the first 15 years of the organization’s existence in Baltimore, they really couldn’t draft wideouts successfully.  It wasn’t for lack of trying; since their inception in 1996, the team has drafted wideouts in the first three rounds 12 times.  Of those 12, two are with the team currently (Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman), one is on the Chiefs’ roster (Marquise Brown), and one’s with the Bears (Devin Duvernay). All four were drafted in 2019 or after.

It’s safe to say the Ravens’ draft track record at the position prior to 2019 merited a degree of scorn.

The scattered career wastelands of Breshad Perriman, Mark Clayton Jr., Patrick Johnson, Miles Boykin, Travis Taylor and Yamon Figurs formed a gaping chasm in the Ravens’ otherwise very good draft history at nearly every other position.  The lone exception during those years was nabbing WR Torrey Smith in the second round of the 2011 draft; Smith became a key component on the 2012 Super Bowl winner and produced the first 1,000-yard receiving season by a drafted WR in franchise history.

He was off the roster by 2015.

“The Steelers draft nothing but linebackers.”

Source: Trolls

Hate to burst a mildly amusing take’s bubble, but the Steelers are no more likely to draft linebackers than any other franchise.

A review of their draft history shows that while they generally drafted LBs every year, many of those were late-rounders who never saw the field.  The ones they DID retain reflected some real acumen.  For instance, from 1999 to 2009, the Steelers picked up 12 LBs; six of them wound up starting at various points, and four made multiple Pro Bowls.  No Steelers fan will ever quibble about the unheralded pickups of guys like Larry Foote (fourth round, 2002) or Clark Haggans (fifth round, 2000), which gave rise to the notion that the Steelers were just better at evaluating LBs than most teams.

Quality, not quantity.

“The Browns always select busts at quarterback.”

Source: Mostly empirical evidence, some trolling

Well…yeah.

Since their “return” to the NFL in 1999, the Browns have, fairly or not, been pretty terrible at drafting the game’s most important position.  1999’s pickup of Kentucky’s Tim Couch, the consensus best player in the country, was an obvious move, but the “new” Browns had no semblance of a decent offensive line to protect him.  The results were almost expected: Couch was mercilessly beaten and tossed about by opposing defenses and was out of the NFL by 2004.  The long list of failed QBs since need not be repeated here (Spergon Wynn, anyone?).

The 2018 selection of Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield brought an unceremonious end to the futility.  Despite his questionable treatment by the Browns, Mayfield, who’s currently ensconced as the Buccaneers’ starting QB, recently celebrated his 30th birthday and seems happy and comfortable.

And no, he’s NOT a bust.

“The Bengals never sign rookies to second contracts.”

Source:  Empirical evidence

I don’t want to pile on the Bengals here, because they’ve drafted some excellent front-line players in recent years.

But they’ve also drafted some real duds, and they seem to produce more castoffs than most NFL teams routinely do.

Take a look at their draft history, and one things jumps out, at least to me: the lack of depth.  The team has made efforts, in varying degrees, to retain their stars, and they generally do – but often at the detriment of the rest of the roster.  Owner Mike Brown has often carried the label of “the cheapest man in the NFL”, and not without reason; their current predicament in trying to re-sign the current NFL sack leader (DE Trey Hendrickson) could’ve been avoided with more careful roster management and contract extensions.  This is far from the first time the team has done this – just ask (disgruntled) former QB Carson Palmer about the team’s willingness to spend money throughout the roster.

If this trend holds, most of the rookies they will draft this year, if not all, will not be on the Bengals roster in five years.

Here’s to the draft.  May your team get what it needs.

Next time.