AFC NORTH
CINCINNATI BENGALS
Round 1 (1): QB Joe Burrow, LSU
Round 2 (33): WR Tee Higgins, Clemson
Round 3 (65): LB Logan Wilson, Wyoming
Round 4 (107): LB Akeem Davis-Gaither, App State
Round 5 (147): Edge Khalid Kareem, Notre Dame
Round 6 (180): T Hakeem Adenji, Kansas
Round 7 (215): LB Markus Bailey, Purdue
Day 1: Joe Burrow was an easy pick for the Bengals with the first overall selection. He was the best prospect in the class, coming in at first on the PFF Big Board, and he is coming off the best season at quarterback that we’ve seen since we started grading college games in 2014. His 94.1 passing grade in 2019 was over three points higher than any other qualifying SEC quarterback over these past six years, driven by outstanding accuracy to all levels of the field.
“He demolished college football in a way we’ve never seen before. Burrow is easily the most accurate quarterback we’ve ever scouted and looks NFL ready in every regard.” — PFF’s lead draft analyst Mike Renner
Day 2: There were all kinds of options available to Cincinnati at the top of the second round, and Tee Higgins at that selection makes a lot of sense, both as A.J. Green insurance and a piece that can add to the offense alongside him and Tyler Boyd. He has a monstrous catch radius, and made plenty of plays downfield. His 15 receptions of 20 or more yards downfield last season were the most in the class among Power 5 wide receivers. He also has more ability after the catch than you would expect for someone his size, with 10 or more broken tackles in each of the past two seasons.
We were lower on Logan Wilson than many, as he came in at 110th on our board, but the filling of a need is clear here. He showed at the Combine that he was athletic enough to be a three-down linebacker in the NFL, but the concern is how his game will translate as a coverage defender in the NFL. He earned grades above 80.0 in coverage in both 2018 and 2019, but he wasn’t asked to do much at Wyoming, particularly in the way of man coverage. The fact that Cincinnati has still yet to address the offensive line was surprising through two days.
Day 3: The two off-ball linebackers Cincinnati targeted on Day 3 are good athletes with injury concerns, but both could develop into formidable contributors for the team.
Davis-Gaither got the starting nod in the overhang role for App State back in 2018 in his redshirt junior season. He put on a show that year, earning an 83.6 run-defense grade and a 75.9 coverage grade while generating seven pass breakups. He added to his bag of tricks when he returned for his senior year and the coaching staff decided to deploy him as a blitz weapon. He rushed the passer 190 times this past season, registering 25 pressures and an 82.2 pass-rushing grade in the process. That high pass-rushing grade means those pressures were no fluke. Davis-Gaither was beating offensive tackles to rack up those bad boys, oftentimes in impressive fashion. He also built upon his excellent run-defense grade to earn an 87.1 this past season. All that adds up to one of the most well-rounded linebackers in college football.
With multiple ACL injuries over his career, Bailey's draft stock is in the hands of doctors now. He's one of the most productive and versatile linebackers in the class when healthy, though. He ranked inside the top-50 among qualifying off-ball linebackers in PFF grade in 2017 and 2018.
Draft Grade: A
CLEVELAND BROWNS
Round 1 (10): T Jedrick Wills, Alabama
Round 2 (44): S Grant Delpit, LSU
Round 3 (88): DI Jordan Elliott, Missouri
Round 3 (97): LB Jacob Phillips, LSU
Round 4 (115): TE Harrison Brant, FAU
Round 5 (160): IOL Nick Harris, Washington
Round 6 (187): WR Donovan Peoples-Jones, Michigan
Day 1: There were some concerns that there may be a run of tackles prior to the Browns’ selection, but they were left with their pick of the top options sans Andrew Thomas. Wills came in as PFF’s OT3 — and the 11th player overall on PFF’s Big Board — and he was the top tackle on a lot of boards out there, drawing a player comp to Lane Johnson in the PFF Draft Guide. He has special explosion and agility for someone that large and should be able to immediately make an impact in the run game after earning a 90.5 run-blocking grade with the Crimson Tide in 2019.
“His ability to crush a double team then take a linebacker for a ride is special for a college tackle prospect.” PFF’s lead draft analyst Mike Renner
Day 2: The Browns were able to pick up not one, not two, but three top-25 players on the PFF Big Board. Two of those players came at selections 44 and 88, which is a testament to the value Cleveland was able to get.
Delpit fell down boards largely due to his concerns as a tackler, but what he is able to do in coverage is special. He has tremendous instincts and ability to read and break on routes, he has smooth movement skills on the back end of a defense and he has the kind of length that can give bigger wide receivers or tight ends problems in the slot. That playmaking ability is apparent when flipping on the tape from his 2018 season when he recorded five interceptions and seven pass breakups.
Elliott was an even bigger steal in the third round. He has a solid combination of size and athleticism, and from a production standpoint, you can argue that no interior defender in this class has been better. Elliott has the highest overall grade of any interior defender in the class over the last two seasons. He is coming off a 2019 campaign in which he earned grades of 90.0 or higher as both a run defender and pass-rusher. Getting that kind of player — the 23rd-ranked player on the PFF Big Board — at No. 88 is tremendous value.
“He has all the makings of a player who can develop into a versatile starter with plenty of upside in the NFL.” – PFF senior writer Ben Linsey
As for Jacob Phillips, this looks like more of a reach than the other selections for the Browns, with guys like Troy Dye and Akeem Davis-Gaither still on the board at linebacker. From an athletic standpoint, Phillips has the explosion and burst that you like, but the change of direction ability isn’t quite there. That is something that’s likely to show up in coverage.
Day 3: Bryant isn't athletic enough to pass for a receiver and not strong enough to be a traditional tight end. Unless he transforms his body one way or another, he'll be in no man's land in the NFL. He did, however, improve his overall grade every year of his collegiate career and finished the pre-draft process inside the top-150 on PFF’s Big Board.
Harris ground out 2,921 snaps on the Huskies’ offensive line over the past four years. During his true freshman campaign in 2016, Harris saw four starts but was mostly rotated in at both left and right guard and earned just a 47.6 grade in pass protection. He was then moved to the starting role at right guard in 2017 and improved his pass-blocking grade to an average 63.3. He was moved to center after that, where he has thrived as a starter over the last two years. Harris improved in both pass protection and in run blocking, leading to a PFF overall grade that was among the 20 best FBS centers in both 2017 and 2018. If there’s a center you want playing out in space either in the running game or on screens, it’s Harris. The scary thing is that he’s just scratching the surface technique-wise.
The physical tools may be there from a testing perspective, but we never saw them consistently translate to separation down the football field with Peoples-Jones. Without another trump card, it's difficult to be convinced with his lack of production.
Draft Grade: A+
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Round 2 (49): WR Chase Claypool, Notre Dame
Round 3 (102): EDGE Alex Highsmith, Charlotte
Round 4 (124): RB Anthony McFarland Jr., Maryland
Round 4 (135): IOL Kevin Dotson, Louisiana
Round 6 (198): S Antoine Brooks Jr., Maryland
Round 7 (232): DI Carlos Davis, Nebraska
Day 1: The Steelers were without a first-round pick in this year’s draft after trading what became the 18th overall pick in exchange for Minkah Fitzpatrick. It’s hard to think that they’re regretting that decision too much at this point. Fitzpatrick is still just 23, and he brought a much-needed dose of playmaking to the back end of Pittsburgh’s secondary. Over the first two weeks of the season, the Steelers ranked 27th in team coverage grade, but they improved to second from Weeks 3 to 17 after trading for Fitzpatrick.
Day 2: There was a lot of discussion of the Steelers going running back with their Round 2 selection, but they made the right call here by going with a player who can win downfield instead. Claypool has a freakish physical profile at 6-foot-4 and nearly 240 pounds with a 4.42-second 40-yard dash and a vertical jump over 40 inches. He also made plenty of plays down the football field at Notre Dame in 2019, pulling in 16 receptions on passes thrown 20 or more yards downfield (tied most in the class). The concern is that he won more with physicality than separation, not quite playing as fast as his 40 time would indicate, but there’s a lot of potential for him on this Steelers offense as a downfield threat.
Highsmith was listed in the PFF Draft Guide as lead draft analyst Mike Renner’s sleeper in this edge class, and the back end of Round 3 is about where he was slated to come off the board. His 91.4 pass-rushing grade this past season is excellent, but that has to be taken with a grain of salt given the level of competition he faced at Charlotte. That said, there are some nice things to work with in Highsmith. He just has a ways to go before becoming an NFL starter. Expect him to continue to develop behind T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree.
Day 3: Dotson has the strength to stick at guard in the NFL, but pass protection will be a concern from the jump. He's a late-rounder you hope can make considerable strides with NFL coaching. He earned an impressive 92.1 overall grade this past season and finished the pre-draft process ranked 160th on PFF’s Big Board.
Brooks looked far more comfortable playing in the box in 2018 than he was manning the slot last season. Yet another player whose best bet is at linebacker in the league.
Draft Grade: B-
BALTIMORE RAVENS
Round 1 (28): LB Patrick Queen, LSU
Round 2 (55): JK Dobbins, Ohio State
Round 3 (71): DI Justin Madubuike, Texas A&M
Round 3 (92): WR Devin Duvernay, Texas
Round 3 (98): LB Malik Harrison, Ohio State
Round 3 (106): iOL Tyre Phillips, Mississippi State
Round 4 (143): IOL Ben Bredeson, Michigan
Round 5 (170): DI Broderick Washington, Texas Tech
Round 6 (201): WR James Proche, SMU
Round 7 (219): S Geno Stone, Iowa
Day 1: This Patrick Queen selection at 28 was one of PFF’s favorite picks of the first round, especially after the Los Angeles Chargers moved up to take a linebacker at pick 23 and the Seattle Seahawks went linebacker right in front of Baltimore at 27, and both teams took players we ranked significantly lower than Queen at the position. Queen is an elite athlete who can bring positive play in coverage (81.8 coverage grade in 2019) and get sideline to sideline on that defense. He may not have the ability to take on blockers in the run game like some of the other prospects in the class, but his explosiveness and smoothness as an athlete more than makes up for that.
Day 2: After nailing the Queen selection, Dobbins at No. 55 isn’t a move that brings a whole lot of value to this offense for us. He has clearly been uber-productive at Ohio State over the course of his career, rushing for over 2,000 yards last season along with three consecutive seasons of 78.7-plus rushing grades. The issue is that they didn’t need to go running back here, especially with how much space is created by a Ravens rushing attack that is spearheaded by Lamar Jackson and what was one of the better offensive lines in the NFL just a season ago.
Then, there were all the third-round picks — four in total. Madubuike at pick 71 provides a player with a strong history of stuffing the run (run-defense grades of 87.0 or higher each of the past two years) and solid production as a pass-rusher. Duvernay brings more speed, yards-after-the-catch ability and solid hands to this wide receiving corps, but just don’t ask him to win on routes downfield. Malik Harrison is much more of a downhill player at linebacker than Queen, but his proficiency as a blitzer at Ohio State (38 pressures over last two seasons) should play well on a defense that blitzed significantly more than any other defense in 2019. Lastly, Tyre Phillips is more likely than not to kick inside to guard at the NFL level. He has issues in pass protection, but the Ravens should be able to use his strength and body-moving ability in the run game.
Day 3: Stone is one of the most underrated safeties in the draft class. His processing and quicks are a fit for every defense in the NFL. You may not want him in the box, but he can easily rotate between deep and the slot.
Considered a three-star recruit by 247Sports coming out of Pennsylvania’s New Castle High School, Geno Stone received some interest from several Power 5 schools, but Iowa was the only school to offer him. According to Iowa’s official athletic site, Stone earned first-team All-State honors as a senior defensive back. He was a three-year letterman and played defensive back, wide receiver and quarterback for New Castle. He also lettered in basketball and track in sprints and jumps.
Stone dominated in coverage throughout his career for the Hawkeyes. On his 883 coverage snaps over the last three years, Stone had put together one of the best coverage grades in the country at 91.8. He’s played a majority of his snaps deep, and that’s exactly where he belongs — he played over 600 snaps at free safety in his career and has been responsible for only 137 yards while intercepting three passes and forcing seven incompletions. While Stone has been good in the box, he’s nowhere near the same elite player when playing deep, which is evidenced by the 71.1 overall grade that he’s earned in the box over his career.
Proche's ball skills are elite enough to see the field in the NFL. He may be pigeonholed to the slot, though, as he struggled to create for himself.
Draft Grade: B
https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2020-nfl-draft-grades-for-all-32-teams
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