The 2019 NFL Draft will take place in Nashville on 25th-27th April this year and now with a flurry of Free Agency trades out of the way the draft order has changed quite a bit. Below is the current order for the AFC North teams together with areas we think they still need to fill.
The Ravens made the playoffs last season mainly on the strength of their defence, however, this has been ravished in free agency and they will be looking to restock in the draft. The good news is they have eight picks to do it with, the bad news is that they only have one pick in the first two rounds. They have needs on offence to as they will need to support Lamar Jackson’s move to starter and we wouldn’t be surprised to see them going wide receiver in round one.
The Bengals started 2018 well but then fell off cliff ending up bottom of the division. Much of this was down to injuries and the good news is that they are well-positioned with 11 draft picks to add both playmakers and depth to the roster. Assuming they’re going to move on with Andy Dalton they may look to strengthen their offensive line and maybe add some weapons for him. One of the top tight ends could be in play for them at number 11, or they could go offensive tackle. Five of the draft picks are in round six so using some of them to move up the board is a possibility.
The Cleveland Browns are a trendy pick to make the playoffs this year, and they have certainly been a talking point of free agency in a good way (unlike their divisional rivals Pittsburgh). With their signings it’s hard to see a glaring hole in the roster, and this is poorly just as well given that for the first time in more seasons than I can remember there without a first-round pick and only have two in the top hundred. Still, they have eight picks overall, and could just about move back into the first round if one of the top players went into freefall. We expect them to add a bit of depth in the draft and will probably pick the best player available when their turn comes.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have not had the best of free agencies, with two of their main offensive stars walking with maximum drama, and to cap it off that lost their backup tight end Jesse James. They have repaired some of the damage by signing wide receivers Eli Rogers & Donte Moncrief, however, we expect them to look to add some more offensive pieces in the early rounds. They could also use a bit of help in the backfield.
