AFC North Post Draft June 2018
What’s up Scout Army?!?!
Welcome to the official start of year three for the Daily Armory! It feels great to be back and writing on a more consistent basis again and I look forward to putting my thoughts together and sharing them with others and providing content that is hopefully both enjoyable and thought provoking. Writing these pieces as well as my best ball drafts are what I use to help prepare myself for the upcoming season and I choose to share it with the FullTime Fantasy Sports subscribers. The depth charts are my personally created charts, and everyone is more than welcome to print them out. As I move through best ball season I will provide updated ADP and draft thoughts in the forums to keep track of player movement. The Armory has always been one of the best places to discuss both seasonal and daily contests and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Outside of general fantasy discussion with other subscribers, their questions, their personal player thoughts and opinions I really don’t give a shit what anyone’s opinion of me or The Armory are. If its not your cup of tea you are more than welcome to leave and as always, I appreciate your time here. Your subscription isn’t paying for this, it’s free. Scott Atkins has encouraged me to continue writing and I thank him for his continued support as well as Steve Renner and Steve Hillman on the FullTime Fantasy side. Anyone who’s not Scout Army GTFO!!!!!!
BALTIMORE RAVENS
HC: John Harbaugh, 2017 record (9-7)
The Flacco led Ravens just missed the post season due to a regular season finale loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. That doesn’t mean Baltimore had a good season. Yes, the defense seemed to be headed in the right direction. The problem is that the offense still can’t seem to put it together. This team needs to make the playoffs otherwise I can see the 2018 season as Harbaugh’s last.
Offense:
OC: Marty Mornhinweg
2018 is going to look a lot like 2017 for the Ravens offense. Yes, they did upgrade the receiving corps with the additions of Michael Crabtree, John Brown and Willie Snead but they still have Joe Flacco at QB who has been a complete enigma following his contract extension after his 2012 Super Bowl season. If Flacco uses the drafting of Lamar Jackson as a kick in the ass to perform at a higher level, there is a small chance this offense could break out. Alex Collins is a capable running back, but the offensive line hasn’t gotten much better unless one of the rookies unseats an incumbent starter It will be interesting to see who Collins’ backup will be between Buck Allen and Kenneth Dixon. Until I find out who Collins’ handcuff is I won’t draft either outside of best ball. All the WR’s for now are going 8th round or later with Crabtree being the first one selected. The Ravens drafted two more TE’s in Hayden Hurst and Mark Andrews with Hurst looking to be the most draftable one. Flacco has always loved throwing to his TE and if he hooks up with Hurst early in camp than Hurst might buck the first year TE trend of not being productive.
Defense:
DC: Don Martindale (NEW)
This defense should be a beast again. They are a bit on the older side but if they can stay healthy and the offense can move the ball with regularity they should be dominant. Competent offenses only help the defense by not putting them in terrible starting situations. They are forgotten about every year and you can get them later than most tier 1 defenses.
CINCINNATI BENGALS
HC: Marvin Lewis, 2017 record (7-9)
Brett Favre leads the Bengals into 2018 after a potential retirement scare. Oh wait, that’s not Favre that’s Marvin Lewis! Nothing like pulling a diva move to stave off a well-deserved kick to the curb. Anyways, here we are with the damn Bungles who completely underachieve year in and year out. That’s not completely true. The Bengals were going to be hot garbage last season and we all knew it. Letting good offensive line starters leave in free agency will do that to a team. In the end it cost them an opportunity to try and make the playoffs.
Offense:
OC: Bill Lazor
The Bengals are so dumb. After doing the right thing and trading for LT Cordy Glenn and drafting C Billy Price they completely stopped focusing on the offensive line. Instead they focused on building depth at running back and used a lot of their picks for defensive back ups. Mixon has a better opportunity to provide production as there is no longer Jeremy Hill taking away snaps and the left side of the line has improved. My worry is that the right side of the line is going to frequently buckle under pressure which will limit his running lanes to that side. Still like Gio in the passing game but we’ll have to see if Mixon takes more of the lions share in that department as well. I’m completely staying away from Tyler Eifert at TE as he continues to not make it through a season because of injury. I still like AJ Green and he’s being discounted into the second round this year so far and I would gladly take the discount on him and his upside potential. I’m hopeful that the Bengals quit jacking John Ross around and give him the opportunity to supplant Brandon LaFell opposite of Green this year. I’m going to take late shots in best ball on him because his upside is far greater than LaFell. I have some interest in Tyler Boyd but am staying away from him from the most part. I wouldn’t draft Andy Dalton if I didn’t have to in regular 12 team leagues but in late round best ball or 16 team leagues I would take a shot.
Defense:
DC: Teryl Austin (NEW)
Austin has been a pretty good defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions the past few years and has been getting passed up for head coaching positions as well. On paper the defense looks as if it has improved. It won’t be a great defense, but it will be serviceable especially if the offense can keep them off the field. They do have to deal with LB Vontaze Burfict’s PED suspension to begin the year which will hamper the LB corps a bit, but they should be able to tread water until that dipshit gets back. Worth a look in drafts.
CLEVELAND BROWNS
HC: Hue Jackson, 2017 record (0-16)
For the love of everything holy can someone please fix this team. The city of Cleveland doesn’t deserve this train wreck of a franchise. There is talent on this team and it shouldn’t have come close to a completely defeated record. This was a five-win team and Hue Jackson should’ve been fired, but he was retained. If he doesn’t get it going by mid-season he’s gone!
Offense:
OC: Todd Haley (NEW)
Extreme overhaul for the Browns offense and it starts with the new offensive coordinator Todd Haley. Haley will bring the scheme he used in Pittsburgh to Cleveland and try to resurrect this offense. That starts with the running backs and unfortunately, we have a logjam. A curious move with the free agent signing of Carlos Hyde when we figured that the Browns would draft their lead back which they ended up doing by selecting Nick Chubb from Georgia in the second round. I feel like the Browns will utilize Hyde out the gate unless Chubb clearly outperforms him in training camp. In best ball drafts I would be more willing to take the shot on Chubb who should be drafted after Hyde, but doubt he falls much farther than when Hyde is selected. Whomever drafts Hyde will be looking to handcuff the situation as soon as possibly their next pick, so it is something to monitor. We also still have Duke Johnson who just signed a nice three-year extension. This must mean he is expected to be heavily involved in the offense predictably on passing downs. The Duke should be drafted late in drafts as quite possibly a Chris Thompson type upside selection.
The Browns also traded for Tyrod Taylor who will lead the offense while Baker Mayfield learns behind him. If the Browns falter early you can expect Mayfield to take over but with how much improvement this team has done in its building process I think there’s a real good chance that Taylor could be starting all season long and especially if they are in playoff contention. A lot of people are excited about the prospects of David Njoku because of Tyrod’s history of utilizing the TE position. I like his upside, BUT I think his draft slot might be a little too high and for good reason with the other receiving targets on this team.
The team traded for Jarvis Landry with the Dolphins and promptly gave him and extension. Landry is the reason I will not overpay for Njoku. Playing out of the slot I feel will act like a smaller and faster TE for Taylor and he should lead the team in targets to no one’s surprise. Josh Gordon is still around for at least this season and will be looking to try and earn a brand-new contract. He’ll be the deep threat man and I have no problem drafting him, but Landry would be my top target still. By the way take a look at how good Gordon looks this early before the season because he looks ready to go. Corey Coleman I am way down on and it has nothing to do with his talent. The kid just can’t stay on the field and unless it is seriously late in the draft I won’t consider him.
Defense:
DC: Gregg Williams
The defense still had its struggles last year and looks to improve for 2018. That should occur as the Browns revamped their personnel for this side of the ball as well. The brought in EJ Gaines and spent a high draft pick on Denzel Ward to man the cornerback positions. That should give the Browns more comfortability with taking chances at attacking the opposing QB. They should be even more solid against the run as well and could end up being a consistent option to use for seasonal leagues.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
HC: Mike Tomlin, 2017 record (13-3)
Sometimes you just keep rolling and rolling and rolling and suddenly, BOOM ninja kick to the groin. That’s how I imagine Steelers fans felt as they cruised through most of the season before being dispatched in the Divisional Round by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Folks were calling for Mike Tomlin’s head, but Pittsburgh made the right decision to keep him at the helm.
Offense:
OC: Randy Fichtner (NEW)
Fichtner has been with the Steelers for 11 seasons and most of that time has been spent with former offensive coordinator Todd Haley. This should mean that the offense stays relatively unchanged with maybe some minor tweaks meant to keep the offense on the field longer. Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell are the obvious first round darlings. Ju Ju Smith-Schuster is getting drafted fairly high in best ball because of his upside out of the slot. We are talking anywhere from the 4th round to the 6th round. James Washington comes in from this year’s draft and is someone to keep an eye on. Nobody is really talking about this kid and he is slotted to play opposite of Brown when Ju Ju is in the slot in three wide sets. Take a flyer on this kid late because he could be absolute fire with most of the attention going elsewhere. Jesse James? Fuck that guy! If Vance McDonald could stay on the Goddamn field I would have immense interest late in best ball. He just can’t prove himself to accomplish that feat.
Defense:
DC: Keith Butler
The defense should be solid yet again. They didn’t lose anyone of any significance outside of Ryan Shazier to injury, but they brought in Jon Bostic to help fill that hole and it wasn’t a bad move. They also brought in Morgan Burnett from Green Bay and drafted Terrell Edmunds to fill the safety positions. If Burnett can stay on the field they should now be solid up the middle and fix the rush defense which fell apart later last season.
That’s a quick overview of the AFC North. I will be taking this article into the forums when updating players of interest and their ADP and my thoughts throughout the summer. Keep an eye out as I will be placing my articles within the DFS forums as opposed to the seasonal forums. It tends to be a less busy forum and allows the article to be more easily found. Peace out Scout Army and I will have the AFC East ready for Monday morning reading.
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