Cleveland Browns

For what the Browns had to work with on draft day, I believe they worked it like a Picasso masterpiece. Being able to snag both UNLV LB Beau Bell and Missouri TE Martin Rucker in the fourth-round was an absolute stroke of genius.

Bell was the talk of practice at the Senior Bowl until he went down with a knee injury on Day 2. Still he showed scouts enough to create a buzz in Mobile. Rucker wasn’t too shabby himself in Mobile. I believe these were two solid picks that could contribute right away.

Wisconsin WR Paul Hubbard could be a diamond in the rough and a potential replacement for receiver Joe Jurevicius, who at 33-years old is getting closer to the end of his career.

Overall I liked what the Browns accomplished on draft day, but they did fail to address a questionable secondary which could comeback to haunt them during the season.

Side note: Ohio University S Todd Koenig is an intriguing prospect that the Browns have given the opportunity to try out for the team. Koenig is a thunderous hitter who loves to play the game of football and I look for him to make the most of his opportunity. He is definitely one to keep an eye on. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself… http://www.bigcprofootball.com/video/

Grade: C+

Baltimore Ravens

I still can’t get my brain around Baltimore’s first-round selection of Delaware QB Joe Flacco. Even more confusing is what the team did in order to get him. The Ravens traded down from the No. 8 slot to No. 29 with Jacksonville only to trade back up to the No. 18 slot to select the reincarnation of current starting QB Kyle Boller. Keep in mind the team had to surrender picks to move into position. Things that make you go hmmm!

During the televised event on ESPN the only thing the expert panel could talk about was the quarterback having a big-arm. It sounded like the team was drafting Boller all over again.

What baffled me is that Flacco went before two of the most productive quarterbacks in college football this season Louisville Brian Brohm and Michigan Chad Henne. Even at the Senior Bowl, it wasn’t Flacco, it was Henne who was the best quarterback on display in Mobile. What gives? Don’t get me wrong, Flacco does have talent, but make no mistake about it Brohm and Henne are further along than this dude. This could be another quarterback blunder for the Baltimore Ravens.

Aside from the major reach of Flacco, I love the team’s pick of Cincinnati S Haruki Nakamura; he’s a pistol, and Rutgers RB Ray Rice.

Grade: C

Pittsburgh Steelers

Let’s face it folks! The Pittsburgh Steelers just keep getting better. America’s Team had a terrific draft and helped themselves plentiful. The team addressed every need with the exception of the cornerback position where there are some concerns. Aside from that, the Steelers handled their business during the draft starting with the pick of Illinois RB Rashard Mendenhall. The organization had to be ecstatic when the bruising running back fell in their lap with the 23rd selection in the first-round.

Mendenhall is a perfect fit for the Steelers smash-mouth football. He’s an in between the tackles runner with a very thick frame to take on would-be-tacklers head on. Mendenhall is very explosive for a guy his size and will be a nice complement to fast Willie Parker. If Jerome Bettis was “The Bus” then Mendenhall must be the Semi because he will sho-nuff truck you.

With the second pick, the team satisfied Big Ben’s hunger for a big receiver when they selected 6-foot-4, 210-pound Texas wideout Limas Sweed. Sweed is a very gifted receiver with tremendous upside potential.

Jumping to the fourth-round, Texas OT Tony Hill could turn out to be a major steal for the Steelers. Hill is coming off a season-ending leg injury which caused his stock to dip, but has all the tools to become a perennial All-Pro offensive lineman at the next level once he is developed.

I do have to question the team’s fifth-round selection of QB Dennis Dixon. When are the Steelers going to stop wasting draft picks on project quarterbacks? The team drafted Bowling Green QB Omar Jacobs in the fifth-round of the ’06 draft. Where is Jacobs now? He’s suiting up for the Florence Phantoms of the American Indoor Football Association. That being said, I can see Dixon going that route.

Grade: A-

Cincinnati Bengals

Click here for Bengals grade: http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/chickludwig/entries/2008/04/28/draft_analysis_bengals_earn_a.html