2023 NFL Draft Wish List: AFC North

Our NFL Draft Wish List series heads back to the AFC and the North division. The Bengals appear to be the favorites in this division, but the Ravens, Browns and Steelers all should improve from last season.

By the time the NFL Draft starts April 27, we’ll have touched on every team around the league. Here’s the schedule for our Draft Wish List series:

• March 28: AFC East
• March 30: NFC East
• April 4: AFC North
• April 6: NFC North
• April 11: AFC South
• April 13: NFC South
• April 18: AFC West
• April 20: NFC West

2023 NFL Draft Wish List: AFC North

Cincinnati Bengals

• First pick: 1st round, 28th overall
• Total first-rounders: 1
• Total selections: 7

Remember that State Farm commercial with the old fisherman dangling a dollar bill off his fishing rod? “You almost had it.” That’s what I imagine the last two seasons have felt like for the Cincinnati Bengals. A last-minute Super Bowl loss in 2021 followed by a last-minute AFC Championship loss this past season, the Bengals have been the definition of “close but no cigar.”

Entering the 2023 NFL Draft, the Bengals have a few positions to address, including offensive tackle, tight end, defensive back and running back. At 28th overall, I’d expect offensive tackle or tight end to be the selection. The Bengals did trade for Orlando Brown, but now Jonah Williams has requested a trade. And on top of that, La’el Collins’ return date is in question after tearing both his ACL and MCL in Week 16. I’d imagine that Anton Harrison, Dawand Jones and Darnell Wright are towards the top of their draft board for that very reason. Harrison allowed just one sack in over 400 pass-blocking snaps last season but plays left tackle, so the Bengals could opt to look to a player like Jones who primarily plays right tackle. At 6-foot-8 and 374 pounds, Jones is absolutely massive with an impressive 7-6 wingspan. If he gets his hands on you, it’ll be tough to win against him, though speed edges could give him trouble. Finally, if the Bills don’t select him at 27th overall, Darnell Wright would be a great selection. He actually moved from right tackle to left tackle this past season. He has a ton of experience playing on both sides of the line and in just over 500 pass-blocking snaps in 2022, Wright allowed just six hurries, two quarterback hits and zero sacks. 

The Bengals recently signed TE Irv Smith, a player I still believe in but has missed 15 games over the last two seasons. With Hayden Hurst gone, the Bengals will certainly look to draft a tight end at some point, whether it is in the first round or later. Michael Mayer, Luke Musgrave and Sam LaPorta are all in play. LaPorta is crazy athletic, running a 4.59 40-yard dash to go along with a 6.91-second three-cone and 4.25-second shuttle. LaPorta would give the Bengals more production after the catch, as his 20 missed tackles forced were the second-most among all tight ends in college football last season, while also averaging a healthy 2.16 yards per route run. 

Finally, I fully expect the Bengals to draft a running back within the first four rounds. I guess it is possible they draft Jahmyr Gibbs at 28 if they really, really like him, but I’d wager they wait until later on. Assuming that is the case, I absolutely love the idea of Devon Achane on this team. Samaje Perine is in Denver and Joe Mixon’s future in Cincinnati is overflowing with ambiguity. Yes, we know Achane can absolutely fly (4.32 40-yard dash) and is small (5-9, 188 pounds). But make no mistake. He is legitimately great running the ball between the tackles, averaging 3.6 yards after contact per attempt this past season. And according to PFF, Achane forced a missed tackle on 29% of his career rushing attempts. He cuts with violence and purpose, while his acceleration is obviously second to none. Achane may be undersized and while he’s unlikely to see a massive workload at the NFL level, he’s far from a gadget running back.

Baltimore Ravens

• First pick: 1st round, 22nd overall
• Total first-rounders: 1
• Total selections: 5

Given the situation with Lamar Jackson, there is a ton of uncertainty in Baltimore right now. We’ll see if anything happens there, but for now, let’s operate under the assumption Jackson is on the Ravens this season. Baltimore should be looking at wide receiver and defensive line in the opening round of the draft. Baltimore had the worst wide receiver room in the NFL last season, and while I still believe Rashod Bateman can be a really good player, he’s struggled to stay healthy to start his career, missing 15 games over the past two seasons. Keep an eye on TCU’s Quentin Johnston at 22nd overall, especially considering that range is where we might see a run of wideouts with the Seahawks, Chargers, Ravens, Vikings and Giants making up five of the six selections from 20-25. At 6-3, 208 pounds with 4.46 speed, Johnston has a frightening combination of size and explosiveness. He is so creative and dangerous after the catch, averaging 8.9 yards after the catch per reception last season, the 10th-best mark in the nation. His spin move the second he catches the football leaves defenders wondering what happened. I would like to see him play with a bit more physicality and less finesse at times, but Johnston would fit well in Todd Monken’s offense. 

The Ravens should also be looking to improve their pass rush, as they sported the eighth-lowest pressure rate in the league last year (19.2%). Myles Murphy is a rather polarizing prospect but if he’s available at 22nd overall, Baltimore should strongly consider drafting him. Murphy is a rare athlete at the defensive line position, leading to comparisons to last year’s number-one overall selection, Travon Walker. His production, however, has slowed down every season of his collegiate career. The Ravens don’t have a second-round pick at the moment, so their next selection comes in Round 3, 86th overall. But with only five selections, it wouldn’t shock me to see the Ravens trade back to acquire more draft capital. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

• First pick: 1st round, 17th overall
• Total first-rounders: 1
• Total selections: 7

The consensus seems to be either offensive tackle or defensive back at 17th overall for the Steelers. As of right now, Pittsburgh only has one left tackle (Dan Moore) on their roster, while their depth at right tackle isn’t much better. Anton Harrison from Oklahoma is a logical selection, especially if Broderick Jones and Peter Skoronski are off the board. Harrison has played mostly left tackle over the past two seasons, allowing just three sacks in over 850 pass-blocking snaps. He has very good hands in pass protection, though he could use some work when it comes to run-blocking. Of course, I’m sure every Steelers fan on the planet would love Joey Porter Jr. to be there at 17, and if that’s the case, there is no way Pittsburgh doesn’t draft him, right? 

In the second round, linebacker makes sense for the Steelers, especially since 17th overall is likely a bit too early to address the position. Drew Sanders, Daiyan Henley and Trenton Simpsons could all be on the board when Pittsburgh is up at 49th overall. But if the Steelers don’t land Porter in the first round, Emmanuel Forbes could very easily be on their radar. He apparently has a pre-draft meeting scheduled with the team and with the Steelers also having the 32nd overall selection, Forbes could very well be the selection. Forbes is a lengthy defensive back with 4.35 speed and outstanding ball skills, intercepting 14 passes in three seasons at Mississippi State. Forbes primarily played on the outside so he wouldn’t be an exact replacement for former slot defensive back Cam Sutton, but the Steelers simply need more young, talented players in their secondary. 

Cleveland Browns

• First pick: 3rd round, 74th overall
• Total first-rounders: 0
• Total selections: 8

After the Deshaun Watson trade, the Browns won’t make a selection until the eighth pick of the third round. That obviously limits what they can do a bit, though Cleveland still has eight total selections in this draft, two of which in Round 3. I think Cleveland could look to address both the interior defensive line and linebacker positions in the draft and if they hadn’t traded for Elijah Moore, I would also add wide receiver to the list. Later on in the draft, Ivan Pace from Cincinnati would be an ideal player to target. He’s outstanding against the run and blitzing opposing signal callers, while Cleveland could look to improve their run defense. In 2022, a healthy 13.3% of the runs against the Browns gained 10 or more yards, the seventh-highest rate in football. And according to PFF, Pace was second among all linebackers in college football last year with 50 run stops.