NFL Draft grades: Bears, Browns get full marks

Baltimore Ravens: B+

The Ravens front office claimed to be high on their wide receiver room coming into the draft, but their actions said otherwise. Rashod Bateman can turn into a star for Lamar Jackson. Baltimore fans shouldn’t be shocked if fourth round pick Tylan Wallace finds a way to make a big contribution during his rookie season as well.

Spending the No. 31 pick on Jayson Oweh was a big swing by the Ravens front office. He could turn into a Pro Bowler or a complete bust. In sharp contrast, third round pick Ben Cleveland is one of the safest picks in this year’s draft. He’ll start right away as a mauler at guard for Baltimore.

Shaun Wade gives the Ravens with a talented reclamation project via Round 5. If he pays off, their secondary will take a major step forward in 2021.

Cincinnati Bengals: C-

Ja’Marr Chase might turn into a superstar wide receiver, but he won’t protect Joe Burrow’s blind side. The Bengals’ grade gets dinged for failing to take Penei Sewell at No. 5.

Cincinnati’s front office tried to make up for that mistake by selecting Jackson Carman in Round 2 and and D’Ante Smith in Round 4. Both guys have some potential, but neither is ready to play right away. That’s a big miss by the Bengals.

Both Joseph Ossai and Cameron Sample have a solid chance to develop into quality edge rushers. If one of them turns into something more it can make this draft class look a lot better in hindsight. As it stands, it goes down as a mismanaged effort by the Bengals front office.

Cleveland Browns: A

The Browns may not be used to picking this low in Round 1, but they should try to make it a habit. Cleveland found really good value up and down this year’s draft.

Greg Newsome may not have star potential but he projects as a solid starter at corner in pretty short order. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah may not play a super valuable position, but he’ll give the Browns’ linebacking corps an immediate boost.

Anthony Schwartz might be the fasted receiver in this class and could turn into a second round steal. Nabbing James Hudson in Round 4 is a great swing on a potential starter at left tackle if everything breaks right in his career.

Add it all up and the Browns did a great job of adding talent all over their roster. It really is a new era in Cleveland.

Pittsburgh Steelers: D-

The Steelers needed to nail their draft to make up for an offseason of inactivity. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh’s front office did a poor job of mining this year’s draft class for real talent.

Najee Harris should not have been a first-round pick because of his position. He’ll make an impact for the Steelers offense right away, but it still goes down as a missed opportunity to add a more valuable player.

Pat Freiermuth is an interesting tight end prospect in Round 2, but the idea that he is “Baby Gronk” is off the mark. He lacks that kind of explosive athleticism.

No one else in the class projects as anything more than an intriguing backup. It’s tough to call any draft class a disaster, but Steelers fans should be really disappointed in this effort.