Each AFC North Team’s Greatest Weakness After the NFL Draft and Free Agency

Who does the carrying in Cincinnati?

Now that the bulk of free agency and the draft is over, each one of the 32 NFL teams are beginning to take shape for the 2013 Regular Season. Although there will be reasons for every teams’ fan-base to be excited, this is also the time of the year when weaknesses on each roster finally come into focus.

In an eight part-series, I am going to try to identify and inform you about every NFL team’s weakness division-by-division. To kick things off, we go to the home of the current Super Bowl champions, the AFC North.

NFL Draft Tracker 2013: Picks, Trades and Updated Analysis

The NFL Draft takes place in Radio City Music Hall, New York.

The Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders, Eric Fisher, Dion Jordan, Luke Joeckel and many many more. We know the characters, the setting and the overall theme of this book, but the branches of the narrative remain locked in the realms of the unknown.

One-by-one each of the branches will be unveiled, bringing with it the drama, excitement, disappointment or maybe even the apathy that develops from following a franchise that repeatedly fails to deliver.

Yet, no matter what franchise you support, the all-encompassing nature of this event will have you glued to every single selection and desperate for what that means for your franchise. You see this isn’t like the Super Bowl, not just two teams are involved, so even if your team doesn’t have a first round pick, you can still follow what the teams in your division or conference are doing to counteract your team’s strengths and take advantage of your team’s weaknesses.

In case you can’t follow it on television, or you simply can’t handle any more Leon Sandcastle ‘jokes’, this blog will be updated through the night after each pick with details of any picks, trades and analysis of every single move made.

NFL Draft Represents First Step for Eight New NFL Head Coaches

In this image, every team beat the very next team if you move in a clock-wise direction.

Even after an NFL season that was full of parity, eight owners, or one quarter of the league, decided that it was time to move on from the men who had led their rosters through training camp and the regular season. Even though each of those new faces in new places will have begun to make their initial impression on the direction of their respective franchises in free agency, the first real step in their new careers will be the NFL draft.

Nobody taking over a new team ever really expects to inherit a talented roster, and even though it’s not directly a reflection of the talent on the field, seven of the new teams are picking within the top 11 of the first round, with only the Chicago Bears reaching the far depths of 20th overall.

Because of the lack of top level quarterback talent, this draft likely won’t determine how successful the new regimes will be over their spans with their franchises, but the early choices will go a long way in determining how successful they will be in the short-term. Initial impressions are always important for fans, but they can also determine how the new direction of the franchise is received within the walls.

NFL Draft 2013: Kenny Vaccaro is Everything that the New Orleans Saints Need at Safety

Kenny Vaccaro is going to be a great pick for some team, fans in New Orleans are hoping that team will be the Saints.

In four days, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will step towards the podium at Radio City Music Hall in New York to announce that the New Orleans Saints will draft….

And that is where the story ends for now.

For the first time since 2009, the Saints will be picking within the top 20 of the NFL draft. Last time they landed current starting free safety Malcolm Jenkins and this time the secondary appears to be the priority once again. Top tier talents such as cornerback Desmond Trufant, safety Kenny Vaccaro, safety Jonathan Cyprien and outside linebacker Barkevious Mingo will all be tantalizing prospects for the Saints in the middle of the first round.

Undoubtedly, the Saints’ most prized target is Texas safety Vaccaro though.

According to esteemed draft analyst Sigmund Bloom,the 22-year-old defensive back has the potential to be one of the best safeties in the league. For the New Orleans Saints, a team that ranked 31st in points allowed last season giving up 28.4 per game, Vaccaro could fill a massive need. The Saints fired Steve Spagnuolo after a desperately disappointing season, replacing him with former Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, but in reality, the Saints’ biggest issue last year was their lack of talent rather than their coaching.

NFL Draft 2013: What Dee Milliner Would Bring to the Cleveland Browns

Why Should the Cleveland Browns consider drafting Dee Milliner?

In four days, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will step towards the podium at Radio City Music Hall in New York to announce that the Cleveland Browns will draft….

And that is where the story ends for now.

As is typical, the Browns are picking in the top 10 and could go in a variety of different directions with their first addition. Oregon outside linebacker Dion Jordan is probably the favorite, Utah defensive tackle Star Lotulelei would likely be too talented to pass up on if he falls, BYU’s Ezekial Ansah or LSU’s Barkevious Mingo could also come to Cleveland as pass rushers, while a trade down could be the ideal answer because the franchise has no second round pick.

Yet, the most tantalizing prospect linked with the Browns this off-season has been cornerback Dee Milliner of Alabama.

According to esteemed draft analyst Ryan Lownes, Milliner is the ideal cornerback prospect with the size, speed and instincts to play the position in any scheme. For the Browns, this is the perfect piece to add to their defense. Even though the regime that took over in Ohio this off-season brought in a well-respected offensive coordinator, Norv Turner, and a head coach coming from an offensive background, Rod Chudzinski, the Browns’ new defensive coordinator may be the most exciting hire made by any franchise.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive backs coach and Arizona Cardinals’ defensive coordinator Ray Horton landed with the Browns after losing out on the vacant head coaching position in Arizona. Horton is a former NFL defensive back who has been employed in a coaching role since 2005. After the 2010 season, he took over a Cardinals’ defense that ranked 30th in the league and was enduring some significant player development.

Horton hastened individual development on the roster and allowed his unit to improve to be the 17th ranked defense over each of the past two seasons. Despite the underwhelming numbers, the 53-year-old defensive coordinator earned rave reviews from across the NFL.