BEREA, Ohio — Be honest, there were multiple times already this draft when you saw a pick from Baltimore flash across the screen and your immediate response: That’s so Ravens.
Same for the Steelers, Browns and Bengals.
Friday night was a very on-brand night for the AFC North, with one slight exception from the team in southern Ohio. Baltimore continued to work on its defense while the Steelers took a bet on bringing a talented player into their culture. The Browns played the value game and the Bengals, for the most part, just quietly picked players.
Here’s a look at Friday night in the AFC North.
Baltimore Ravens
Round 2, Pick 13: David Ojabo, Edge, Michigan
Round 3, Pick 12: Travis Jones, DT, UConn
The Ravens spent the night beefing up their defensive line now and in the future. Ojabo ruptured his Achilles during the draft process and it’s unclear when he will be able to take the field, but a high traits developmental player is a perfect Baltimore pick.
Jones will spend his career wreaking havoc on AFC North centers with his ability to get push up the middle and will probably give Browns fans flashbacks to some of the anchors of past Ravens defensive lines.
Cincinnati Bengals
Round 2, Pick 28 (trade up with Bills from No. 63 in exchange for this pick and pick 209): Cam Taylor-Britt, CB, Nebraska
Round 3, Pick 31: Zachary Carter, DE, Florida
The Bengals actually traded up a few picks to get Taylor-Britt, Dane Brugler’s eighth-ranked cornerback and a player he praises for his “physical traits (size, length, athleticism), competitive nature, and ball skills give him NFL starting potential in press-man or zone-heavy schemes.”
Carter seems like a reach, but the Bengals have a strong front and he’ll have some time to develop.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Round 2, Pick 20: George Pickens, WR, Georgia
Round 3, Pick 20: DeMarvin Leal, DT, Texas A&M
Pickens is a classic Steelers pick for an organization known for hitting on wide receivers. His final year at Georgia was derailed by injury and there were some maturity concerns, but this is an organization that has dealt with some stuff in their building and they’re rolling the dice on a highly-talented player blending into their culture.
Brugler ranked Leal as his No. 5 defensive tackle and you could do a lot worse than learning from Cam Heyward.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism