Below is the Fillability Index grade for each AFC North team's 2006 draft. Read more about the Fillability Index to find out why it's a superior form of post-draft analysis.

 

Baltimore has a lethargic offense, a league-leading defense and a secondary that's desperate for a starting safety. So the Ravens drafted a defensive lineman with its No. 1 pick. It makes no sense unless you consider the big issue of the day in Baltimore: LB Ray Lewis does not want to hit anyone but the guy with the ball. Management caved to the will of its most vocal player and used its top pick for 340-pound DT Haloti Ngata, who they hope will tie up offensive linemen and allow their over-the-hill LB to run free like Sister Maria through the fields of Bavaria. Ngata may prove to be a great pick, but appeasing one player is no way to run a draft. And he's certainly not going to help an offense that has ranked in the top 10 just once in seven years under Brian Billick. The second-round selection of C Chris Chester was the only pick among 10 that addressed Baltimore's biggest need, offensive linemen.

 

Round 1 (12) – DT Haloti Ngata, 6-4, 337, Oregon

Round 2 (56) – C Chris Chester, 6-3, 302, Oklahoma

Round 3 (87) – CB David Pittman, 5-11, 182, Northwestern State

Round 4 (111) – WR Demetrius Williams, 6-2, 198, Oregon

Round 4 (132) – RB P.J. Daniels, 5-10, 210, Georgia Tech

Round 5 (146) – S Dawan Landry, 6-1, 219, Georgia Tech

Round 5 (166) – TE Quinn Sypniewski, 6-6, 265, Colorado

Round 6 (203) – P Sam Koch, 6-0, 223, Nebraska

Round 6 (208) – CB Derrick Martin, 5-10, 201, Wyoming

Round 7 (219) – OLB Ryan LaCasse, 6-2, 254, Syracuse

 

 

Cincy's No. 1 need was help in the secondary, and they filled that with No. 1 pick Johnathan Joseph, one of the top defensive backs in the nation. The Bengals then upgraded their defensive line with "tweener" Frostee Rucker. In fact, four of Cincy's first five picks went to defense. The Bengals could have used another defensive back somewhere along the way – though they did pick up former Super Bowl MVP Dexter Jackson from Tampa this offseason. Instead, they used their final three picks on offensive players who have little shot of making the team.

 

Round 1 (24) – CB Johnathan Joseph, 5-11, 192, South Carolina

Round 2 (55) – T Andrew Whitworth, 6-7, 327, LSU

Round 3 (91) – DE Frostee Rucker, 6-3, 267, USC

Round 4 (123) – DT Domata Peko, 6-3, 306, Michigan State

Round 5 (157) – ILB A.J. Nicholson, 6-1, 253, Florida State

Round 6 (193) – QB Reggie McNeal, 6-2, 197, Texas A&M

Round 7 (209) – WR Ethan Kilmer, 6-1, 204, Penn State

Round 7 (231) – WR Bennie Brazell, 6-3, 176, LSU

 

The Browns ranked dead last in scoring last year and had a fairly efficient defense. Still, as the Cold, Hard Football Facts noted before the draft, coach Romeo Crennel might be unable to resist the need to shore up a porous defensive line, which was among the worst against the run in 2005. That's the route he followed. He used his first pick on Kamerion Wimbley, an undersized "tweener" defensive end in the mold of DE/OLB Willie McGinest, who Crennel snapped up in free-agency just a few weeks ago. Cleveland also went defense in the second round, too. With 10 picks, Cleveland devoted just four to improving the worst offense in football and only one – a fourth-rounder – to an offensive line that scared nobody last season.

 

Round 1 (13) – DE Kamerion Wimbley, 6-3, 241, Florida State

Round 2 (34) – ILB D'Qwell Jacksoin, 6-0, 229, Maryland

Round 3 (78) – WR Travis Wilson, 6-2, 213, Oklahoma

Round 4 (110) – ILB Leon Williams, 6-3, 246, Miami

Round 4 (112) – G Isaac Sowells, 6-3, 323, Indiana

Round 5 (145) – RB Jerome Harrison, 5-9, 202, Washington State

Round 5 (152) – CB DeMario Minter, 5-11, 191, Georgia

Round 6 (180) – FB Lawrence Vickers, 6-0, 246, Colorado

Round 6 (181) – DT Babatunde Oshinowo, 6-1, 305, Stanford

Round 7 (222) – S Justin Hamilton, 6-2, 218, Virginia Tech

 

 

Pittsburgh has few obvious weaknesses, as you might expect of a Super Bowl champion. The lowly rated passing game, for example, is more a function of the team's desire to run rather than an inability to pass. The Cold, Hard Football Facts showed before the draft that Pittsburgh's two biggest needs were at wide receiver and defensive back. The Steelers then went out and devoted their first three picks to these two positions. A pair of late-round offensive linemen is hardly unexpected for a team that's built upon an ability to run the ball, while quarterback Omar Jacobs is a big and athletic player who could find a spot at backup QB or, perhaps, elsewhere on the offense. Another DB would have given Pittsburgh a perfect Fillability grade. It's interesting to note that, to this point, Pittsburgh and it's management mirror image in New England – the two most successful teams in the salary-cap era – have been deadly quiet in the free agency market.

 

Round 1 (25) – WR Santonio Holmes, 5-11, 187, Ohio State

Rouund 3 (83) – S Anthony Smith, 6-0, 193, Syracuse

Round 3 (95) – WR Willie Reid, 5-11, 187, Florida State

Round 4 (131) – G Willie Colon, 6-3, 321, Hofstra

Round 4 (133) – DT Orien Harris, 6-3, 302, Miami

Round 5 (164) – QB Omar Jacobs, 6-4, 233, Bowling Green

Round 5 (167) – TE Charles Davis, 6-5, 254, Purdue

Round 6 (201) – C Marvin Philip, 6-1, 306, California

Round 7 (240) – RB Cedric Humes, 6-1, 228, Virginia Tech

 

***