#166: 2019 AFC North Preview (with Pete Smith)

Good morning, afternoon, or evening wherever (or whenever) you are ladies and gentlemen! This is Sports Krunch with DKrom, I’m your host David Kromelow. Just three weeks from the moment of this recording, the centennial season of the National Football League will kick off. And in that spirit, we continue with the sixth round of our 2019 NFL division-by-division preview series with a look at the AFC North. And to help us analyze all things Bengals, Browns, Ravens, and Steelers it is a pleasure to welcome back Pete Smith back to the program. He currently is the editor for Browns Maven, a source all Browns fans should check out. How are you Pete, it’s great to have you back!

1. The Bengals hired Zac Taylor mainly because he worked with Sean McVay. And when you look at this Bengals offense…the pieces just might be there to replicate what the Rams have done on offense the past two seasons. You have a legitimate bellcow RB in Joe Mixon who can play the Todd Gurley role. And you have a trio of WR’s in A.J. Green, Tyler Boyd and John Ross that (as a group) have the potential to be as good or better than the collective of Brandin Cooks, Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp. However, the issues the Bengals have on the offensive line may put a damper on the potential of their skill players this season. Despite their efforts in the offseason to revamp the OL, 2019 first-round pick Jonah Williams is likely out for the season with a shoulder injury and G Clint Boling retired. Without those two, just how bad is this Bengals OL? Is it like one of the five worst OL units in the league?

2. Joe Mixon’s current ADP is around 15th overall according to Fantasy Football Calculator. The talent, volume and the potential are there to finish 2019 as a top-three fantasy RB, which makes it totally understandable to take him at that point in your draft, or even earlier. However, given the fact the floor for the Bengals this season is very low, they could find themselves in a lot of lopsided games in which the game script won’t favor the running game. Thus, there’s a good argument NOT to take Joe Mixon at his current ADP. Where would you be comfortable taking Mixon in your fantasy draft?

3. Last season, the Bengals defense was just god-awful. They ended the year as the NFL’s lowest ranked total defense. But the Bengals apparently believe bad luck on the injury front was to blame last season, especially in terms of the pass rush where the underrated Carl Lawson suffered a torn ACL. With Lawson expected to be healthy and ready to go by Week 1 or shortly thereafter, how much does his presence improve that Bengals pass rush and the defense as a whole? 

4. This is by far THE best Browns roster on paper since the franchise was reinstated 20 years ago. Offensively, you have Baker Mayfield, who clearly looks like the face of the franchise for the next decade-plus. You have an incredible one-two punch at RB with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, and now you bring in arguably the most talented WR in football in Odell Beckham, Jr. to go along with a solid receiving corps. However, the OL, in its second season post-Joe Thomas, looks like a glaring weakness. The Browns also traded away their best OL Kevin Zeitler in order to land OBJ. If you were John Dorsey, would you be willing to part with your 2020 first-round pick in order to acquire disgruntled Redskins Pro Bowl OT Trent Williams?

5. With Kareem Hunt suspended for the first eight games of the season, Nick Chubb is one of THE most attractive options for fantasy owners as far as RB’s go. Chubb’s current ADP is around 11 overall, per Fantasy Football Calculator. Would you grab him at that juncture, or would you pass and select somebody like Dalvin Cook or Kerryon Johnson instead?