Baltimore Ravens
After going through a bit of a rough season last year, the Ravens are ready to bounce back in a serious way. After free agency and the draft, the Ravens still have a few holes remaining.
First, their offensive line could still use some improving. Their right tackle, Rick Wagner, was a fifth round draft pick in 2013 and has no experience as a starter. Teams will certainly be looking to test him early and often. Their center, Jeremy Zuttah, is a versatile lineman with good feet but lacks upper body strength and gets bulled through by big defensive tackles, something the AFC North has plenty of.
Second, they are in need of a possession wide receiver. Of course they still have Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones and they just signed Steve Smith from the Carolina Panthers but they lack a wide receiver who can go over the middle and catch passes in traffic. Having three speed receivers could prove to be a problem for them when in the red zone.
Cincinnati Bengals
After free agency and a solid draft, the Bengals are looking to the future with optimism with the division being as winnable as ever right now. Even after a solid draft though, there are still a few holes that need to be worked on.
Their secondary is probably their biggest weakness right now. Terence Newman is up there in age and is losing speed. As he keeps losing a step (which speed has always been his biggest asset in coverage) on the wide receivers in the league, he will continue his decline and become a bigger liability. Leon Hall suffered a second torn Achilles last October and is a major question mark in this defense. However, the Bengals drafted Darqueze Dennard out of Michigan State and he is extremely promising but still has zero experience in the NFL and is therefore a question mark. Adam Jones would be next in line and if asked to have a major role in the defense like he did last season he could prove to be a weak link once again.
Cleveland Browns
With the Josh Gordon suspension coming down the pike, it’s pretty obvious their biggest hole is at wide receiver. Nate Burleson is also out for an extended period of time but his absence is due to injury. Their next wide receiver is Greg Little and anyone after that isn’t worth mentioning at this point in time. It didn’t help that the Browns didn’t bother drafting a wide receiver until very late in the draft.
Another hole for the Browns is their defensive line. At nose tackle they have Phil Taylor who, just by looking at him, you would think would be a very good run-stopping nose tackle. But he isn’t, he’s better at penetrating the gaps. That’s fine if you want your linemen to be one gap technique linemen, but the Browns run a 3-4 two gap technique scheme. Their defensive ends are, at best, average defensive ends. Not only is this a problem because they are weak at the point of attack, but it is also a problem because the job of defensive linemen in a 3-4 is to keep the linebackers clean and the linebackers on the Browns just aren’t good enough to overcome a weak defensive line.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers absolutely have their fair share of holes even after free agency and the draft. For starters, their offensive line, outside of their two guards, is a major question mark. Maurkice Pouncey missed all of last season with an injury and no one knows at what level he will come back at. Their two tackles, Kelvin Beachum and Marcus Gilbert are going to make it a rough year for Ben Roethlisberger when he’s running for his life week after week.
Another hole is their secondary. Even when star safety Troy Polamalu is healthy these days, he’s certainly not what he use to be. He can’t be counted on play after play anymore. Cornerback Ike Taylor is also up there in age and slowing down considerably. Their new additions Mike Mitchell and William Gay are both solid players but are not anything special. They also did not address this position group during the draft.
Their third hole is at wide receiver. Right now Markus Wheaton and Antonio Brown as their two starters and that isn’t a very good tandem. What the Steelers have working in their favor is their propensity of developing young wide receivers over the years into studs. They ended up drafting Martavis Bryant, wide receiver out of Clemson, and with his skill set he could certainly develop into something special. But as it stands right now, this position is a big question mark.