AFC Notes: Shedeur Sanders, Mike Green, Shemar Stewart, Bengals, Browns, Ravens

Bengals

Bengals’ first-round DE Shemar Stewart had an impressive NFL Combine, finishing with the best broad jump for defensive linemen, second in the vertical leap, and fourth in the 40-yard dash among players at his position.  Bengals’ director of college scouting Mike Potts said they expected him to test well, and his combine performance didn’t impact their evaluation of him. 

“Honestly, his combine performance did not affect the evaluation a ton because we already saw that on tape, and then we talked to our sources at the school,” Potts said, via Jay Morrisson of SI. “We already knew he was going to test like that. It would have been a surprise if the testing numbers were a notch less than that in all those areas.”

Potts reiterated how they saw Stewart’s “explosiveness” on film. 

“You see that explosiveness, that violence, that speed on tape,” Potts said. “We already knew we were dealing with a freakish, top-percentile athlete in this draft.”

Potts said their plan to draft Stewart had more to do with how their coaching staff planned on using him. 

“It was more about the conversations with the production, talking that through with our coaching staff and their vision and their plan for the player to develop them, work with them and get the best out of them,” Potts said. “So the Combine was something that we kind of expected going into it.”

Browns

The Browns landed Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round after a surprising slide down the draft. Mike Sando of The Athletic cites one anonymous executive who mentioned that most teams had Sanders graded as a second-rounder, but he fell because teams didn’t feel his intangibles were worth taking at that stage.  

“You like some of the pieces, but there is the glue that has never been there,” one executive said. “Most teams had Sanders rated as a second-round pick, but when you are building a team, you have to include the intangibles and the other stuff and decide whether you want it or not. For most teams at that stage, it was not worth it. So he falls a couple rounds, and it’s too hard for a team like the Browns to pass on him.”

One executive said team-builders around the league felt the “level of distraction” and energy that would go into coaching Sanders wasn’t worth taking. 

“What the team builders are saying is, there is a level of distraction that comes with some players that impacts the team,” the executive said. “The energy that goes into coaching certain players impacts the team.”

An anonymous coach could see Sanders falling to the fifth round be beneficial to his development. 

“Kyler took years to get where he’s at today; Baker took time to get there,” the coach said. “If Shedeur were the second pick, does he ever get there? In the fifth round, maybe he will be humbled and listen. Because he works and is a good student and all that. He just comes off as entitled and as having a higher opinion of himself than he should.” 

Ravens

Marshall pass rusher Mike Green fell to the Ravens in the second round and admits that while he wanted to be a first-round pick, his being selected by Baltimore was a blessing in disguise.

“That was a goal I set for myself,” Green said. “I didn’t really get to get that goal, but coming to the Ravens was a blessing in disguise. I live by that and I mean that. I honestly can say I don’t think there’s a better program or franchise I can be a part of than the Ravens.”

Green addressed and denied allegations of sexual assault stemming from both high school and college.

“Every team asked me and I’ve been completely open about everything,” Green added. “It’s something I had to go through, I got through it, and from this point forward, I’m just focusing on moving on with my career.”