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NFL Draft 2018: 5 Teams that improved the most for this season

By Michael Johnson

BALTIMORE, MD - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Marvin Lewis of the Cincinnati Bengals looks on against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on December 31, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Marvin Lewis of the Cincinnati Bengals looks on against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on December 31, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

The draft is over and here are the five teams who will see immediate improvement because of the picks they made in the 2018 NFL Draft.

The 2018 NFL Draft is behind us now, and the future is the upcoming season. Teams are preparing their next board and looking forward to conquering their respective divisions. Still, a lot of teams will have to rely on rookies to help them win games.

For most teams, it’s about making the playoffs. For others, it’s about showing vast improvement from the year before. There are teams like the Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins and a few others who have drastically improved their teams with the 2017 draft class.

However, these are the five teams that did it best — the teams that drafted players who’ll be major factors in their winning now. 

Cincinnati Bengals

For The Cincinnati Bengals, this draft felt like a reboot and fresh start to get away from the negativity that plagued them defensively the last few years. With an injection of young talent the Bengals are looking to start a new era and we think it’s the right move. The Bengals drafted a bunch of players that could help them sooner rather than later. They did the right thing and invested in their offensive line early by taking Billy Price, and then they went heavy on defense. 

That began with safety Jessie Bates, who wasn’t valued as high as Derwin James or Minkah Fitzpatrick. However, under defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, Bates fell into a great position. Because of his ability to do everything well, including tackling and dropping into man coverage, Bates could be used like Glover Quin, who did a lot of things for Austin. He’s raw with minimal experience (two years), but his upside is high and there’s no doubt the Austin could mold him into an impact player. 

They also added help to the front seven with the high-motor guy from Ohio State, Sam Hubbard, who could provide depth behind Carlos Dunlap and Michael Johnson and work well for them as a run defender. Texas linebacker Malik Jefferson also adds depth and, with Austin as his coordinator in addition to his skill-set, he could be the Bengals equivalent to DeAndre Levy.

Miami running back Mark Walton was interesting because he’s a mirror image of their current second string running back, Giovani Bernard. Both guys are well-built, short backs with a knack for catching the ball. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Bernard. 

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