Ask Andrea: The AFC North Mailbag

It's that time of the week again: time to Ask Andrea (yes, that's me) your most-pressing AFC North questions for the ol' Mailbag. This week, we cover more Mike Wallace talk, (rightful) Browns draft paranoia, trade-down scenarios for the Ravens and a little bit of weirdness—it is Friday the 13th, after all.

Give me a follow on Twitter (a convenient button is below) and watch out for upcoming calls for submissions, so you can get your questions in to me and your answers out of me in a terribly efficient and friendly manner.

Yes, Grady, I do recommend you seek help. But I understand your fear. Now, I am no licensed dream interpreter (and I don't think you can get licensing for such a thing, at least not here in Illinois), but I have a guess as to why this dream occurred to you.

First, you've clearly been watching basketball, and I won't bother chastising you for it. It's not like there's any football on and a sports lover's gotta do what he's gotta do. That part of the dream is easy—it's literal.

But you have the Browns taking Amar'e Stoudemire at No. 4 overall in this draft over Trent Richardson, which belies an underlying fear of your team passing on a player they most certainly need (and who is most certainly awesome) for a head-scratcher who doesn't fit.

It's a very reasonable fear, one that any Browns die-hard is certainly harboring as the draft creeps ever-closer. Here's to hoping the Browns don't take a basketball player (or a basket case) at No. 4 and just bring on Richardson like they should.

Nick, you seem to be suffering from the same fear and paranoia as our friend Grady above. And again, it's not unfounded. Last year, the Browns traded down from No. 6 with the 21st-picking Atlanta Falcons so they could snag wide receiver Julio Jones, giving up their chance to bring on an elite player.

At least the results of that have given them a second first-round pick to work with this year and deals all around have left the team with total 13 picks. But the selection of most concern and of hottest debate is that No. 4 overall pick.

The trade-down rumors have not ceased, and you're right to be worried that they become a reality in two weeks. They could trade down, but no further than No. 8, but that limits their opportunities far more than one would conventionally think.

That's because need and talent meet in Trent Richardson at No. 4. If they miss out on him—if they willingly miss out on him—that's a huge opportunity wasted, one that's going to affect the upcoming season and seasons to come, one I think will actually appear like a hostile act against the Browns' fan base.

The closer we get to the draft the more I am desperately obsessed with the Browns taking Richardson with this pick, and though I know he's tailor-made for their situation, I can't ignore that little voice in my head that says they'll trade down, that they'll take a player they don't need (Morris Claiborne) or one that doesn't fit correctly (Justin Blackmon).

The best I can say is this: It's out of your hands. You can worry about it, you can try to psychically will the Browns into taking Richardson, you can resign yourself to accepting whatever they do, but you simply cannot affect their choice.

But no, I really hope, I really, really hope that the Browns don't trade down and pass on Richardson. Teams need to get better—the Browns need to get better—and Richardson has better-maker written all over him.

Mike Wallace talk seems to die and then, there it is, a miraculous recovery! He's alive! Amber, it's not looking like Wallace is interested in signing the $2.74 million first-round restricted free agent tender the Pittsburgh Steelers have given him, which is the kind of posturing you'd expect from a player worth much more than that.

But I can't imagine the holdout lasting all that long, and I don't see a sign-and-trade scenario (or just a trade) playing out, though. The Steelers simply don't need to trade him, no matter what Wallace and agent Bus Cook threaten to do. 

Wallace has until Jun 15 to sign his tender or his salary is reduced to $2.1 million for the year. If he sits out into the season and doesn't sign his tender by November, then he doesn't get paid this year and is a restricted free agent again in 2013.

Chances are that he will eventually sign the tender and the Steelers, Wallace and Cook will try to come to terms on a new deal. If not, he will go elsewhere in 2013 and the team will focus its contract attentions on Antonio Brown who is himself an RFA next year.

The last time a Steeler held out it was Hines Ward and it lasted a week. This may last longer, but it won't extend into the season and Wallace will take the field wearing black and gold for at least one more year.

Shaun, it's actually hard to say.

Using the old NFL Draft Pick Value chart, the 29th overall pick is worth 640 points. Second-round picks are worth anywhere between 580 points (pick 33) to 270 points (pick 64), which is a huge disparity in value.

However, the chart is a bit outmoded—it was put together before the new rookie compensation rules—which means value is far more relative team-by-team nowadays. But it can still serve as a guideline when talking about trade scenarios.

New Orleans might be a good trade partner, considering they don't have a pick in the first two rounds (the first was traded to the New England Patriots and the second was taken away as punishment for the Bounty scandal).

Their first pick this year is No. 89, in the third round, worth 145 points. They could add in a later-round pick to make up value this year and then throw in a third and fifth next year (again, they may not have a second-rounder next year).

Though it seems a lot for the beaten-down Saints to give up, not having a pick this year in the first two rounds hurts. So they could try to get that 29th-overall selection from the Ravens and worry about the cost in the future.

There are also five teams who would be interested in moving up to No. 29 and willing to give up their second-rounder (and a later pick) in return: the Dolphins, Seahawks, Chiefs, Cowboys and Eagles, who all pick in a row from 42 through 46.

The Eagles are especially ripe for this move, considering they have a good number of draft picks this year. The Ravens could find themselves with some serious value immediately should Philadelphia come calling.

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