Ask Andrea: The AFC North Mailbag

It's Friday, which means it's yet again time for the AFC North Mailbag. This week's questions include the Mailbag's first ever fantasy football inquiry, which means we're drawing ever nearer to the time when football will actually be played. What a relief.

Remember to give me a follow on Twitter (convenient button located below) so you can keep your eyes out for the next call for submissions and be able to ask me your question.

Trades, whether they involve players or draft picks, tend to happen between teams with a degree of familiarity with each other. There needs to be a level of trust involved that neither side is trying to pull something over on the other while still realizing the quest is to get as much value for as reasonable a cost as possible.

The Patriots are generally a measured trade partner, one that deals with teams they know can come through with the goods, so to speak. So it's quite possible that the successful trade last year for Chad Ochocinco made them interested in calling up the Bengals when it came to moving up in the draft.

The draft-day trade was interesting for two reasons: One, which you mentioned, is that the Bengals aren't known for trades, and two, the Patriots aren't known for trading up in the draft, generally preferring to trade back and acquire more picks.

The two teams clearly must have forged a solid trade partnership with the Ochocinco move last year, and both felt comfortable enough to move forward with the picks trade in the first round of the draft. 

Also, I think the fact that the Bengals have become more aggressive in personnel matters also factored in. They're more willing to take risks to acquire the players they want.

While Mike Brown is still not entirely sold on spending big cash—at least not until he has to—and thus, they're generally a pretty quiet team when it comes to free agency, these trades definitely do speak to a bit of change in the front office's philosophy.

I think it's a toss-up between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens have Ed Reed (because, no, he's not retiring this year) at free safety and Bernard Pollard at strong; in Pittsburgh, Troy Polamalu is the strong safety while Ryan Clark serves as their free safety.

Both tandems are about as good as it gets in the NFL right now. Clark led the Steelers in tackles last year with 100, and while Polamalu, like Reed, is starting to show some wear and tear, he's managed to rack up 29 interceptions in his career.

Pollard notched 75 tackles last season and three forced fumbles, and he's proven to be a real asset at the position for the Ravens. Reed had a down year in terms of interceptions—he had just three—but he's still one of the best safeties to ever play the game.

Quality safety play is a hallmark of the AFC North, especially where the Ravens and Steelers are concerned. The Bengals and Browns aren't that far behind the two leaders, but it's hard to look at Taylor Mays or Usama Young and see players comparable to the talent level on the Steelers' and Ravens' rosters just yet.

I completely agree with you, Michael. Ben Roethlisberger is 30 years old and considering the way he plays the game and the beatings he's taken so far in his career, it's hard to imagine him sticking around as long as Brett Favre. 

The Steelers appear to be in no rush to add and groom Roethlisberger's successor just yet, and I do think they have another year or two to do so without it being a problem. But it's an issue they need to really start thinking about.

The age of their two primary backups, Charlie Batch and Byron Leftwich, is a concern. Leftwich is 32 and Batch is 37, and neither of them should be in the league much longer. While they both possess great leadership skills as well as knowledge of the Steelers' offensive philosophy, they don't bring a lot to the table in terms of dynamism. 

A problem with finding a suitable down-the-line replacement for Roethlisberger is just where they're going to get him. As long as the Steelers remain one of the NFL's stronger teams, they won't have the first-round positioning to snag one of the draft's top quarterback prospects unless there's a particularly stacked year.

There's also the issue that quarterbacks selected after the second round rarely pan out to be starters. If the Steelers select a quarterback in the third or fourth rounds, they'll be taking quite the sizable gamble in hoping he'd be able to turn into a guaranteed starter in a few seasons.

The Steelers' best option would be to grab a younger free-agent quarterback in the next couple of years to serve as Roethlisberger's primary backup and true understudy and install that person as the starter when Ben's time in Pittsburgh or in the NFL is up.

It's not a crisis for the Steelers just yet, but without proper planning, a very harsh reality may spring up on them and they could be unprepared to handle it.

Bless you, Mac, for sending me a fantasy football question. It's been far too long since I've answered one of these, and it has me itching for the season to start.

Honestly, I think that Greg Little is generally going to go undrafted in most fantasy leagues this year, unless reports out of Cleveland Browns training camp are outstanding. I think he'll have an improved second season, whether it's Colt McCoy or Brandon Weeden throwing him the ball, but he's not all that much to get excited about from a fantasy standpoint.

This could work to your benefit, of course. Fantasy drafters know that right now, Browns receivers aren't a must-have on the roster. So if your sights are particularly set on him, you should be able to snag him out of the free-agency pool after your draft, and you won't have to use a pick on him.

There are situations in which I'd recommend drafting Little, however. One is if you're in a deeper league (12-, 14-, or 16-team leagues); the other is if you start three wide receivers ever week instead of two and a flex. In three-receiver leagues, even ones with only 10 teams, talent thins out rapidly. He'd be worth stashing on your bench in that situation.

If you don't do three receivers and your league has just 10 teams, though, I'd recommend against using a pick on Little unless you don't like any of your other options in the later rounds.

That's all for this week. See you next Friday with more questions from readers—perhaps even one from you.

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