Thanks to the hype surrounding the Cleveland Browns the AFC North is attracting more attention than usual this off-season. However, Cleveland is not the only team who have been busy in the off-season and right now many view them as the best team in the division. This is our predraft view of the current squads.
Cleveland Browns
Of all the 32 teams in the NFL when an objective view is taken of their roster it is hard to find any major holes. The offensive line Could possibly use a bit of strengthening given they don’t have a Joe Thomas on the roster anymore and Kevin Zeitler is now a Giant. However, outside of that they look stacked. Which is a good job given their lack of draft capital this year compared to previous years anyway. They still have second third and fourth-round picks to play with and the luxury of picking the best player available when they come round.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The supported demise of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks a bit premature judging by the roster, which although not stacked as the Browns still looks pretty formidable. The secondary was an issue for the Steelers last year and they have added Mark Barron and Steven Nelson which should help. Overall Pittsburgh has no major holes and its more a case of adding depth or upgrading outside of the backfield which is where their 1st round pick will probably go, and with another edge rusher and a wide receiver, the Steelers will be challenging for the division again and should return to the postseason after missing out last year.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens somehow found themselves Division winners last season despite jettisoning Joe Flacco in favour of Lamar Jackson at QB – and he didn’t look like an upgrade. However, they did have a fearsome defence and this made up for the lack of offensive production. They will need to replace Za’Darius Smith, and then address the anaemic WR/TE situation – if for no other reason to see if Jackson is a starting calibre QB with some talent around him They will also need to add some depth at running back as although Mark Ingram can carry a load there is not much behind him and if Jackson doesn’t step up he could see a lot of work.
Cincinnati Bengals
You have to feel a little sorry for the Cincinnati Bengals, they are not a bad team and in a less competitive division could be challenging, however here, pre-draft anyway look like the weakest squad-wise. You could make a case for them needing additional depth at virtually every position, however, outside of the offensive line, you could also argue that they are average or better. They have 10 draft picks this year, but with five of these in the sixth round, we may see them using some to move up a place or two in the earlier rounds to grab needs.
Conclusion
If the season started tomorrow our opinion is that Pittsburgh and Cleveland would battle out the division, and Baltimore and Cincinnati would fight it out for third place and a possible wildcard spot. None of these teams should be awful in 2019, however, the chances of the division sending one or more to the wildcard games may be hampered by divisional records. The buzz right now is about Cleveland, but they do lack big-game experience, and this could prove costly come December when the pressure is on. It will be interesting to see how the rosters look post the draft.
