It might be the middle of July, but football is back! In the blogs anyway... We're going to be running our divisional previews once a week until the regular season kicks off, starting close to home with the AFC North!
Baltimore Ravens
Seems like the sting from an AFC Championship loss has worn off some over the last few months. A brutal conclusion to a year for a team that looks poised to make yet another push for the top.
Not expecting much fall off from QB Lamar Jackson, especially now that he'll have the battering ram that is Derrick Henry to run the RPO with. That's going to be must-watch television, much to the bane of many a defensive end.
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| Photo: BaltimoreRavens.com |
The pass catchers will mostly the same, outside of 4th round pick Devontez Walker replacing OBJ outside. The UNC product is a big perimeter target who'll have glowing opportunity to earn a starting spot. Mark Andrews and Zay Flowers are going to get theirs. Keep an eye on rookie Roger Rosengarten out on the right tackle. His level of play is going to be a real X-factor for this offense.
This defense should also be able to run it back, after finishing as last year's #1 unit. Justin Madubuike's 13 sacks landed him a hefty extension this offseason, setting up to wreck interior lines in black and purple for four more seasons. Trenton Simpson will be working next to Roquan Smith, looking to fill the shoes of the departed Patrick Queen. First rounder Nate Wiggins will be battling with Brandon Stephens for the CB2 spot opposite of Marlon Humphrey. In a perfect world, Stephens has an encore to his really strong '23, giving Baltimore a quality trio of corners in front of super star safety Kyle Hamilton.
One Bold Prediction: Mark Andrews has his second career 1,000 yard season. Pairing Derrick Henry in the backfield with Lamar is a linebackers nightmare, which should free up ample space for the 28-year-old to work over the middle of the field. There's not a ton of mouths to feed in the passing game, so look for Jackson to find his tight end early and often. 2021 was the only time Andrews cleared 1K, which'll be changing in a few months.
Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati managing to finish above .500 was impressive last season. Going 4-3 with Jake Browning under center was supremely commendable, indicative of a strong coaching staff and good roster. People like to clown on Zac Taylor, but he's got something good going there.
Questions will surround the wrist on Joe Burrow's throwing arm for the foreseeable future, after the oft-injured quarterback recently discussed his concerns with it's recovery and durability. Probably just smoke in mirrors, but certainly a development worth keeping an eye on. He'll be handing the ball off to Zack Moss, after the team traded Joe Mixon to the Texans this March. It's a downgrade in talent, although not as substantial as the media will lead you to believe.
Tee Higgins confirmed that he'll be playing under the tag for the Bengals, likely signaling his final go round with the organization. He and Ja'Marr Chase make for a hell of a tandem, but the talent drops off from there. Andrei Iosivas has had some moments in his brief career, but it'll likely be rookie Jermaine Burton getting the first crack at filling the void left by Tyler Boyd's departure. Curious to see how Mike Gesicki pans out with Burrow.
Highly underrated defensive line here. Sheldon Rankins should be an adequate replacement for DJ Reader, while Trey Hendrickson gets after opposing quarterbacks in what he said will be his last season in Cincy. Sam Hubbard is a solid player in his own right. Their linebacking core is decent, as is the secondary. We'll see if free agent safety Geno Stone can handle full-time starting duties. Not a ton of big names, but Lou Anarumo always gets the most out of them.
One Bold Prediction: Chase Brown outgains Zack Moss on the ground. Last year's 5th rounder had a few flashes behind Joe Mixon, averaging 4.1 yards per carry on 44 totes, but was never really given a prominent role. Moss is a workhorse, but he's not a guy that it'll be impossible to usurp. If given the chance, Brown will take this position by force.
Cleveland Browns
Objectively, the Deshaun Watson trade has firmly entered the discussion as the worst in NFL history. While the team may be 8-4 in his 12 starts, Watson has rarely been the driving force behind the wins, averaging just 185 passing yards a game with a 14-9 TD-INT ratio. On top of that, the organization ponied up 3 first rounders for the maligned quarterback. Acceptable if you're a game manager, not what you'd be expecting from your QB on a fully guaranteed, $230 million deal.
Nick Chubb's been putting out new videos of himself squatting 500+ pounds, leading us to believe he'll be good to go week one after gruesomely tearing his ACL versus the Steelers. The man's been absolutely timeless in the backfield thus far in his career, hoping this isn't the speed bump to slow him up. Jerry Jeudy was a great value to trade for, rounding out a really strong receiving room that already featured Amari Cooper and Elijah Moore. David Njoku can be a game wrecker too once he builds up a full head of steam.
Myles Garrett is the beast that fuels this defense, but he's not the only stud on that side of the ball. Dalvin Tomlinson and Shelby Harris should help stabilize the middle of the line, helping improve what was a pretty average run stuffing group. Devin Bush is a wildcard worth taking a roll on at linebacker, while Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome II hold down corner. It'd be surprising for this Cleveland D to not finish in the top 10.
One Bold Prediction: Jerry Jeudy leads the team in receiving. It always felt like Jeudy underachieved throughout his time in Denver, which wasn't aided by a rotating door of mediocrity under center. While that's not guaranteed to change in Cleveland, Kevin Stefanski seemingly always puts his skill players in places to succeed. Big year ahead for the 25-year-old.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Just one month ago, Mike Tomlin inked a 3-year extension with Pittsburgh-- a polarizing subject among the Yinzer faithful. He'll be tasked with overseeing the start to the Russell Wilson era in the Steel City; a topic met with similarly mixed feelings.
Forgive my lack of enthusiasm regarding the castoff quarterback, who looked wholly unimpressive during his brief stint in Denver. The fact that Justin Fields is seemingly miles behind in the QB competition is a really bad sign for his career trajectory. Najee Harris is a career plodder in the backfield; will this be the year Jaylen Warren steals the starting spot from him? Don't bet on it.
Van Jefferson isn't an inspiring second receiver for whoever ends up throwing him the ball. George Pickens is a special talent, but not sure he's prepared to step into the spotlight as the true WR1 the team is asking him to be. Roman Wilson is a fun talent to keep an eye on, good opportunity for him. The offensive line should also be heavily improved, with no less than two new starters coming in from this most recent draft.
Defensively, Pittsburgh should be no worse than middle of the pack. TJ Watt's always going to get his from the defensive end spot, as long as he can remain healthy anyway, with a really solid pass rusher in Alex Highsmith opposite of him. Expecting a noticeable drop in play from Patrick Queen, as he slides back into a MIKE role that he struggled in with Baltimore. We'll see how if the Steelers are able to deploy him toward his strengths. DeShon Elliott isn't a particularly great strong safety either, but he'll have Minkah with him on the back end to help pick him up.
One Bold Prediction: Like Dangeruss's time in Denver last season, there won't be a Pittsburgh receiver to clear 1,000 receiving yards. Pickens will lead the team, but between iffy quarterback play, a commitment to the run and minimal help from the supporting cast, there won't be any Steelers' pass catcher topping 1K in '24.
Division Shakedown
Call me a homer, but this is the Ravens division to lose. They have some depth issues at receiver and in the trenches, but their top end guys are simply too talented to not take home the North. Like last season, it should be incredibly competitive, especially if the key players on each team can stay healthy.
Cincy steals a wildcard spot while Pittsburgh and Cleveland narrowly miss out.
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@Choppinglines
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