AFC North Preview: Following the Flock
- iAmMizz!
- Sep 8, 2020
- 7 min read
Last year the Cleveland Browns had all the hype going into the season, but it ended up being Lamar Jackson's Baltimore Ravens that delivered with a 14-2 campaign. The Browns on the other hand were a train-wreck, finishing at 6-10. As expected, the Cincinnati Bengals pulled up the rear at 2-14 (winning the first overall draft pick), and the Pittsburgh Steelers played to a surprisingly good 8-8 considering Ben Roethlisberger was out most of the season. Pittsburgh missed out on the playoffs narrowly, but had many encouraging positives to look back on. Now as we begin to see the final rosters take shape, let's take an in-depth look at the AFC North in 2020.
In case you want to look back on an article for more depth or information, provided are links to my 2020 NFL offseason free agency articles, 2020 NFL draft articles and more;
4. Cincinnati Bengals (Projection: 3-13)
NightCap Free Agency Grade: B
IN- WR A.J. Green (TAG), DT D.J. Reader, CB Trae Waynes, S Vonn Bell, CB Mackenzie Alexander, LB Josh Bynes, DT Mike Daniels, G Xavier Su'a-Filo, LB Austin Calitro
OUT- QB Andy Dalton, CB Darqueze Dennard, DT Andrew Billings, CB Dre Kirkpatrick, TE Tyler Eifert, LB Nick Vigil, S Clayton Fejedelem, OT Cordy Glenn, G John Miller
OPT OUTS- DT Josh Tupou, OL Isaiah Prince
LONG-TERM INJURIES- CB Trae Waynes, CB Mackenzie Alexander (jail)
NightCap NFL Draft Grade: A-
Key Picks- QB Joe Burrow, WR Tee Higgins, LB Logan Wilson, LB Akeem Davis-Gaither
Final Offseason Grade: B+
This was an important offseason for the Bengals franchise. They finally moved on from Andy Dalton and began a new era under Heisman winner and Ohio native, Joe Burrow. They were also uncharacteristically active in free agency, especially on the defensive side. Cincy rebuilt their secondary with three new corners and a new safety in Vonn Bell. Unfortunately, top corner Trae Waynes is expected to miss half the season with injury, and Mackenzie Alexander is struggling with legal issues. Perhaps this will scare the Bengals away from making future splash signings. They also bulked on linebackers in both free agency and the draft, bringing in Josh Bynes and rookie Logan Wilson among others. Don't think that the Bengals left out D-Line (their favorite position to add to most years), D.J. Reader might have been their biggest free agent get and veteran Mike Daniels or Christian Covington could upgrade on opt out Josh Tupou. Even after the positive changes, don't expect this team to make too many waves in 2020. Aside from Tee Higgins and Burrow, they didn't improve this offensive unit enough. They also find themselves in a stacked division with the expected rookie QB growing pains and a poor offensive line (despite the fact that 2019 first round pick Jonah Williams should be healthy and start at left tackle). Cincinnati should be far more competitive, and they could even steal some wins depending on how Burrow acclimates to the pro level, but in the end they'll be bottom-feeders for at least one more season.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (Projection: 8-8)
NightCap Free Agency Grade: D+
IN- EDGE Bud Dupree (TAG), TE Eric Ebron, G Stefen Wisniewski, DL Chris Wormley, S Curtis Riley, FB Derek Watt, WR Ray-Ray McCloud, QB Josh Dobbs, P Dustin Colquitt
OUT- DT Javon Hargrave, G Ramon Foster (retired), CB Artie Burns, WR Ryan Switzer, TE Nick Vannett, LB Mark Barron, EDGE Anthony Chickillo, C B.J. Finney, P Jordan Berry
OPT OUTS- None
LONG-TERM INJURIES- None
NightCap NFL Draft Grade: C+
Key Picks- WR Chase Claypool, EDGE Alex Highsmith, G Kevin Dotson, RB Anthony McFarland
Final Offseason Grade: C-
In typical Steelers fashion, Pittsburgh's moves seemed to look years into the future, rather than focusing on the narrow window in front of them under veteran Ben Roethlisberger. The franchise had one of the most dynamic defenses in football in 2019, but the injury to Big Ben handicapped them tremendously as Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges struggled to lead the Steelers offense in his stead. Despite this, Pittsburgh almost made the playoffs, on what some deemed as Mike Tomlin's best coaching performance to date. Instead of building on the momentum of Roethlisberger's return, management seemed to punt on both free agency and the draft. The only key acquisitions were tight end Eric Ebron (a weird place to splurge with Vance MacDonald already on the roster), rookie wide-out Chase Claypool, and the push to re-tain Bud Dupree on a franchise tag. Meanwhile they lost important pieces like Javon Hargrave and Ramon Foster on both fronts. If Pittsburgh thinks a healthy Big Ben is enough to beat out Baltimore (and possibly even Cleveland) in the division, they are dead wrong. They should compete for a wildcard, but the Steelers draft signaled that the franchise is more interested in replacing 2021 free agents (JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Conner and Bud Dupree) than going all-in on a title run.
2. Cleveland Browns (Projection: 9-7, WC)
NightCap Free Agency Grade: B (previously B+)
IN- OT Jack Conklin, TE Austin Hooper, S Karl Joseph, S Andrew Sendejo, EDGE Adrian Clayborn, LB B.J. Goodson, FB Andy Janovic, QB Case Keenum, CB Kevin Johnson, DT Vincent Taylor, CB M.J. Stewart
OUT- LB Joe Schobert, S Damarious Randall, LB Christian Kirksey, S Morgan Burnett, CB T.J. Carrie, T Greg Robinson, TE Demetrius Harris, TE Ricky Seals-Jones, S Eric Murray
OPT OUTS- DT Andrew Billings, OT Drew Forbes, depth OL Drake Dorbeck/Colby Gossett/Malcolm Pridgeon
LONG-TERM INJURIES- S Grant Delpit, DE Curtis Weaver
NightCap NFL Draft Grade: B
Key Picks- OT Jedrick Wills Jr., S Grant Delpit, LB Jacob Phillips, DT Jordan Elliott, TE Harrison Bryant, WR Donovan Peoples-Jones
Final Offseason Grade: B
The Browns lost a little steam recently when free agent signing Andrew Billings decided to opt out, along with four depth offensive linemen. I still liked the aggressive nature of Cleveland's offseason, where they continued to buy buy buy, adding skill on both sides of the ball during Baker Mayfield's affordable years. The major headlines (after hiring Kevin Stefanski to take over as head coach, as well as Andrew Berry as general manager) were the Myles Garrett extension and beating out the competition in the Austin Hooper/Jack Conklin sweepstakes. They may have overpaid slightly for Conklin, but they desperately needed him. Baker got killed by opposing pass rushers in 2019, both of his tackles were beyond awful. Now he has the aforementioned right tackle and rookie first rounder Jedrick Wills Jr., who is expected to transition to the left side after his days at Alabama. Keeping Baker upright in the pocket will be crucial in flipping losses into wins this season. Besides Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams, the Browns also decided to overhaul their secondary. To me, they got slightly better in the process, but the combination of Karl Joseph, Andrew Sendejo, Kevin Johnson and M.J. Stewart doesn't exactly wow you either. With highly rated prospect Grant Delpit out long-term, the defensive back depth is a little shallow now. This linebacker core is concerning too, it's pathetic, and the defense as a whole might actually end up being the worst in the AFC North (in competition with the revamped Bengals), but the Browns 2020 offense is loaded with star power. If Baker can't succeed with his sparkly new blockers and this deep group of weapons, he's probably not the man for the job after all.
1. Baltimore Ravens (Projection: 14-2)
NightCap Free Agency Grade: C- (previously D+)
IN- EDGE Matt Judon (TAG), DL Calais Campbell, DT Derek Wolfe, LB Jake Ryan, OG D.J. Fluker, CB Jimmy Smith (key re-sign)
OUT- OG Marshal Yanda (retired), S Earl Thomas, DT Michael Pierce, TE Hayden Hurst, LB Josh Bynes, LB Patrick Onwuasor, WR Seth Roberts, S Tony Jefferson, CB Brandon Carr, DL Chris Wormley, S Brynden Trawick, DT Domata Peko
OPT OUTS- KR/WR De'Anthony Thomas, OL Andre Smith
LONG-TERM INJURIES- None
NightCap NFL Draft Grade: A
Key Picks- LB Patrick Queen, RB J.K. Dobbins, DT Justin Madubuike, LB Malik Harrison, WR Devin Duvernay, OG Tyre Phillips, OG Ben Bredeson, WR James Proche
Final Offseason Grade: B
Ravens fans aren't going to like this grade, I've seen many brag on social media that they had the best offseason in the NFL. The truth is, they didn't. They lost a ton of influential pieces (most recently Earl Thomas even if having him was a chemistry issue) and fought very hard just to bring back most of their 2019 roster. In doing so, they had to make some sacrifices like Hayden Hurst and Michael Pierce (who ironically ended up opting out of Minnesota). The biggest loss of all was future Hall of Fame right guard Marshal Yanda. Now, the larger question, will these departures actually matter? My guess is no, apart from Yanda's influence on the run game. Part of the reasoning why is that Baltimore drafted so well, as usual. I had them ranked as the second best draft in 2020 behind the Vikings. They filled numerous roster holes and added another dynamic talent to a run game that already flaunted Mark Ingram, Gus Edwards and Lamar Jackson's option prowess. They also brought in a few veterans late in the free agency process to smooth things over in the meantime (including Derek Wolfe, D.J. Fluker and Jake Ryan). I really liked the trade for Calais Campbell, and don't forget that last year's deadline acquisition Marcus Peters is back for a full campaign. This is a loaded roster, even if they did more repairing than adding this offseason. So long as the reigning MVP stays healthy, the Ravens should take the North and challenge the Chiefs for the AFC title.
Baltimore is the clear favorite as we head into 2020 and I'm not deviating from John Harbaugh's squad this time. I also think the Bengals need another year of development before they factor in the divisional race. In the battle for second, I keep going back and forth between the Steelers and Browns. When I picked the schedule, it literally came down to a Week 17 head-to-head in Cleveland for the wildcard spot, but I gave the slight edge to the Browns because of home field advantage. Cleveland also has one or two more favorable matchups in their schedule (Jets instead of Bills for example), plus they have the offense that is more likely team to keep up with the Ravens and steal a win from the front-runners. As we move along with our other AFC divisions, we'll take a closer look at the playoff picture, which sees the Ravens and Browns advancing from the North.
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