Title Runners

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Jonas Aranda

9–13 minutes

2025 AFC North Division Preview

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The AFC North has arguably been the most competitive NFL division of the 21st century. Over the last decade, the Ravens, Steelers and Bengals have all won the division 3 or more times, meanwhile the Browns have made a couple wild card playoff berths of their own. Now, the division has two MVP-caliber QBs, including a 2x MVP, and a head coach and organization who refuses to go down no matter how ridiculous the circumstances seem to look. All of that said, there looks to be a clear favorite, 2 teams fighting for a wild card spot, and another team who may be in the running for the #1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Which teams are which? Let’s talk through it.

1. Baltimore Ravens

  • Head Coach, Coordinator Changes: N/A
  • Free Agency Signings, Retentions: LT Ronnie Stanley, CB Jaire Alexander, FB Patrick Ricard, WR Deandre Hopkins, NT John Jenkins, WR Tylan Wallace, CB Chidobe Awuzie, T Joe Noteboom, QB Cooper Rush, LB Jake Hummel
  • Notable Draft Selections: S Malaki Starks, EDGE Mike Green, G Emery Jones

The Baltimore Ravens have been one of the most consistent organizations of the 21st century, and that has bled into the 2020s decade. The duo of HC John Harbaugh and QB Lamar Jackson has given the Ravens a playoff floor whenever Jackson stays healthy. The question for Baltimore is if they can beat the top teams in the NFL (Kansas City, Buffalo, Philadelphia) when the postseason arrives. What are their chances of doing it this year?

The Ravens offense is one of the most difficult to stop in the NFL. Two of the greatest ball carriers of all-time in one backfield behind a solid offensive line is a nightmare to gameplan for. The attention that Lamar Jackson commands gives Derrick Henry some of the easiest carries of his career and opens up the rest of the offense. Combine this lethal running game with the receiving talent of Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman at WR and Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely at TE, and the offense is borderline unstoppable as long as Lamar Jackson isn’t making mistakes.

The Ravens defense should be able to play well from start to finish, unlike last season. The secondary may be the best in the league. Marlon Humphrey and Kyle Hamilton are coming off of All-Pro seasons, Nate Wiggins is a budding star, Jaire Alexander is still a good player when healthy, and Malaki Starks is a first round selection who was widely seen as the best safety in the 2024 NFL Draft. The other 2 levels of the defense has star players as well with LB Roquan Smith and DT Nnamdi Madubuike. DC Zach Orr started to get comfortable in the 2nd half of the 2024 season, and that should carry over into 2025 and allow the defense to thrive from week 1.

Record Prediction: 13-4

2. Cincinnati Bengals

  • Head Coach, Coordinator Changes: DC Al Golden
  • Free Agency Signings, Retentions: WR Tee Higgins, TE Mike Gesicki, DT B.J. Hill, EDGE Joseph Ossai, TE Noah Fant, G Lucas Patrick, G Cody Ford, RB Samaje Perine, CB Marco Wilson, DT T.J. Slaton, LB Oren Burks, QB Desmond Ridder, EDGE Cam Sample, TE Tanner Hudson
  • Notable Draft Selections: EDGE Shemar Stewart, LB Demetrius Knight, G Dylan Fairchild

The Cincinnati Bengals have made things more complicated than they need to be for a long time. Their refusal to pay most players has often set them back when opportunities to build a real deal contender were on the table. This offseason, the Bengals decided to pay both of their WRs, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but have had difficulty bringing themselves to pay star DE Trey Hendrickson and ran into issues when signing rookie EDGE Shemar Stewart. By keeping essentially the same offense, changing defensive coordinators, and not investing much in the defense, how different are the Bengals in 2025? Can they get to the playoffs a year after wasting an elite passing offense?

The Bengals offense should be around the same level that it was in 2024. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins will once again be the best WR duo in the NFL, catching passes from one of the top 4 QBs in the NFL. Chase Brown is a solid option at RB and is liable for some explosive plays, as well. The biggest questions for the Bengals offense stem from their offensive line and their repeated slow starts. The offensive line will likely remain a question, but the Bengals offense not having any significant injuries in camp should help them not have a disastrous beginning of the season.

Like last season, the big concern for this Bengals team is their defense. Even with the coaching change, this defense is devoid of talent, especially if Trey Hendrickson is no longer on the team or just decides to not play. The task for the Bengals defense to help the team get to the postseason is not a tall one by any means, but it’s hard to see this defense not be a bottom 5 defensive unit without a lot of turnover luck. DC Al Golden will likely simplify the defense and try to refine fundamentals to try raising the floor, which is the polar opposite of Lou Anarumo’s complex schematics that favors veteran talent. Although emphasizing fundamentals and simplifying the scheme for young players may help out, the lack of talent on this Bengals defense suggests that not being a bottom 5 unit would be an overachievement. With this offense, being out of the bottom 8 may be enough from Cincinnati’s defense in order to reach the playoffs.

Record Prediction: 9-8

3. Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Head Coach, Coordinator Changes: N/A
  • Free Agency Signings, Retentions: WR DK Metcalf (trade), NCB/S Jalen Ramsey (trade), QB Aaron Rodgers, TE Jonnu Smith, CB Darius Slay, S Juan Thornhill, S Chuck Clark, LB Malik Harrison, G Andrus Peat, RB Kenneth Gainwell, CB Brandon Echols, WR Robert Woods, QB Mason Rudolph
  • Notable Draft Selections: IDL Derrick Harmon, RB Kaleb Johnson, EDGE Jack Sawyer

The Pittsburgh Steelers have pretty much been the same team since the decline of former QB Ben Roethlisberger. While not really being a serious contender since the end of the Roethlisberger era, the Steelers have remained competitive with an abundance of mediocre/poor QBs off of the back of their defense and somehow sustaining a high turnover differential in their favor. This purgatory the Steelers seem to be stuck in has frustrated fans and left analysts wondering what the long-term goal in Pittsburgh is supposed to be. It looks like the Steelers have decided where they want to go, as they signed and made trades for multiple veterans in an attempt to supplement their roster with enough talent to try making a deep run. Will this plan pay off for Pittsburgh?

Offensively, the Steelers profile as more of a zone run-heavy football team who may utilize play action to create big plays. Their 2024 draft class consisted of 3 offensive linemen. Zach Frazier was one of the best rookie offensive linemen last season, Troy Fautanu is an extremely talented lineman who ended up being injured early on, and Mason McCormick is another interior lineman who was seen as a nice value pick in the 4th round in 2024. A line with heavy investment, a deep tight end room, and a running back room that is complementary of each other could make for an interesting running game.

The passing game is where it gets sketchy for this Steelers offense. Aaron Rodgers, simply put, has been on the decline for years at this point. While Rodgers can still make all the throws and his arm still has some nice zip on it, his lack of mobility at this stage in his career combined with his timidness in the pocket makes for many frustrating moments and passing downs. While the offensive line has been heavily invested in, it’s still a question mark, and they may hurt Rodgers’ play. The DK Metcalf acquisition would be more exciting if Pittsburgh didn’t already have George Pickens and also didn’t trade him away. With a declining Rodgers, a questionable offensive line, and a lack of receiving weapons outside of Metcalf (whose chemistry with Rodgers looks shaky anyway) and some solid tight end talent, this Pittsburgh passing attack feels uninspiring and ultimately gives this offense a low ceiling.

The defense for Pittsburgh, as usual, should be good. The defensive line and outside linebackers should be fantastic once again. This secondary looks very promising after the Darius Slay acquisition and the Jalen Ramsey trade (the latter looking like a lateral move defensively). The versatility in the back end shouldn’t be affected too much, but losing Fitzpatrick can open up more opportunities for opposing offenses to get away with explosive passing plays, although the pass rush may not allow many of those. The starting linebackers of Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson should be enough support in the middle of the defense to allow the Steelers to do whatever they want. Mike Tomlin’s defense should be one of the league’s best (again).

Record Prediction: 8-9

4. Cleveland Browns

  • Head Coach, Coordinator Changes: N/A
  • Free Agency Signings, Retentions: QB Joe Flacco, QB Kenny Pickett (trade), G Teven Jenkins, DT Maliek Collins, S Rayshawn Jenkins, LB Jerome Baker, EDGE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, S Damontae Kazee, T Jackson Barton, LB Devin Bush, EDGE Julian Okwara, WR Diontae Johnson, WR DeAndre Carter, T Cornelius Lucas
  • Notable Draft Selections: DT Mason Graham, LB Carson Schwesinger, RB Quinshon Judkins, TE Harold Fannin, QB Dillon Gabriel, RB Dylan Sampson, QB Shedeur Sanders

The Cleveland Browns have been in the headlines for a lot of reasons this offseason. A Myles Garrett trade request, a Myles Garrett extension, trading down from #2 overall in the draft, the Quinshon Judkins situation, and drafting Shedeur Sanders a couple round after drafting Dillon Gabriel, seemingly to grant the owner’s demands. This is all following years of dealing with the drama and judgment that comes with giving Deshaun Watson a fully guaranteed $46M contract. Considering where the Browns’ roster is at, there may be no reason to talk about them once the season starts aside from predicting who is going to find themselves drafting 1st overall in 2026.

This Cleveland Browns offense has a chance to be the worst offense in the NFL. There’s no need to sugarcoat it, this offense doesn’t have anything to point at if someone were to ask what they do well. The offensive line has fallen toward the bottom of the league, the receiving weapons are below average in totality, the running backs actually look solid, but there is also a potential QB carousel in the making. Reports suggest the Browns may head into the season with 4 quarterbacks, and none of them can really change how we look at Cleveland. Joe Flacco is far removed from what he once was, Kenny Pickett got benched for Mitch Trubisky the last time he was a full-time starter, Dillon Gabriel has glaring physical limitations, and Shedeur Sanders seems to be the highest upside QB in this group at the moment, but the coaching staff clearly has questions about him. In just a few words: This offense will be really bad.

The Browns defense actually has a chance to be a respectable unit, unlike the offense. There are a couple high-end veteran talents between DE Myles Garrett (the best EDGE in football) and CB Denzel Ward, who should at least keep this defense out of the basement. 2025 draftees DT Mason Graham and LB Carson Schwesinger also have a chance to make an impact in year 1. Greg Newsome has shown to be a good CB in the past, but the Browns have already lost starting CB Martin Emerson for the season. Outside of that, the Browns are not a very good football team. This attacking defense can have better turnover luck than they had in 2024, and have real star talent that can change games, but the offense may just leave the defense exhausted if they struggle to sustain drives (which is a realistic expectation). The best sign for this Cleveland defense is if Garrett and Ward don’t show regression and their young players prove they can be impact players in 2026. Browns fans should start looking into the QBs that may enter the 2026 NFL Draft.

Record Prediction: 3-14