Browns brimming with talent, but Ravens have made gains
All it took was one offseason for the Cleveland Browns to become the new Pittsburgh Steelers. On offense, anyway. With running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown departing Pittsburgh, and with wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. arriving in Cleveland as quarterback Baker Mayfield and running back Nick Chubb ascend, the Browns have perhaps the most offensive talent in the AFC North at three skill positions. They’re not yet a runaway force, though. The Steelers should still have the division’s top offensive line, and the Ravens have unmatched depth and talent at tight end. The Cincinnati Bengals are in for a rebuilding season, but they don’t lack talent at wide receiver. With the start of training camp just weeks away, here’s how the four offenses stack up at each position entering the 2019 season.
Quarterback
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had one of his better seasons in recent memory last year — 34 touchdowns, 16 interceptions, 5,129 passing yards, 67% accuracy, 96.5 passer rating — and still wasn’t as good as the Browns’ Mayfield over the regular season’s final two months. There’s also the fact that second-year quarterbacks tend to improve more than 37-year-olds do.
Andy Dalton was far from great last season for Cincinnati, but he did finish with nearly twice as many touchdowns as interceptions. Lamar Jackson’s footspeed helped unlock the Ravens’ ground game last season, but he still needs to improve his fundamentals as a passer (too many missed throws to the sideline) and ball carrier (too many fumbles).
Running back
Cleveland is the only AFC team with two running backs who finished among Pro Football Focus’ top 10 at the position last season. Chubb, the analytics site’s No. 1 overall running back, averaged 5.2 yards per carry as a rookie, forcing 44 missed tackles and running for 858 yards after contact. Kareem Hunt will miss half the season for violating the NFL’s personal-conduct policy, but the newcomer’s receiving ability is unquestioned.
The Ravens have a promising one-two punch in Mark Ingram and Gus Edwards, and rookie Justice Hill gives the offense a breakaway threat it lacked last year. Cincinnati’s Joe Mixon and Pittsburgh’s James Conner are top-level starters, as the former led the AFC in rushing yards and the latter made it the Pro Bowl last season. But from starter to backup, there’s a notable drop-off in the Bengals’ production and in the Steelers’ experience.
Wide receiver
It never hurts to acquire maybe the NFL’s best receiver. Beckham, another new Cleveland star, reached 5,000 career receiving yards in his 54th game last season, the fastest pace in NFL history. He’s missed a combined 16 games the past two seasons because of injuries, but he’s still averaged well over 1,000 yards per year since entering the league. The Browns’ supporting cast is pretty good, too: Jarvis Landry, Antonio Callaway and Rashard Higgins combined for more than 2,000 yards last season.
If not for injuries, A.J. Green would have paired with Tyler Boyd to give Cincinnati a pair of 1,000-yard receivers. Pittsburgh lost Brown this offseason, but still has JuJu Smith-Schuster, one of the NFL’s most productive receivers last season. In Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and Miles Boykin, the Ravens have two promising rookies, but they still need a lot more.
It’s not often that three offensive linemen from the same team earn Pro Bowl selections. Even rarer is all three being named starters. The Steelers are that good up front: Maurkice Pouncey made the Pro Bowl for the seventh time last season, while David DeCastro and Alejandro Villanueva were honored for the fourth and second straight time, respectively. Altogether, Pittsburgh’s front five rated first in pass-blocking efficiency last season, according to PFF.
With the return of Marshal Yanda and the continued development of Ronnie Stanley and Orlando Brown Jr., the Ravens have the talent to continue to win at the line of scrimmage. Cleveland showed improvement up front last season, but losing guard Kevin Zeitler hurts. The Bengals need Billy Price, their 2018 first-round pick, to come through this season, especially with No. 11 pick Jonah Williams (shoulder) lost for the year.