Cincinnati Bengals
It’s hard to pick against the defending AFC Champions when the other three teams in the division have Lamar Jackson coming off an injury, Mitchell Trubisky trying to hold off Mason Rudolph and a rookie, and the Deshaun Watson dumpster fire as their QBs. The Bengals have Joe Burrow, the best collection of skill position talent in the league, and three new starters on the offensive line. If you want a blueprint for building your WR corps, it looks exactly like the Bengals. Ja’Marr Chase is a true #1 WR who’s a great deep threat, Tee Higgins is the big-bodied outside jump ball/red zone killer, and Tyler Boyd is the great slot guy who can move inside to out with Chase to get the best matchups. They lost CJ Uzomah at TE but Hayden Hurst is a solid starter. RB Joe Mixon is one of the most underrated RBs in the NFL and don’t sleep on backup Chris Evans, he can have a role in the passing game too. Joe Burrow is an awesome QB with a ridiculous collection of playmakers around him.
The offensive line was a serious problem last year and this team still made the Super Bowl. They return LT Jonah Williams, the only guy who wasn’t a travesty last season. Jackson Carman got his feet wet as a rookie but he likely gets the LG job all to himself this year. The rest of the line got a complete overhaul. C Ted Karras comes over from New England, he’s never making a Pro Bowl but he’s an upgrade for this team. RG Alex Cappa was a free agent expenditure coming over from Tampa Bay where he won a Super Bowl ring a couple years ago. RT La’el Collins was let go by the Cowboys and now he’s a pretty good RT with a giant chip on his shoulder. This line is going to be light years ahead of last year’s line simply by showing up. Imagine what Joe Burrow can do if they keep him upright.
The defense was better than the sum of its parts. DE Trey Hendrickson was a great free agent pickup and gave them the elite edge rusher they have been looking for. His 14 sacks made him one of the most productive pass rushers in the NFL and with Sam Hubbard rebounding to a solid 7.5 sacks, the team got the pressure they needed. DJ Reader isn’t really the stat-stuffing kind of DT, he’s just the foundation the front four is built on. BJ Hill actually did put up some nice numbers, including his 5.5 sacks. He’s the backfield disruptor making things rough for the opposing offense.
The LBs are about as non-descript as you can get. Logan Wilson, Germaine Pratt and Akeem Davis-Gaither aren’t making the Pro Bowl any time soon but these guys did a nice job last year. They do their job and that’s about the most you can say about them. They have some nice skills but nothing I would consider elite. The secondary is going to be interesting this season. The best player is FS Jessie Bates III but the team franchise tagged him, they didn’t come to a contract agreement, and Bates says he’s not playing under the terms of the tag. For now, he’s not in camp and it doesn’t look promising. Vonn Bell is the other safety, he’s solid but not spectacular. Eli Apple returns after his less than stellar Super Bowl, they don’t have anyone at the moment to replace him so he’s the starter. Chidobe Awuzie is the other CB, it’s not a great pair but it’s what they have. They did draft Dax Hill from Michigan. Hill can play CB, safety, and nickel so they will find where he’s best, for now, he’s probably replacing Bates. Keep on eye on Cam Taylor-Britt, their other rookie CB. He’s probably as talented as the guys they’re starting he just doesn’t have the experience they do.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens went 8-9 last season with Lamar Jackson missing significant time. With him back healthy this team should give Cincinnati a run for the division but I still have some questions. Jackson makes the offense go but the team isn’t giving him a ton of help at WR. They’re clearly counting on Rashod Bateman to step up as the top WR with Marquise Brown traded. It’s Bateman, Devin Duverney, and James Proche II at the top of the WR group, that’s rough. Obviously, they will lean heavily on TE Mark Andrews and they hope Nick Boyle gets back healthy. They drafted two TEs, Charlie Kolar and Isaiah Likely. Kolar is having surgery on a sports hernia at the start of camp so he’s going to be behind to start the year. Likely could get some time as a pass catching TE.
The team usually can count on their running game, at least they did for years before injuries struck hard last year. They are hoping JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards can return from their injuries and re-establish the running game. They signed Mike Davis as veteran insurance and drafted Tyler Badie. They don’t want to get caught shorthanded like they did last year. It won’t matter who’s running the ball if they don’t get better play up front. LT Ronnie Stanley basically hasn’t played in two years but when he’s healthy, he’s one of the best LTs in football. They were extremely short at OT last year when injury struck so this year, they signed RT Morgan Moses to be their starter, they drafted Daniel Faalele, and they still have Ju’Wuan James, the veteran they signed as a stopgap last year. The interior of the line will have veteran Kevin Zeitler at RG and rookie 1st rounder Tyler Linderbaum at center, those two should be solid. The LG spot will be a battle between Ben Powers, Tyre Phillips, and maybe Patrick Mekari. This line can be good if everyone is healthy. They can’t possibly have as many injuries as they had last year, it has to be a statistical impossibility.
The defense gets a new voice as Wink Martindale moved on and Mike Macdonald returns after a year as Michigan’s defensive coordinator. Macdonald was a Raven’s assistant before his year at Michigan so he knows this defense and he doesn’t have to make major changes. DE Calais Campbell returns at 36 and while he’s not as effective as he once was, he’s still solid. Michael Pierce returns after a short stay in Minnesota and he gives them a veteran NT in the middle. They also drafted Travis Jones after he slipped to round three and he’ll give them some more beef inside. They really need Justin Madubuike to step up at the other DE spot.
The pass rush comes from the OLB spot. Odafe Oweh had a promising rookie year and Tyus Bowser had a solid year until he tore his Achilles. They are hoping to have Bowser back but they re-signed Justin Houston as insurance. The ILB spots are manned by Patrick Queen, a promising youngster they like, and Josh Bynes, a veteran everyone tries to replace wherever he is but he just keeps on starting. Bynes is never great but he’s never terrible either. The team would love for Malik Harrison or even Kristian Welch to beat out Bynes but it just never happens.
The secondary is one of the best in the NFL, if they are all healthy. CB Marcus Peters isn’t as good as he thinks he is but he’s better than most people want to give him credit for. CB Marlon Humphrey is one of the best in the game but he missed five games last year, they need him on the field. They gave FS Marcus Williams a huge free agent contract, they drafted Kyle Hamilton in round one to be their new SS, and they already have a good SS in Chuck Clark. They also signed veteran Kyler Fuller to give them some CB depth and they really like what Brandon Stephens gave them last year as a rookie.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers made the playoffs last year with the ghost of Ben Roethlisberger running the show. Whether it’s Mitchell Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, or Kenny Pickett at QB this offense should actually be better. The skill position talent is there and they hope they upgraded the offensive line a little. Trubisky has the QB spot to start training camp and someone is going to have to prove they are clearly a better option for him to lose the job. Diontae Johnson is the most established WR at this point and if his drops weren’t such a concern, he would be a certifiable #1 option. He has to be more consistent holding onto the ball. Chase Claypool wasn’t as effective catching TDs as he was as a rookie and he didn’t take a major step forward like many thought he should. It didn’t help that he’s a good deep ball receiver and he was playing with a QB that couldn’t throw it more than eight yards. The X-factor could be rookie George Pickens. He’s a ridiculous talent who fell to the second round in the draft because he played last season coming back from a knee injury. The team signed guys like Miles Boykin and Gunner Olszewski for depth but keep on eye on rookie Calvin Austin III, he could make some noise. TE Pat Freiermuth proved to be very effective last year; he’s not going to be confused with Travis Kelce but he’s pretty good.
The running game is in the more than capable hands of second-year RB Najee Harris. He had 307 carries and 74 catches last season, that’s insane. Harris is built to carry a heavy load but if they keep up that pace, he won’t see past year five of his career. Unfortunately, Benny Snell Jr. and Anthony McFarland Jr. haven’t proven to be effective backups. This team is ripe for a veteran backup RB signing. The offensive line isn’t made up of household names but they like some of their young guys and signed a couple of veterans to stabilize things. LT Dan Moore Jr. has some potential and they are going with it for now. RT Chukwura Okorafor is solid but not spectacular. They are going to give Kevin Dotson another chance to prove he’s starting guard material at LG. They signed James Daniels to be their RG, he’s their “big” free agent signing on the line, and Mason Cole comes in at center. Cole has yet to lock down a starting center job for good in multiple places he’s been and here he is going to have to hold off Kendrick Green, a young guy who needs some development.
The Steelers defense has been their calling card since the 70’s. Teryl Austin steps in as the new defensive coordinator with Keith Butler retiring. He should bring some new ideas and play calling even though he’s just moving up from coaching the secondary. They always have a solid three-man front and this year is no different. Tyson Alualu and Cameron Heyward both return, they are stalwarts. They signed Larry Ogunjobi after his bigger free agent deal with the Bears fell through due to a foot issue. They needed him after Stephon Tuitt announced his early retirement. If Ogunjobi is healthy, he’s a very solid addition. Alualu is 35 and Heyward is 33 so this team needs some young guys to start stepping up. Montravius Adams, Isaiahh Loudermilk, and DeMarvin Leal all have an opportunity to step up.
The strength of the Steelers defense is always the LBs. It starts with reigning Defensive Player of the Year TJ Watt. He had 22.5 sacks last season and he’ll be 28 this year, smack dab in the middle of his prime. Watt draws the lion’s share of the attention from offenses, the other OLB spot needs to take advantage. Alex Highsmith is a solid player and maybe if Watt wasn’t getting 22.5 sacks, Highsmith may have managed more than six. It would be helpful if they had a third pass rusher, the OLB spot isn’t deep. Devin Bush has a been disappointing after being a first-round pick a few years ago and the team didn’t pick up his fifth-year option, that’s troubling. They did go out and sign Myles Jack from the Jaguars, he’s a pretty good ILB.
The secondary features FS Minkah Fitzpatrick, one of the top three safeties in the NFL (arguably the #1 safety). They are lucky to have him because he covers for the underwhelming nature of the other three spots. His safety mate is Terrell Edmunds, a very good athlete who has never quite lived up to his billing as a first-round draft pick four years ago. He’s fine, he’s not elite. They signed Levi Wallace at CB to replace the aging Joe Haden, Wallace is solid, nothing more. Ahkello Weatherspoon came over in a trade from Seattle during last season, he’s fine, that’s all, he’s just fine. Nickel back Cameron Sutton is pretty good in the slot. It’s a good thing TJ Watt generates so much pass rush and Minkah Fitzpatrick can cover up so much of the field because otherwise this secondary could really get exposed.
Cleveland Browns
The Deshaun Watson fiasco finally has a resolution, even if it’s an unsatisfactory one for most. The truth is, the outcome was never going to satisfy people. I’m glad he’s on the Browns because I don’t care about the Browns, I don’t watch the Browns. It would have been great if they would have banned him from the league and given his $230 million contract to his victims but that was never going to happen. Now we move on, as unsatisfied as we knew it would be when we finally got a resolution. That said, from a football perspective, his 11 game suspension hurts the Browns a lot, but it might not kill their season. With Jacoby Brissett set to start for most of the year, this team is going to have problems until Watson is back.
This is a run-based offense behind Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt (are we really surprised this is the team that took Watson after they got Hunt a few years ago). They are a frighteningly good duo but they are going to see a lot more eight or nine guys in the box with Jacoby Brissett at QB. The offensive line is very good with LT Jedrick Wills Jr., LG Joel Bitonio, RG Wyatt Teller, and RT Jack Conklin. Conklin has had some injury issues and he needs to work through those. Nick Harris was supposed to step in at center but he went down with an injury early in training camp. Ethan Pocic steps in for now, he’s a stopgap solution at best.
The passing game has plenty of questions, beyond Jacoby Brissett at QB. Amari Cooper comes over from Dallas and is a legit #1 WR. He didn’t have a great year in Dallas but that wasn’t all his fault. The problem is who’s #2? Donovan Peoples-Jones is more projection than production. They drafted David Bell, whom I love, but he’s starting training camp with an injured foot and he can’t afford to be any slower or not be able to run his routes effectively. The team gave TE David Njoku a big contract extension and they better hope he has better chemistry with Brissett and eventually Watson because he’s never had more than 56 catches in a season and that was four years ago. They have some speed with Anthony Schwartz but I’m not sure he’s actually any good. As much as I hate to say it, this offense needs Watson.
The Browns defense might be their saving grace. Myles Garrett is one of the best pass rushers in the game, Denzel Ward is a top cover corner, and they have a deep secondary, all good things to have. It starts up front with Garrett being a monster on one side. They re-signed Jadeveon Clowney for the other DE spot and while I’ve never been a fan, he’s a solid player. I never liked the idea of Clowney as your pass rushing alpha but as the complement to Garrett, he’s pretty good. They brought in Taven Bryan from Jacksonville to line up inside with Jordan Elliott, Bryan isn’t great but he’ll do. They also drafted Perrion Winfrey, whom I like a lot.
They use Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah at one LB spot, he’s undersized but he’s got speed to burn. Anthony Walker mans the middle but he may have to hold off Jacob Phillips. They don’t use a third LB all the time but they have Sione Takitaki if needed. The secondary is talented and deep. Denzel Ward is one of the best CBs in football. They also have Greg Newsome, Greedy Williams, and now rookie Martin Emerson Jr., that’s some solid size and depth. John Johnson III is an underrated safety playing deep and they have Grant Delpit and Ronnie Harrison at SS. If the offense can find a little success without Deshaun Watson, it’s possible the defense keeps this team viable for a playoff spot until he returns, unless he doesn’t adhere to the rules of his settlement and Goodell ends up suspending him for the year, that’s right folks, it might not actually be over yet.
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