2024 AFC North Division Preview

Some things change, while some things stay the same. You have the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have completely revamped their offense. The Baltimore Ravens beefed up their running game with the addition of Derrick Henry. The Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns don’t have a lot of changes, but can the small changes they made help push them to the top of the AFC North? Who will emerge as the AFC North leader?

Baltimore Ravens

2023 Team Record: 13-4

Key Additions:

• RB – Derrick Henry
• CB – Nate Wiggins*
• T – Roger Rosengarten*

Key Departures:

• S – Geno Stone
• RB – J.K. Dobbins
• OLB – Jadeveon Clowney

While some things change, some things stay the same. The Baltimore Ravens lost some talent, but they also picked up some major talent for the 2024 season. The key addition for me is Derrick Henry. The Ravens have not had a solid RB contributor for a few seasons due to injuries. It will be exciting to see what the Ravens offense will look like with a superstar running back beside a superstar quarterback in Lamar Jackson. Will this be the year the Ravens get back to the Super Bowl now that their offense has a playmaker in the backfield?

Baltimore did lose some contributors on the defensive side of the ball in Jadeveon Clowney. Patrick Queen, and Geno Stone. They were able to solidify their defense by resigning DE Brent Urban, DE Justin Madubuike, and OLB Kyle Van noy. They also drafted a possible starting CB in the first round in Nate Wiggins out of Clemson. Will the restructuring of the defense and the addition of Derrick Henry be enough to get over the hump and make some noise in the playoffs? They will have a tough time getting to the Super Bowl as the AFC is stacked with talented teams such as the defending Super Bowls Champions the Kansas City Chiefs. It won’t be easy, but if anyone can do it, it would be the Baltimore Ravens led by Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry.

Cincinnati Bengals

2023 Team Record: 9-8

Key Additions:

• S – Geno Stone
• RB – Zack Moss
• OT – Amarius Mims*

Key Departures:

• RB – Joe Mixon
• CB – Chidobe Awuzie
• WR – Tyler Boyd

2023 was an abysmal year for the Cincinnati Bengals, as they were the worst team in the AFC North. You could argue that they were the worst team in the AFC north because of Joe Burrow’s injury. They were 5-5 before he went down with injury, so you could also argue that they were not particularly good when he was playing. Will this year be better for the Bengals? So much better that they get back to the Super Bowl? I doubt it. They traded away their starting RB in Joe Mixon who had over 1000 yards last season, and their replacement that they signed in free agency is Zack Moss. Moss did not have the workload that Mixon had last year, so maybe Moss’s numbers would be better with a heavier workload. The Bengals also lost a solid WR in Tyler Boyd. Will the addition of Jermaine Burton – WR Alabama, help replace the production of Tyler Boyd? Will the Bengals be able to get back to their winning ways with stud QB Joe Burrow at the helm? The sky is the limit for the Bengals.

Cleveland Browns

2023 Team Record: 11-6

Key Additions:

• LB – Jordan Hicks
• WR – Jerry Jeudy
• QB – Jameis Winston

Key Departures:

• DT – Jordan Elliott
• QB – Joe Flacco

The Cleveland Browns had a decent season in 2023, which was good enough for 2nd position in the AFC North. The major question marks revolve around the health of their two major offensive stars in their starting Quarter Back, Deshaun Watson, and RB Nick Chubb. Deshaun Watson will be back for week 1 of the 2024 season, and I believe Nick Chubb will be as well after suffering his injury week 2 of the 2023 season against the Steelers. There is a new OC in town in Ken Dorsey, so we will have to see how the offense takes shape. Even with injuries to their core players last year, the Browns still went 11-6. Can they improve this year with a healthy team? Will they be able to get the full potential out of new wide out Jerry Jeudy?

Pittsburgh Steelers

2023 Team Record: 10-7

Key Additions:

• QB – Russell Wilson
• LB – Patrick Queen
• QB – Justin Fields

Key Departures:

• QB – Kenny Pickett
• CB – Patrick Peterson
• WR – Diontae Johnson

When thinking of major changes made in the offseason, one team that comes to mind is the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers completely changed their QB room. They traded the QB of the future, Kenny Pickett, to cross state rival the Philadelphia Eagles. In doing so, they picked up free agent Russell Wilson, and traded for possible QB of the future in Justin Fields. They also shipped out starting WR Diontae Johnson. The offense will be completely different this year with all the new talent, as well as new OC Arthur Smith. There were some key additions to the offensive line in the Draft in Tackle Troy Fautaunu and Center Zach Frazier.

Can the Steelers improve and compete with the elite teams of the AFC in the 2024 season? What version of Russell Wilson will the Steelers get? Who will be starting at QB week 1 of the season? Will it be Russell Wilson or Justin Fields? So many question marks around the Steelers that I don’t think we can consider them Super Bowl contenders this year. Who knows, maybe they will have a dynamic year with all the recent changes on the offensive side of the ball? One thing is for certain, and that is the Steelers will be competitive and will be competing to keep the winning season streak alive and well for head coach Mike Tomlin.

2024 AFC North Prediction

1. Baltimore Ravens
2. Cincinnati Bengals
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
4. Cleveland Browns

*Drafted Player from 2024 NFL Draft