During the month of August, the Last Word on Sports NFL Department will be breaking down every division in the league by position. This article contains a position-by-position breakdown of every offense in the AFC North. The breakdown will contain “the best” at each unit followed by “the rest” in descending order.
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2021 AFC North Offense Breakdown by Position
Quarterback
The Best: Baltimore Ravens
The Rest: Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals
In a division full of talent, the quarterbacks are nothing extraordinary. Lamar Jackson still holds the crown as the best quarterback in the division, but it’s not by the widest of margins. Last year, Jackson took a step back from his 2019 MVP season, but he still had a very good year. Most of his numbers were down from the prior season but only slightly. His 26:9 touchdown-to-interception ratio wasn’t out of this world. But couple his decent passing numbers with his 1005 rushing yards and seven touchdowns and you still see an elite dual-threat quarterback. With better receiving targets in 2021, Jackson could be in for a turnaround year as a passer.
Elsewhere, Baker Mayfield is coming off a strong 2020 campaign that resulted in the Browns narrowly missing the AFC Championship Game. After a rough 2019, Mayfield’s accuracy as a passer was much-improved in his third season. If the list was based on last year, Ben Roethlisberger would come in ahead of Mayfield. But the future Hall-of-Famer is a year older and playing behind an offensive line that’s full of questions. Finally, Joe Burrow remains in last for now but that’s mostly due to concerns over his injury recovery and the Bengals offensive line. If Burrow stays healthy all season long, he is very likely to climb this list based on the way he performed pre-injury as a rookie.
Running Back
The Best: Cleveland Browns
The Rest: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers
Unlike the quarterbacks, there’s an obvious answer at the running back position. Cleveland most likely has the best running back duo in the entire NFL. Nick Chubb is a top-three talent at the running back position; he simply can do it all as a running back. And Kareem Hunt is no slouch of a backup. Chubb missed some time in 2020, but when he was healthy, he was elite as usual. He managed to post over 1000 yards in 12 games and had an astounding 5.6 yards per carry. Hunt racked up 842 yards and six touchdowns as well. Behind the best run-blocking offensive line in the league, these two should be elite again in 2021.
The Ravens lost Mark Ingram this off-season, but they still feature a good running back duo of J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards. Dobbins is an explosive threat and Edwards is a reliable first down machine; they form a perfect one-two punch. Cincinnati will be without longtime back Giovanni Bernard this year, which hurts their depth. But Joe Mixon is still one of the most well-rounded running backs in the NFL. Finally, the Steelers drafted their workhorse in Najee Harris, who has the potential to be a very productive player. They just don’t have much depth behind him.
Wide Receiver
The Best: Cleveland Browns
The Rest: Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens
This one is an extreme toss-up, with Baltimore coming in last place the only obvious answer. Cleveland gets the edge because they are the most proven group of the bunch. Jarvis Landry has been a reliable possession receiver for years now. When Odell Beckham Jr. went down with a torn ACL last year, Mayfield and Landry really picked up their connection. With Beckham coming back, his full health is what will make this group the best in the division. Rashard Higgins and Donovan Peoples-Jones round out a very impressive group of four.
Pittsburgh’s group is really solid. If Chase Claypool takes a typical year two leap, he could easily establish himself as the team’s true number one. JuJu Smith-Schuster is still a favorite target of Ben Roethlisberger, especially in clutch situations. And Diontae Johnson’s route running is outstanding, he just needs to be a more reliable pass catcher. The Bengals could easily be argued ahead of Pittsburgh as well as Cleveland. Tee Higgins has a chance to be the most productive receiver in the division this year. Tyler Boyd will be reliable as usual, and if Ja’Marr Chase meets expectations, this could be the best receiver group in the division. Finally, even after adding Sammy Watkins and Rashod Bateman, the Ravens group of receivers still feels like it’s missing something.
Tight End
The Best: Baltimore Ravens
The Rest: Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals
Baltimore takes the cake here on the back of Mark Andrews being one of the best tight ends in the entire league. His production over the past two seasons has been matched by very few. Andrews is a favorite target of Jackson and that coupled with the Ravens lack of a real number one receiver allows him to be a very productive tight end. If the Ravens need a third down or a big catch, Andrews is their guy. Their electric rushing attack and play action open up a lot of opportunities for Andrews, too. Behind him, Nick Boyle is one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL. His health is a question mark right now, but as long as he’s on the field, he will be an elite blocker.
Cleveland can certainly argued as having a deeper group of tight ends than Baltimore. The problem is, none of them were really “top tight end” material last year the way Andrews was. Still, Austin Hooper, Harrison Bryant, and David Njoku make up what can be a very productive group, especially when Kevin Stefanski builds off Cleveland’s run game. Pittsburgh should feature an exciting duo, with Eric Ebron being a playmaker and Pat Freiermuth being both a receiving threat and a solid blocker. Finally, the Bengals group of C.J. Uzomah and Drew Sample doesn’t seem to offer much on paper.
Offensive Line
The Best: Cleveland Browns
The Rest: Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals
There are absolutely no doubts here. The Cleveland Browns offensive line has a serious argument as the best in the NFL. They were simply dominant last year, especially in the running game. Wyatt Teller was one of the best guards in the league; Jedrick Wills had a great rookie year. Joel Bitonio, JC Tretter, and Jack Conklin all had good years too. There’s really isn’t a weak link on this unit. Cleveland has a lot going for them on offense, which puts them in a good spot to compete in the AFC North. But it will all run through this offensive line. When Cleveland establishes the run, they become a very tough offense to stop.
Baltimore’s Ronnie Stanley is among the best in the league at left tackle. As soon as he’s healthy, he’ll return to dominance. Kevin Zeittler is a strong guard, too. Even though the Ravens lost Orlando Brown Jr. over the off-season, their line should still be solid. Pittsburgh has a lot of question marks on their line, with only one starter returning from last year. Second-year left guard Kevin Dotson will be the best lineman on the team but he’ll need help from Trei Turner and rookie Kendrick Green along the interior. Finally, Cincinnati features a respectable tackle duo of Jonah Williams and Riley Reiff, but their interior is not strong. They don’t seemed to have learned from the mess they put Joe Burrow in last season.
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