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 the AFC North defenses. The breakdown will contain \u201cthe best\u201d at each unit followed by \u201cthe rest\u201d in descending order.<\/p>\n
The Best:\u00a0<\/strong>Cincinnati Bengals<\/a><\/p>\n The Rest:\u00a0<\/strong>Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a>, Cleveland Browns<\/a>, Baltimore Ravens<\/a><\/p>\n Oddly enough, the defensive line seems to be a strength for each team in the AFC North. Truthfully, ranking them was the most difficult part. There’s a lot of parity with the defensive lines, so ranking these was like splitting hairs. But at the end of the day, the Bengals edged out the Steelers here. With\u00a0Carlos Dunlap<\/a><\/strong> and Geno Atkins<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0anchoring down the line, almost any nose tackle will succeed. Thus is the case with\u00a0Pat Sims<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Steelers, much like the Bengals, have two solid anchors on the line.\u00a0Cameron Heyward<\/a><\/strong> and\u00a0Javon Hargrave<\/a><\/strong> look like world beaters right now, and they seem totally in sync.\u00a0Stephon Tuitt<\/a><\/strong> also succeeds when he’s on the field, but that’s to be expected. It’s the Steelers, and that team has two constants. They draft well, and their line play is always good.<\/p>\n The Cleveland Browns are the most interesting of the defensive lines. With\u00a0Myles Garrett<\/a><\/strong> and\u00a0Emmanuel Ogbah<\/a><\/strong>, the definitely look the most athletic of the four lines. Additionally,\u00a0Danny Shelton<\/a><\/strong> looks poised for a breakout year. It’s been a while since the Browns had a Pro Bowl pass rusher (2001), but hey, you never know. The Ravens still have a good defensive line with\u00a0Chris Wormley<\/a><\/strong> and\u00a0Patrick Ricard<\/strong>, but their linebackers definitely help them out a\u00a0lot<\/em>.<\/p>\n The Best:\u00a0<\/strong>Cleveland Browns<\/p>\n The Rest:\u00a0<\/strong>Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals<\/p>\n Again, this competition is\u00a0so<\/em> close. Pretty much every team has a strong linebacking corps, but (somewhat surprisingly) the Cleveland Browns take the cake here. With tackling machine\u00a0Christian Kirksey<\/a><\/strong> and defensive stud\u00a0Jamie Collins<\/a><\/strong>, the Browns have silently built a solid linebacking crew. In a 4-2-5 defense, they’ll definitely be great anchors.<\/p>\n The Steelers have Ryan Shazier<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Bud Dupree<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0and the ageless wonder,\u00a0James Harrison<\/a><\/strong>. Need I really say more than that? That’s a solid linebacker crew already, and they only seem to be getting better, even with Harrison at 39. Oh yeah, and not to mention T.J. Watt<\/a><\/strong>. You might know his brother.<\/p>\n Moving on to the Ravens, they boast the great\u00a0Terrell Suggs<\/a><\/strong> and\u00a0C.J. Mosley<\/a><\/strong>. Those two, along with rookie\u00a0Tyus Bowser<\/a><\/strong>, should be a great core. Suggs can help to mentor Bowser, and then help him to move next to Mosley to make a great tackling duo.<\/p>\n The Bengals, even though they rank last, still have some solid pieces. If only\u00a0Vontaze Burfict<\/a><\/strong> could get a better head on his shoulders, then they might be even better. Aside from him, there’s\u00a0Vincent Rey<\/a><\/strong> and middle man\u00a0Kevin Minter<\/a><\/strong>. Great stuff, no doubt, but still not as good as the other three teams in the AFC North.<\/p>\n The Best:<\/strong>\u00a0Cincinnati Bengals<\/p>\n The Rest:\u00a0<\/strong>Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns<\/p>\n From worst to first come the Cincinnati Bengals. With\u00a0Dre Kirkpatrick<\/a><\/strong> and\u00a0Adam Jones<\/a><\/strong> on either side, the Bengals have the best outer secondary in the AFC North. However, Jones is suspended (again) for the first game of the season. Once again, Cincinnati would be so much better off if their best players could just get out of their own ways. In addition to those two,\u00a0Darqueze Dennard<\/a><\/strong> is certainly a rising talent.<\/p>\n With\u00a0Artie Burns<\/a><\/strong> and\u00a0William Gay<\/a><\/strong>, the Steelers also excel in secondary talent.\u00a0Senquez Golson<\/a><\/strong> would also help out, if he could just stay healthy. Ross Cockrell<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Cameron Sutton<\/a><\/strong> will likely be the backups for the Steelers, and they can most likely contribute as well. When all is said and done, Pittsburgh’s secondary finally seems to be all set. Baltimore carries\u00a0Brandon Carr<\/a><\/strong> and\u00a0Marlon Humphrey<\/a><\/strong> as their cornerbacks. Time can only tell if Humphrey will pan out, but Carr is an alright player.<\/p>\n It’s amazing how far the Cleveland Browns cornerbacks have fallen off. Only a few years back,\u00a0Joe Haden<\/a><\/strong> seemed like one of the best shutdown cornerbacks in the entire league. Nowadays, he seems like an injury-ridden mess. With rookie\u00a0Howard Wilson<\/a><\/strong> now on board, the Browns are looking to add some length to their secondary.\u00a0Jamar Taylor<\/a><\/strong> played well last year, but who knows how he’ll perform in 2017. The Browns just seem to be inconsistent in their secondary.<\/p>\n The Best:\u00a0<\/strong>Baltimore Ravens<\/p>\n The Rest:<\/strong> Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns<\/p>\n This is where the Baltimore Ravens really come on strong. With\u00a0Eric Weddle<\/a><\/strong> and\u00a0Tony Jefferson<\/a><\/strong>, their starting safeties are downright explosive. Behind them, they have\u00a0Lardarius Webb<\/a><\/strong> and\u00a0Otha Foster<\/strong>. Those are some great backups, especially in a sport riddled with injuries. If Weddle or Jefferson get hurt, in come Webb or Foster. It’s a well-oiled machine.<\/p>\n Here comes those Cincinnati Bengals again. This time,\u00a0George Iloka<\/a><\/strong> and\u00a0Shawn Williams<\/a><\/strong> are on the safety roster. Iloka is a pretty good player in recent Madden games, so that has to count for something. Additionally, the young Williams should really start to produce this year. Moving on to their main rival Steelers, their safeties are pretty confusing.\u00a0Robert Golden<\/a><\/strong> and\u00a0Sean Davis<\/a><\/strong> take those spots for the Steel City, and they’re alright. They both hit pretty hard, though Golden is maybe a bit undersized? Nothing really to speak of there.<\/p>\n The Cleveland Browns safety position is in trouble.\u00a0Ed Reynolds<\/a><\/strong>, their breakout safety from last year, is now injured. Although\u00a0Ibraheim Campbell<\/a><\/strong> and\u00a0Derrick Kindred<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0both<\/em> look promising, nothing is ever so easy in Cleveland. No doubt about it,\u00a0Jabrill Peppers<\/a><\/strong> is an exciting player, but what happens when he is confined to normal positioning? It’s a rock and a hard place for Cleveland’s safeties.<\/p>\n The Best:<\/strong> Baltimore Ravens<\/p>\n The Rest:<\/strong> Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns<\/p>\n Justin Tucker<\/a><\/strong> is the best kicker in the league, in his physical prime. Enough said, really. The Steelers have\u00a0Chris Boswell<\/a><\/strong>, and while he’s a good kicker, he’s nowhere near Tucker. Then, the Bengals come in with\u00a0Randy Bullock<\/a><\/strong>. While somewhat undersized, Bullock will definitely be getting the job done. And hopefully,\u00a0Zane Gonzalez<\/a><\/strong> can be the new\u00a0Phil Dawson<\/a><\/strong> for the Cleveland Browns of today. Maybe even the new\u00a0Lou Groza<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Best:\u00a0<\/strong>Cleveland Browns<\/p>\n The Rest:\u00a0<\/strong>Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers<\/p>\n Super Bowl 50 Champion Punter Britton Colquitt<\/a><\/strong> is very much a punting wizard in the AFC North and the league as a whole. Really, the Browns offense and defense are lucky to have him. The Baltimore Ravens compliment their league-best kicker with a solid punter in\u00a0Sam Koch<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0Outside of those two, the Bengals have the next best. Hopefully for their offense and its dreadful line,\u00a0Kevin Huber<\/a><\/strong> can masterfully place some punts. The Steelers bring up the rear with\u00a0Jordan Berry<\/a><\/strong>. Not a horrible punter by any means, but definitely not fantastic.<\/p>\n The Best:\u00a0<\/strong>Pittsburgh Steelers<\/p>\n The Rest:\u00a0<\/strong>Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens<\/p>\n Antonio Brown<\/a><\/strong> is just as electric a receiver as he is a punt returner. Fans can fully expect him to run at least one all the way back this year. The Bengals use cornerback Adam Jones as their punt returner. He’ll be lightning quick this year, once he stops being suspended. After that, the Browns will likely use\u00a0Duke Johnson<\/a><\/strong> as their punt returner. As a now-converted receiver, it will be interesting to watch him show off his new moves.\u00a0Michael Campanaro<\/a><\/strong> has quick feet and shifty moves for the Ravens, but that’s basically it. Nevertheless, his quickness\u00a0will<\/em> likely get him pretty far on a few returns.<\/p>\n Take a look at the AFC North’s best by position on the offensive side of the football<\/a>.<\/p>\n Main image credit:<\/p>\nLinebacker<\/h3>\n
Cornerback<\/h3>\n
Safety<\/h3>\n
Kicker<\/h3>\n
Punter<\/h3>\n
Returner<\/h3>\n