The AFC North will be determined by thin margins in 2021, so it’s important the Ravens, Browns, Steelers and Bengals get stuff done before Week 1.
Last season, the AFC North produced three playoff teams while featuring a tight battle for the top spot in the division.
The Ravens and Browns are set up to contend for the title. The Steelers are hoping to prove everyone wrong by repeating their 2020 success. The Bengals are just trying to get better.
Each of those four has key needs to address before the start of the season.
What should every AFC North team get done before Week 1?
The Steelers must get the offensive line settled
Pittsburgh brought back Ben Roethlisberger and added an exciting young running back in Najee Harris via the draft. Yet the offense will be nothing if they can’t get the offensive line sorted out.
The trenches were always due for a shake-up. Maurkice Pouncey retired while Alejandro Villanueva and Matt Feiler left in free agency. The Steelers dropped a fourth starting offensive lineman when they waived David DeCastro with a non-football injury.
The team quickly added Trai Turner to fill the vacant guard spot.
Roethlisberger will be working behind an almost completely changed offensive line. Zach Banner is returning at right guard, but he only started one game last year before suffering a season-ending injury. It might as well be an all-new starting five.
The Steelers had enough to sort out after promoting Matt Canada to offensive coordinator. His offense won’t work unless the new front five, likely with Chukwuma Okorafor at left tackle, Kevin Dotson at left guard, JC Hassenauer at center, Turner at right guard and Banner at right tackle, gels quickly and effectively.
The Browns have to get Jadeveon Clowney ready
Getting Baker Mayfield a contract extension should be on top of the Browns’ to-do list, but there’s not a ton of urgency around that move. It can get done after Week 1.
What can’t wait is making sure Jadeveon Clowney is in a position to succeed opposite Myles Garrett.
Clowney is coming off a knee injury and a subpar 2020 season. The Browns signed him to a one-year deal for 2021 based on hope. First, that he’d recover from that injury without injury. Second, that he’d regain the form he found with the Seahawks before his disappointing stint with the Titans.
It seems like a perfect match between a talented player with something to prove and a team with enough strength across the lineup to take a chance on him.
Realistically, the team needs to use kid gloves when it comes to Clowney’s health. He has a concerning injury track record. Getting him to Week 1 without any setbacks or new knocks is the key to their pass-rushing goals.
The Bengals need to extend Jessie Bateman
Cincinnati’s defense hasn’t been much to write home about in recent years, but they have found a diamond in the rough in Jessie Bates. The star safety is in the last year of his rookie deal in 2021. That means it’s time to sign him up to a contract extension.
Bates expressed a desire to stay with the Bengals, so the urgency is less about fear of losing him and more about the price.
Pro Football Focus graded Bates as the No. 1 safety in the NFL in 2020. Cincinnati is going to have to pay him like it.
The Broncos made Justin Simmons the highest-paid safety in the league at $15.2 million per year. Bates deserves that kind of money.
Still, if the Bengals wait too long, they could run into the problem of having to compete with other even higher salaries. Jamal Adams is due an extension from the Seahawks and they’re going to have to give him a huge offer.
Get in before that and Cincinnati will avoid spending more than necessary while still doing right by Bates.
The Ravens need a pass rusher
The Ravens pass rush is going to look a bit different in 2021.
Baltimore saw Matt Judon and Yannick Ngakoue leave in free agency. Judon led the team in sacks last season whole Ngakeu had three in nine games. Their absence has left some gaps to fill.
The team managed to hold onto Pernell McPhee and Tyus Bowser, but those two alone don’t look like enough to offset the difference at either position.
The free agent market still holds some names who would bolster the rush. Baltimore could take a chance on Vic Beasley or Ziggy Ansah, hoping for a rebound on the cheap. They could go the veteran route bringing in Justin Houston, though the cost may be a bit steep. The longer the offseason goes, the more his price could fall.
Whoever it is, Baltimore needs to make sure they have someone capable of putting the fear in a quarterback’s heart coming off the edge.
Drafting Jayson Oweh and Daelin Hayes could pay dividends down the line, but they won’t want to rely on those rookies this early.