Ranking the Bengals and the entire AFC North by 2025 draft class

The most interesting time of the NFL offseason has ended, and Cincinnati Bengals fans have officially entered the doldrums. Signings get progressively less interesting, and the biggest story week in and week out is what superstar in a contract year might be holding out for a new one.

In the meantime, let's look back at the 2025 NFL Draft. It has been about three weeks since the draft concluded, giving us plenty of time to process what happened and who went where. Specifically, let's look at how the teams of the AFC North performed in this year's draft.

Did they do enough to keep up with one of the toughest divisions in football? Or will their classes set them back for years to come? Only time will tell.

For now, though, with nothing to go off of except projections and how good we think these rookies will be, let's rank the AFC North by their 2025 draft classes, from worst to best. This is only taking into account who they drafted, not UDFA signings, even though it felt like the UDFAs this year were even more interesting than usual.

Ranking the 2025 draft classes in the AFC North:

4. Pittsburgh Steelers

1.21 Derrick Harmon - DT, Oregon
3.83 Kaleb Johnson - RB, Iowa
4.123 Jack Sawyer - DE, Ohio State
5.164 Yahya Black - DT, Iowa
6.185 Will Howard - QB, Ohio State
7.226 Carson Bruener - LB, Washington
7.229 Donte Kent - CB, Central Michigan

The Steelers got off to a hot start, picking up a personal favorite for Cincinnati at 17 in Oregon's Derrick Harmon. While rookie defensive tackles tend to struggle, he should have an impact as both a run-stopper and pass rusher out of the gate, which should grow as his career continues.

They missed out on having a 2nd round pick, so in the 3rd, they took running back Kaleb Johnson out of Iowa. Considering his incredible Junior season with the Hawkeyes, where he rushed for over 1,500 yards and a ridiculous 21 touchdowns, earning All-American honors, Johnson fell under the radar as bigger names like Ashton Jeanty, Omarion Hampton, and the Ohio State duo dominated headlines.

Jack Sawyer in the 4th is also incredible value, as many outlets-- including Yahoo Sports, NFL Draft Buzz, and even NFL editors themselves-- had him going in the 2nd on the high end.

However, after Sawyer, Pittsburgh seemed content with burning their Day 3 picks. Other than potentially Donte Kent, no one in the fifth round and beyond seems like they'll be much of an impact. Still, for those first three picks alone, this is a solid draft, just not solid enough to warrant putting it over anyone else.

3. Cincinnati Bengals

1.17 Shemar Stewart - DE, Texas A&M
2.49 Demetrius Knight Jr. - LB, South Carolina
3.81 Dylan Fairchild - OL, Georgia
4.119 Barrett Carter - LB, Clemson
5.153 Jalen Rivers - OL, Miami (FL)
6.193 Tahj Brooks - RB, Texas Tech

The Bengals' draft went the opposite way of the Steelers. While theirs started good and got worse as it went on, Cincy's got off to a bad start and got better as the rounds progressed.

Many fans, myself included, were not a big fan of the Shemar Stewart pick, as it paints a similar picture to the Myles Murphy selection in 2023. Freakish athleticism with poor production, as Stewart only recorded 4.5 sacks across three seasons with the Aggies. A lot of pressure will be placed on the new defensive coordinator, Al Golden, to turn that athleticism into something tangible.

The second day of the draft can be described as picks that are good in a vacuum. Selecting Demetrius Knight Jr. isn't bad by itself, he should be a Day 1 starter or at least a rotational linebacker in year 1 like Akeem Davis-Gaither.

Selecting Demetrius Knight Jr., a 25-year-old rookie, in the 2nd round, when there were a dozen other players that would've been better, and he likely would've been available at pick 81 anyways? A questionable decision-- and that's putting it lightly.

Fairchild should be an immediate upgrade at Guard, but they also could have just taken his superior teammate, Tate Ratledge, in the 2nd and then grabbed Knight in the third if they wanted to.

Fortunately, they did do well on Day 3. Barrett Carter might be buried under Knight and free agency signing Oren Burks in the depth chart in year 1, but he has great coverage skills that should translate and give him opportunities over the next couple of years.

Jalen Rivers provides depth as a swing tackle and could eventually earn a starting role, especially if he has a good training camp. Tahj Brooks in the 6th will probably turn out to be their best pick, though.

He's a good complement to Chase Brown and will provide in the passing game, both as a blocker and receiver out of the backfield. Hopefully, he can beat out Zack Moss and Samaje Perine for that RB2 spot.

2. Cleveland Browns

1.5 Mason Graham - DT, Michigan
2.33 Carson Schwesinger - LB, UCLA
2.36 Quinshon Judkins - RB, Ohio State
3.67 Harold Fannin Jr. - TE, Bowling Green
3.94 Dillon Gabriel - QB, Oregon
4.126 Dylan Sampson - RB, Tennessee
5.144 Shedeur Sanders - QB, Colorado

It's overshadowed by the Shedeur Sanders pick, but the Browns had an incredible draft. While the decision the trade down and hand over the keys to Travis Hunter to the Jaguars will be questioned by many, Mason Graham will make up one half of a nightmare duo with Myles Garrett against opposing quarterbacks. He was easily the best defensive tackle in this draft, and they paired him with one of the best true linebackers, Carson Schwesinger as their second-round selection.

They then used their next two picks to add to their offense. Quinshon Judkins helped the Buckeyes have a formidable rushing attack en route to a national championship and should ease the decline and departure of longtime Brown Nick Chubb.

Harold Fannin Jr. was one of the best tight ends in this draft, and one could argue he had 1st round talent. While he did go to a G5 school, which tends to naturally make people question whether they'll translate after playing weaker competition, two of his best games last season came against Penn State (11Rec-137Yds-1TD) and Texas A&M (8Rec - 145 Yds - 1TD), so that's not the case with Fannin.

And while people were clowning on him on social media, Shedeur in the fifth round is incredible value. Before supposed attitude issues in interviews tanked his stock, Sanders was projected to go in the first round and even top 10 for a reason. And in the fifth round, with that talent and potential? That's a risk you take. Sure, you may end up burning a 5th-round pick, but the reward of finally finding the guy at QB is worth it.

The only thing that brings this draft down is that, similar to the Bengals, they doubled up at two positions with limited picks to work with. Overall, it was an incredible draft for Cleveland and could end up being what they need for sustained success.

1. Baltimore Ravens

1.27 Malaki Starks - S, Georgia
2.59 Mike Green - EDGE, Marshall
3.91 Emery Jones Jr. - OL, LSU
4.129 Teddye Buchanan - LB, California
5.141 Carson Vinson - OT, Alabama A&M
6.178 Bihlal Kone - CB, Western Michigan
6.186 Tyler Loop - K, Arizona
6.203 LaJohntay Wester - WR, Colorado
6.210 Aeneas Peebles - DT, Virginia Tech
6.212 Robert Longerbeam - DB, Rutgers
7.243 Garrett Dellinger - OG, LSU

There's nothing more annoying than being in the same division as the Ravens and seeing how they draft. They stockpile picks, hardly reach on selections, and while everyone else scrambles to get the guy they want, the Ravens' dream player seems to always fall into their laps.

Secondary was a weak point on the Baltimore defense last year, specifically at safety as Marcus Williams struggled greatly last season, so they addressed that problem immediately by selecting Malaki Starks, who should be an immediate upgrade.

Mike Green was projected to go in the 1st round for what felt like most of the Draft cycle, so him falling to the tail end of the 2nd was incredible for the Ravens. They did a good job adding to the offensive line as well, Emery Jones Jr. and Garrett Dellinger both serve as good depth and could potentially earn starting roles down the line, and FCS standout Carson Vinson in the 5th round is a chance you take.

The steal of their draft could end up being Aeneas Peebles. As a sixth-round pick, he could step up and immediately add to their pass rush from Day 1. Other notable picks are Teddye Buchanan, Tyler Loop (simply for the fact that they needed to replace Justin Tucker after a decline and issues off the field), and LaJohntay Wester.

The Ravens had 11 picks to work with, and it looks like they have at least 4-5 future starters between them, with a few others that could contribute as depth/rotational pieces.

Of course, we have no idea how these players from any of these teams will turn out. Again, only time will tell how good each of these teams did in the 2025 draft, but it's always fun to speculate.