Best of the AFC North: QB, draft pick, fans and more

The NFL season is creeping closer. Before we know it, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 3 will be here. As we speed toward the start of the 2023 campaign, let's examine the best of the AFC North.

BEST QB | Joe Burrow, Bengals: Over the past two seasons, he has thrown for 9,086 yards and 69 touchdowns and led Cincinnati to back-to-back AFC title games and a Super Bowl appearance. He also boasts the all-time record for completion percentage (68.2%).

The only QB better than Burrow is Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes, whom Burrow started 3-0 against to start his career. Even "Joe Cool" thinks so. "I don't think there's any argument right now. It's Patrick until someone has a better year than he's had. He's the one to knock off," Burrow said, via PFF.

BEST COACH | Mike Tomlin, Steelers HC: Tomlin's consistency is second to none as he holds the NFL record for the most consecutive non-losing seasons to begin a coaching career (16). He also has the most wins (163) and best winning percentage (.636) among the rest of the coaches in the AFC North.

Although the Steelers have not won a playoff game since the 2016 season, Tomlin always seems to have his team in contention by the end of the year. His true test, life without Ben Roethlisberger, has already begun. If he can lead Pittsburgh to another Super Bowl championship with a different starting quarterback, it will only further solidify him as the best coach in the division and make him a lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

BEST 2023 FREE-AGENT SIGNING | Orlando Brown Jr., Bengals left tackle: The Bengals snatched up the best offensive tackle in free agency in Brown Jr. The four-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion with the Chiefs will serve as Burrow's blindside blocker, and at a relatively cheap price, too. His four-year, $64.09 million contract was a steal for Cincinnati, making him the 17th highest-paid tackle in the NFL.

The 6-foot-8, 345-pounder allowed just four sacks in 2022, per Pro Football Focus. The addition of Brown Jr. is all the more important as Cincinnati takes the left tackle from the Chiefs, their AFC Championship Game opponent for the past two seasons. 

BEST 2023 DRAFT PICK | Zay Flowers, Ravens WR: The Ravens may have landed the best wide receiver in the 2023 NFL Draft. The 22-year-old has received comparisons to great players such as Antonio Brown, DeSean Jackson and Stefon Diggs. If Flowers is anything like them, Baltimore got a steal at pick No. 22.

At Boston College, Flowers had 78 catches for 1,077 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2022. Pro Football Focus called him the "best pure separator in the draft class." He joins a Ravens receiving corps that includes former first-round wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr., Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor.

BEST FANS | Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers are one of the most decorated franchises in the NFL, boasting a league-best six Super Bowl titles (tied for New England). So, it's no surprise they have one of the best fan bases in the league. Terrible Towels dominate Steelers home games, which almost always sell out, COVID-19 season of 2020 notwithstanding.

The Steelers also have one of the best-traveling fan bases, often taking over stadiums, such as this Chargers game in Los Angeles.