Ravens Dubbed AFC North Draft 'Winners'

NFL divisions can often turn into arms races as rivals look to get the best of each other, and possibly no division exemplifies that more than the AFC North.

It's no secret that the AFC North has been one of the most competitive divisions in the league for a while now, if not the most competitive. In 2023, it became the first division in almost a century to have every team finish with a winning record. While that wasn't the case in 2024, it still had two playoff teams and one more that barely missed the dance.

Despite the stiff competition, the Baltimore Ravens have won the AFC North in each of the past two years. Now as they look for their third-straight division title, they may have just widened the gap.

Pro Football Focus' Bradley Locker named the Ravens as the AFC North "winner" of the NFL Draft, claiming they had a better haul than any of their rivals.

"General manager Eric DeCosta keeps stacking draft awards year after year," Locker wrote. "The Ravens aced another draft, adding two players at positions of need — and arguably who each should’ve gone in the first round — with Malaki Starks and Mike Green. Starks (78.3 PFF overall grade) offers positional versatility to form an elite tandem with Kyle Hamilton, while Green (90.2-plus PFF grade as a pass rusher and run defender) should boost a room with Kyle Van Noy and Odafe Oweh."

Locker also praised the Ravens for finding great value in the later rounds, specifically mentioning linebacker Teddye Buchanan, kicker Tyler Loop and defensive lineman Aeneas Peebles.

Interestingly, it seems that the other AFC North teams crafted their drafts around stopping the Ravens, at least to some extent. All three of them drafting defensive linemen in the first round sure doesn't seem like a coincidence considering how potent Baltimore's rushing offense has been for years now.

Obviously, all of these rookies will have to play for a while before naming the true winners of the draft, but the Ravens seem to have hit all their marks this year.