Ravens Receive Highest Offseason Marks in AFC North

The AFC North is widely recognized as one of the toughest and best divisions in the NFL. It regularly produces two or more playoff teams and has had at least three teams finish with winning records in each of the last three seasons.

This offseason has seen a lot of turnover across the four teams, with some undergoing more than others. With that in mind, and both the start of free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft in the rearview, it's time to evaluate the totality of each team's retentions, losses and additions, and assign letter grades in descending order of the 2024 final standings.

Baltimore Ravens

First up is the two-time defending division champions, and they have had one of the best off seasons of any team in the league in any division. The Ravens had a big free agent class but retained their most vital veterans, with two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Ronnie Stanley being the first and most pressing. They were also able to bring back five-time Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard and tender restricted free agent safety Ar'Darius Washington, who has unfortunately since suffered a season-ending torn Achilles.

Among their most notable departures were versatile veteran offensive lineman Patrick Mekari, starting cornerback Brandon Stephens, and linebackers Malik Harrison and Chris Board, who all have signed elsewhere. They also lost veteran nose tackle Michael Pierce to retirement, released defensive backs Arthur Maulet and Marcus Williams, and Brent Urban remains an unrestricted free agent.

Headlining their notable veteran additions is five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who will provide an upgrade at the No.3 spot on the depth chart over Nelson Agholor. They brought in experienced veteran cornerback Chidobe Awuzie to help offset the loss of Stephens and upgraded at backup quarterback with Cooper Rush, who is one of the better reserve signal callers in the league. Following the draft, they brought in Joseph Noteboom to replace Josh Jones as their experienced swing tackle option. On Friday, they addressed their last remaining glaring need by signing veteran nose tackle John Jenkins to help fill the void created by Pierce's retirement.

The Ravens had one of the best draft hauls of any team, landing tremendous value on each day of the draft, including multiple times on Day 3. Their top two picks are projected to be their most impactful in first-round safety Malaki Starks and second-round edge rusher Mike Green. Three of their five sixth rounders could prove to be steals as kicker Tyler Loop is slated to replace future Hall-of-Famer Justin Tucker, wide receiver LaJohntay Wester will make an immediate impact as a return specialist and defensive tackle Aeneas 'Fub' Peebles will add more juice to the interior pass rush on a situational basis.

Grade: A

Pittsburgh Steelers

Next up are the 2024 runner-ups who couldn't have ended last season on a more sour note, losing five straight games, including twice to the Ravens in embarrassing fashion. The team's offseason thus far has not inspired much confidence that they have improved and will be in a better position to compete in 2025.

The Steelers' most notable veteran additions added a pair of multi-time Pro Bowlers by signing cornerback Darius Slay and trading for D.K. Metcalf. However, as of the publishing of this article, their quarterback depth chart consists of veteran career backup Mason Rudolph, who they brought back on a two-year deal, sixth-round rookie Will Howard and fourth-year pro Skylar Thompson.

After expressing interest in bringing either Justin Fields or Russell Wilson back, they struck out on both as they decided to sign with the New York Jets and Giants, respectively. Meanwhile, both the organization and fan base continue to await the dragged-out decision of whether four-time league MVP Aaron Rodgers will finally agree to sign with them to be their next short-term solution at the most important position in all of sports.

They made a pair of solid depth signings on defense by poaching Harrison from the Ravens and safety Juan Thornhill from the Cleveland Browns. But offensively, they let Pro Bowl running back and perennial 1,000-yard rusher Najee Harris walk in free agency and traded wide receiver George Pickens post-draft. Since they didn't use any of their picks to replace him despite knowing they had intentions of moving him, now they're left with just Metcalf, Roman Wilson, who barely played as a rookie last year due to injury and fourth-year pro Calvin Austin entering the final year of his rookie contract.

While they neglected the receiver position in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Steelers got great value with their first three picks despite not having a second-round pick after sending it to the Seattle Seahawks in the trade for Metcalf. In the first round, they landed one of the best defensive linemen in this year's class in Oregon's Derrick Harmon, took Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson in the third round to pair with veterans Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell and picked up great edge depth in the fourth round with Ohio State's Jack Sawyer.

Grade: C-

Cincinnati Bengals

Despite finishing 9-8 for the second year in a row and missing the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since ending a five-year drought from 2016-2020, the Bengals essentially treaded water this offseason. They prioritized re-signing several of their own pending free agents on both sides of the ball and handed out huge extensions to keep their star wide receiver duo of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins together.

Their only notable outside addition on defense in free agency was signing linebacker Oren Burks was a career backup prior to becoming a full-time starter during the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl run as a result of injury. Offensively, they brought back veteran running back Samaje Perine after two seasons away in the AFC West and signed guard Lucas Patrick, who has started 58 of his last 67 games to compete for one of their starting interior spots.

The Bengals had nearly half of their 2024 sack total come from one player, four-time Pro Bowler Trey Hendrickson, who led the league with a career-high 17.5. He finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Yet they have gone out of their way at every juncture to ostracize and further create a rift between the two sides in their seemingly nonexistent contract extension talks heading into the final year of his well-bellow market-rate deal.

In the draft, their 2025 haul wasn't much to get overly excited about. They selected an athletically gifted edge rusher in the first round, but he struggles to actually bring down the quarterback in Shemar Stewart out of Texas A&M. After him, they picked two linebackers in second-rounder Demetrius Knight and fourth-rounder Barrett Carter who will either compete with or at least provide depth behind Burks and veteran Logan Wilson. Third-round interior offensive lineman Dylan Fairchild, out of Georgia, will also compete for one of the starting spots as a rookie.

Grade: C-

Cleveland Browns

It only took three years and 19 game appearances from former three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson for Browns owner Jimmy Haslam to admit that he was wrong to give him the first and largest fully-guaranteed deal in NFL history. The organization officially began the process of moving on from him this offseason, despite Watson still being on the team while he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon.

Cleveland used every possible avenue except undrafted free agency to add a quarterback with their limited resources after restructuring Watson's contract multiple times. First was trading for 2022 first-rounder Kenny Pickett, followed by bringing back former Ravens franchise signal caller Joe Flacco after a year away and then they drafted a pair of rookies at the position in third-rounder Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round.

Their biggest offseason move was making 2023 Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett the highest-paid defensive player in the league. After that, they could only afford to make a series of marginal depth signings to add depth and patch holes with veteran stop gaps. On offense, they added offensive tackle Cornelius Lucas, offensive guard Tevin Jenkins and former Ravens wide receiver Diontae Johnson. Defensively, they signed defensive ends Joe Tyron-Shoyinkac and Julian Okwara, defensive tackle Malik Collins and linebackers Devin Bush and Jerome Baker to the front seven while bringing in some depth pieces to the secondary with cornerbacks Nik Needham and Tony Brown.

In addition to bringing in a pair of rookie quarterbacks in the draft, the rest of Cleveland's haul was impressive and has the potential to be impactful right away. After trading back from No. 2 to No. 5 overall in the first round, they were still able to land the top consensus interior defensive lineman in this year's loaded crop with Michigan's Mason Graham. With their next three top 100 picks, they selected UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger who will be a Day 1 starter, Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins who could overtake Jerome Ford for the starting spot early in his rookie year and third-round tight end Harold Fannin could form a lethal 12 personnel tandem with Pro Bowler David Njoku.

Grade: C