Ravens' Lamar Jackson could be winner of AFC North's 'transition year'

The AFC North looks a lot different heading into the 2026 NFL season, and it's not just about the new head coaches.

Yes, that's probably the most jarring change. After 18 seasons under John Harbaugh, the Baltimore Ravens are now being run by first-time head coach Jesse Minter.

Speaking of first-timers, new Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken is new to his position despite being 60 years old. 

Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy aren't new to each other, but they are heading into uncharted territory with both representing the black and yellow of the Pittsburgh Steelers rather than the green and yellow of the Green Bay Packers.

"For the times they are a-changin'," Bob Dylan once prophetically wrote, but perhaps not about the AFC North.

More specific would be Minter's thoughts.

"It's a transition year for the division, I would say," Minter recently said, according to ESPN. "It's going to be a grind."

And yet, for one person, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, perhaps this new-look AFC North won't be as much of a grind.

Lamar Jackson could be poised to take over the new-look AFC North 

For one, superstar pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson is no longer with the Cincinnati Bengals, who are somehow now the most stable franchise in the division.

The Ravens signed Hendrickson to a four-year, $112 million deal this past offseason after a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders fell through for another star EDGE, Maxx Crosby.

Hendrickson will now be terrorizing the Bengals, Steelers and Browns while Jackson watches from the sidelines. He's now the beneficiary of the player with 81 sacks through nine NFL seasons, rather than being Hendrickson's target.

Speaking of trades, there was another massive trade in the AFC North that did go through, and that was the trade of elite pass-rusher Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams.

Garrett had collected 125.5 sacks in nine seasons since the Browns selected him No. 1 overall back in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Lamar Jackson will avoid Myles Garrett for the first time in a long time 

For the first time in nearly a decade, Jackson won't have to worry about the prospect of seeing Garrett twice in one season. In fact, the only way Jackson will see Garrett on the field this season is if the Ravens and Rams meet in the Super Bowl.

"I was like, 'Yes! I don't have to see him!'" was Jackson's response to the Garrett trade, per ESPN.

Jackson is a three-time All-Pro and a two-time league MVP. He's accomplished just about everything one can in the NFL besides win a Super Bowl, and now two massive impediments that have been in his way in years past have been taken away.

Minter is right in saying that this is a transition year for the AFC North. 

He didn't say it, but perhaps he realizes it. More than anyone else, his quarterback is in a great position to take advantage of all the changes.