The AFC North has been long-known for being one of the most hard-nosed divisions in all of football. Visions of vicious tackles and gritty runs remind you of the AFC North, which boasted four of the Top 13 defenses in the NFL last year.
When it comes time to think of a deepest position for this division, it could be easy to think defense. But some of these teams have quickly converted to offense.
The Cincinnati Bengals had the 10h-ranked offense in the league last year, something that came unexpected. With an aerial attack that included A.J. Green, Bengals fans knew that passing offense would be strong.
But then came Giovani Bernard, the quick running back from North Carolina, to solidify the run game. He ran for 695 yards and five touchdowns, and caught passes for 514 yards and three touchdowns. This year, Bernard could be a Pro Bowl candidate.
Add in bruising running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who had 756 yards and seven touchdowns last year, and the rushing attack looks even better. The Bengals drafted Jeremy Hill just to add more depth to the position.
The Pittsburgh Steelers love to stick to their defensive roots, so it comes as no surprise that the deepest position on the roster would come from that side of the ball. However, it’s a position that they had to revamp this offseason.
When long-tenured safety Ryan Clark left for free agency, the free safety position became very thin. The acquisition of Mike Mitchell from Carolina Panthers solidified this position, and with Troy Polamalu the other safety, made it one of the deepest.
The Cleveland Browns had their problems with running backs last season, eventually ending with a roster that included Chris Ogbonnaya, Willis McGahee and Fozzy Whittaker. However, the offensive line was strong enough to make these backs have some type of impact.
The Browns drafted Joe Thomas in 2007 thinking that he could be the future of the left tackle position for the future. He’s exactly that, making it to seven Pro Bowls and blocking for horrid Cleveland quarterbacks along the way.
Now, with the Transition Tag put on center Alex Mack and the addition of Joel Bitonio through the draft, the Browns’ offensive line is looking like one of the strongest in the league.
Quarterback Johnny Manziel and running back Ben Tate will certainly appreciate a strong offensive line, and the Browns’ upper management made sure they’d get their wish.
Then there are the Baltimore Ravens, who have dealt with offseason trouble all over the place. Ray Rice may be facing a lengthy suspension, so the running back position will take a hit. However, the Ravens’ depth comes on defense.
After Ray Lewis left to retirement, the linebacker position for the team was in question. But after the acquisition of Elvis Dumervil and Daryl Smith, the position looked like one of the deepest in the league.
The Ravens, though, saw the opportunity to grow at linebacker even more. With the 17th pick in this year’s draft, the Ravens took C.J. Mosley. Mosley will join another recent draft pick, Arthur Brown at inside linebacker, giving the team a plethora of options at linebacker.