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BALTIMORE RAVENS:
The defending AFC Champions are still a formidable team in 2024 but some of the pack might be gaining on their heels...
QB LaMar Jackson will engineer the attack with tailback JK Dobbins and journeyman D'Onta Foreman handling most of the running chores. Dobbins was an absolute workhorse last season rushing 324 times for 1800+ yards and 12 touchdowns. He amassed 39 broken tackles and averaged 106.2 YPG! For Foreman, this will be his fifth team in his last six seasons. The 6'1" 235 Lbs banger is expected to fill the role of the departed Gus Edwards. Foreman ran for 439 yards and 5 TDs for Chicago last season and has never had a year where he has not rushed for over 4 YPC. Odell Beckham is gone but the club is comfortable with their stable of receivers. Zay Flowers. Rashod Bateman, and Devin Duvernay all have 80+ catch ratings and enough speed to be extremely effective. The club drafted mercuric Tim Anderson in the 4th round as a returnman. TA could be TNT with his league best 99 speed rating! TE is excellent with Mark Andrews in the fold. The offensive line was seen, by many, as one of the best in football last season but a few positions needed to be addressed in the off-season. No Problem. Boston College Eagle rookie LG Christian Mahogany was scooped up in the first round and Miami Hurricane rookie RG Javion Cohen was taken in the second round. The two rookies will easily fill the empty spots giving Baltimore, once again, an elite line.
Defense is a way of life in the Ravens' world. DE Justin Madubuike piled up 14.5 sacks and 28 TFLs last season. However, the right side might be questionable as Broderick Washington will likely start. 34 year old Akiem Hicks is the backup there but he is much more suited for NT duties with his 6'4" 347 size. NT Travis Jones posted 10 sacks and 18 TFLs last year. The club signed Ex-Chicago Bear Justin Jones to serve as the 3-tech DT. He was able to garner 6 sacks and 9 TFLs in 414 snaps a season ago. In keeping with their size/power ideology, the Ravens signed FA Quinton Bohanna. Not very mobile, Bohanna has excellent strength (93) and is a mountain of a man at 6'4" 360 Lbs! Outside edge rushing LB Odafe Oweh recorded 10 sacks last year. The other side will see David Ojabo back in his role. Neither backer is good in coverage but that did not seem to impact the effectiveness of the defense. Roquan Smith and Trenton Simpson will be the inside backers. An over-looked element of the Ravens' linebacking corps is the amazing speed it has. Every backer has at least 87 speed! CB Marcus Peters returns to Baltimore after spending one year in Vegas. At age 31, Peters still has good cover skills but no longer has elite speed. He will join with Marlon Humphrey, Trayvon Mullen, and Rock Ya-Sin to form a solid quartet. Marcus Williams and Kyle Hamilton constitute one of the very best safety duos in the league.
Outlook: Baltimore has a rough end to their season on tap. They will play the Raiders, Saints, Texans, Eagles, Giants, and Chiefs in six of their last eight contests. They have enough talent to be favored in almost every game they play but some late season losses could upset the proverbial apple cart. 12 wins seems a floor and more than that is probable.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS:
The Steelers were not able to make a change at quarterback so local favorite Kenny Pickett stays in charge. In truth, he is a solid player at the position. The big noise was made on the defensive side of the ball where the Steelers are hoping an improved D will help Pickett and the offense win games...
Pickett is back. He threw for a little over 4000 yards last year and ended with a better than average 100.4 QBR. But his 26 TD passes and 240.6 YPG average just seemed to be too low for the offense to be consistently effective. Bullish back Najee Harris powered his way to 2142 yards and a stirling 16 touchdowns and Pittsburgh went out and added Washington Commander backup tailback Antonio Gipson in the off-season. They also signed Ex-Ram WR Van Jefferson who averaged 17 YPC with 5 touchdowns playing within Coach Mike Kleinknecht's offensive scheme. Diontae Johnson and George Pickens round out a pretty solid receiving unit. Fan favorite Pat Freiermuth pulled in 67 passes for 659 yards last season from his tightend position. The offensive line is still average at best with no significant upgrades. Only RG James Daniels has an OVR rating at 80 or above and he is right at 80!
The Steelers made it very clear what their intent was this off-season: Improve the defense. They drafted Penn State Nittany Lion DE Chop Robinson in the second round adding an intriguing talent to the position. Robinson has the acceleration, power moves, and pursuit numbers to be a significant edge rusher. They then selected Oregon Duck DE Brandon Dorlus in the third round to start opposite Robinson. Dorlus will need to improve just a bit on his pursuit and power moves in order to become truly impactful but he is an upgrade. Pittsburgh left nothing in the tank in trying to improve up front. They outbid everyone to sign Ex-Bengal NT DJ Reader to a stunning 3-year $82 million contract! Reader had 12.5 sacks and 21 TFLs last season. 3-tech DT Keanu Benton recorded 5 sacks and 19 TFLs last year and he could play even better with the other players causing matchups problems around him. TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith are back as OLBs. Watt was a bit disappointing last season with 12.5 sacks but it is hoped he returns to his dominating self this year. Cole Holcomb will start inside but the second MLB is not yet settled. The secondary saw a serious upgrading as well! Stud rookie CB Kool-aid McKinstry was taken in the first round of the draft and Ex-Giant Adoree Jackson was a free agent signee. The Alabama Crimson Tide McKinstry is super fast and has shut down skills while Jackson is not far behind. Their additions will allow the Steelers to shift Joey Porter to the slot or #3 role. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is still elite and Pittsburgh topped off the defensive cake with the signing of Ex-Brown safety Grant Delpit. Delpit was productive in a limited role last season in Cleveland posting 19 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, and 2 interceptions while playing in only 275 snaps!
Outlook: The Steelers will start their season off with a bang, They have divisional games against the Ravens (week 1), Bengals (week 2) , and Browns (week 4) right away. Following their week 7 bye they then have three consecutive road games at Baltimore, Kansas City, and Buffalo. The defense seems ready to roll and management made an all-out effort to make the unit one of the best in football. If the D can play to expectations, then the Steeler offense and its more conservative angle can prove deadly. Pittsburgh is a true enigma heading into the season and could very well be a real surprise to the league this year. Who knows wher e they will end up but 10+ wins is very possible if not better than that unless the plan blows up...
CLEVELAND BROWNS:
The Browns were a pleasant surprise to the league last season pulling off several big wins. Some key weapons have departed such as WR Amari Cooper and there are question marks about the offense. HB Nick Chubb and QB DeShaun Watson are back but the wide-receiver unit is a big question mark. Elijah Moore steps in as the top target but he had just 1 reception in 208 snaps last year and the Browns will be looking to Ex-Eagle Quez Watkins to fill a big vacuum. Watkins has good speed and caught 63 balls for 904 yards and 4 touchdowns last year. Cedric Tillman and Anthony Schwartz may be the third WR option but neither had a single catch last year. Obviously, this group is untested. TE David Njoku is back as a solid receiver but he averaged less than 10 YPC last year. The offensive line remains a steady strength.
The defense, which was good, might have to be better this time around. End Myles Garrett and Za'Darius Smith were marvelous combining for 32 sacks and 41 TFLs! NT Dalvin Tomlinson did get 6 sacks last season but his 8 TFLs suggest he is not getting into the backfield enough. The Browns selected Ohio State Buckeye OLB Andrew Driver in the second round. He is fast enough and has solid coverage skills but is small at just 226 Lbs. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah will be on the right side. The middle linebacking duo will be totally new. Cleveland signed New Orleans Saint Raekwon McMillan and then drafted Clemson Tiger Barrett Carter in the first round. Mcmillan was more of a run stopper type last year but it is hoped Carter can be a do-it-all force in the middle. Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome, and Martin Emerson are a very good trio of cornerbacks while Juan Thornhill and Terrell Edmunds are above average at the safety spots.
Outlook: The receivers will need to prove themselves. If they can get it done, then this team can soar but if they fail...lookout. An awful lot rides on their success or failure. The defense should be good again but the young linebackers must play well. They have four winnable games to start their campaign before facing the Ravens in weeks 5 and 7 and the Eagles in week 8. Their fate may well be determined in those matchups. 10+ wins is very doable.
CINCINNATI BENGALS:
A trend of starting out slow and then finishing strong has set in in Cincinnati. Last year, though, that aspect created a hill too tall to climb and the club missed out on the playoffs...
The Bengals have as much firepower potential as any team in football. QB Joe Burrow, HB Joe Mixon, along with WRs Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Charlie Jones are as explosive as it gets. Cinci took the plunge and tabbed Florida State Seminole rooke TE Jaheim Bell with the 15th overall pick in the draft. He is not fast (82) and some eyes were raised when the Bengals then went out and signed veteran tightends Robert Tonyan (Chicago) and O.J. Howard (Miami). The offensive line remains questionable. They did bring in Seattle Seahawk LG Damien Lewis on a three-year $39.1 million deal!
Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson will man the edge roles again this season. The club, however, did not address the interior of the line where B.J. Hill and Jay Tufele seem slated to start. Those two combined for a woefully low 2 sacks and 12 TFLs last year. The Bengals went out and spent $35 million on the acquisition of pass rushing OLB Shaq Barrett (Tampa Bay) and then took Ohio State Buckeye Nolan Wake in the second round of this year's draft. Logan Wilson should be able to hold down the ROLB job. Lavonte David and Germaine Pratt are in the middle but Cinci also selected Georgia Bulldog Smael Mondon in the third round. The selections of TE Bell and LBs Wake and Mondon were with a clear eye on both depth and the future. The secondary is a major concern. CBs Mike Hilton, D.J. Turner, and Cam Taylor-Britt have speed but none even have a single 80+ coverage rating in either man or zone. Safeties Daxton Hill and Jordan Battle are very solid.
Outlook: Not sure the team has enough on defense to hang with Baltimore as the season unfolds. The offense must play better than it did a season ago and the interior of the D-Line and the coverage skills of the secondary are troubling. The schedule is not soft at all. Playing above .500 ball could be about right, but how far above is the question.
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