Before teams begin training camp, it is a good time to catch up on the additions the rest of the Bengals’ AFC North rivals have made this offseason. We know about the additions the Bengals made like Cordy Glenn and Preston Brown, but the rest of the AFC North has been pretty active as well.
Here’s a look at the new talent infused into the division by means of the draft and free agency.
Baltimore Ravens
- John Brown, WR
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Ryan Grant, WR(just kidding!) - Michael Crabtree, WR
- Robert Griffin III, QB
- Willie Snead, WR
- Hayden Hurst, TE
- Lamar Jackson, QB
- Orlando Brown, OT
- Mark Andrews, TE
- Anthony Averett, CB
- Kenny Young, LB
- Jaleel Scott, WR
- Jordan Lasley, WR
- Deshon Elliott, S
- Greg Senat, OT
- Bradley Bozman, C
- Zach Sieler, DE
The Ravens had a clear goal this offseason, and it was to overhaul their offensive personnel. They did that by recreating their receiving group with Crabtree, Brown and Snead. After no receiver in Baltimore had more than 40 receptions last year it isn’t a surprising move. The Ravens look to be creating an offense based around a two tight end system. Hurst and Andrews are very good receiving tight ends, but Andrews especially can’t be counted on in run blocking.
The most talked about addition has to be Lamar Jackson. After he free fell to the end of the first round of the draft, the Ravens opted to trade up and get him. He’s likely a little bit too raw to start right away, but that’s fine as Joe Flacco is expected to maintain his starting role. Jackson coming along slowly isn’t shocking when you consider he didn’t really have to call plays or takes snaps from under center in college. Then again, that second thing really shouldn’t be an issue if you design your offense around his strengths. There is no need for that yet though as the Ravens will likely start Flacco, but the future is one snap away for Baltimore.
Cleveland Browns
- Jarvis Landry, WR
- Tyrod Taylor, QB
- Damarious Randall, DB
- T.J. Carrie, DB
- Darren Fells, TE
- Chris Hubbard, OT
- Carlos Hyde, RB
- Terrance Mitchell, DB
- Chris Smith, DE
- Donald Stephenson, OT
- Greg Robinson, OT
- Jeff Janis, WR
- Drew Stanton, QB
- Baker Mayfield, QB
- Denzel Ward, CB
- Austin Corbett, OL
- Nick Chubb, RB
- Chad Thomas, DL
- Antonio Callaway, WR
- Genard Avery, LB
- Damion Ratley, WR
- Simeon Thomas, DB
Can you tell the Browns got a new GM to run the team? Cleveland cashed out on all the assets created by the Money Ball regime to undergo a full-blown makeover. Additions like Landry, Taylor and Randall before the draft set the tone for the offseason. The Browns were going to be a loose cannon cop, not playing by the rules.
That spilled over to the draft when they took Mayfield first overall despite nearly no one viewing him as the top quarterback in the draft. They did it again by drafting Ward to fill a need at cornerback instead of drafting Bradley Chubb to complete one of the nastiest pass rushing duos the NFL has ever seen with Myles Garrett.
Cleveland had plenty of holes to fill after an 0-16 season, but the biggest one was left by Joe Thomas retiring. They have nobody who can even come close to filling those shoes, but luckily the Browns have two quarterbacks with the mobility to attempt to overcome that.
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Terrell Edmunds, S
- James Washington, WR
- Mason Rudolph, QB
- Chuks Okafor, OT
- Marcus Allen, S
- Jaylen Samuels, RB
- Joshua Fraizer, DT
The Steelers weren’t able to make any moves in free agency due to Le’Veon Bell taking up a little over $14 million in cap space with the franchise tag. Though, he hasn’t signed it. The two sides have tried to come to an agreement on a long-term deal that would have relieved some of that space, but there’s yet to be any luck.
Instead, the Steelers had to focus on the draft in order to improve their team. They did that by reaching for Edmunds (not the linebacker) in the first round. It was very shocking considering there were plenty of other safeties rated higher than him still left on the board, and if they wanted him they really could’ve waited.
The team did get wide receiver James Washington, who could be a perfect fit in Pittsburgh. It felt like his game was a little too restricted, but as a field stretcher, he is just what Pittsburgh needs. They followed that up by adding Washington’s quarterback from college in Rudolph. Some have said the Steelers traded up to steal Rudolph from the Bengals, and that may be true, but Pittsburgh knew they had to start worrying about the future sooner rather than later.
It hasn’t been a super eventful offseason for the Steelers, but they really didn’t need a massive overhaul of their roster like other teams.