The AFC North might be a lopsided affair in the 2025 NFL Season. Let's predict one breakout player from each team in the division.
All of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, and Cleveland Browns have massive roster questions that could totally derail their seasons, so for the Baltimore Ravens, they simply have to not mess things up.
But with that said, each team does have at least one breakout player to take note of before the start of the 2025 NFL Season. Let's get into those players here.
1 breakout player from each AFC North team in the 2025 NFL Season
Pittsburgh Steelers - Zach Frazier, OC
Zach Frazier was quite good as a rookie, and interior offensive linemen adjusting from college to the NFL tend to find immediate success. We should be on the cusp of watching Frazier ascend to near the top of the NFL's center hierarchy, emerging as one of the very best in the NFL.
In a year where the Pittsburgh Steelers do not have much to look forward to at the moment, their young center could be the next great one in the NFL.
Baltimore Ravens - Malaki Starks, S
Malaki Starks is slated to start next to Kyle Hamilton in the Baltimore Ravens secondary, which really figured things out in the back-half of the 2024 NFL Season. Starks was a first-round pick and a top DB in the NFL Draft class as a whole.
He'll also be able to be in a role that he excels in, as both he and Hamilton have different but complementary skill sets. Watch out for a first-year breakout season from the rookie.
Cincinnati Bengals - Chase Brown, RB
Over his last eight games of the 2024 NFL Season, Chase Brown rushed for 631 yards and was on pace for a 1,341-yard season had he kept that pace up across all 17 games. He just barely missed out on a 1,000-yard season on the ground but did still rack up 1,350 yards and 11 touchdowns.
With Brown now the clear-cut lead back, and the Bengals being a high-flying offense, it's easy to see how he could breakout in a big way in 2025 and perhaps take a ton of pressure off of Joe Burrow's shoulders.
Cleveland Browns - Mason Graham, DT
Taken with the fifth overall pick, Mason Graham is playing in a defense alongside Myles Garrett and Maliek Collins, so there is reason to believe that the Browns DL as a whole is going to be among the best in the NFL. Graham may not have a ton of attention put on him by opposing OL units, as they will most definitely have to first take note of Garrett.
This could free up Graham for constant one-on-one matchups, and those could allow him to really come along nicely as a rookie.