The 2025 NFL season is nearly upon us, and the AFC North is poised to be one of the best and most interesting divisions in the entire league.
Aaron Rodgers has joined the division. The Bengals are coming in with a chip on their shoulder after narrowly missing the playoffs last year. The Ravens are in Super Bowl or bust mode. The Browns will be must-see-TV in their own unique way.
As we get ready for the start of the season, how strong are each of the rosters in the AFC North? Where is each team at now and where could they be by the end of the season? Our latest NFL Power Rankings are taking a look at each roster in the AFC North and examining their biggest strengths and weaknesses before the start of the season.
NFL Power Rankings: Ranking AFC North rosters before 2025 season
4. Cleveland Browns
The Browns obviously had to start stripping their roster down to the studs this offseason. They had something really cooking a few years ago, which is why they made the ridiculous trade (and contract) for Deshaun Watson, but that window has passeed them by. The ship has sailed.
The Browns were only able to hit reset on a certain few areas this offseason, but major components of this roster are going to have to wait until later to be addressed. Most notably, the quarterback position. Barring the unexpected, the Browns don't have a long-term solution there on the roster, which is a major reason why they're not going to be viable in this division anytime soon.
Getting Myles Garrett locked into a new deal this offseason was equal parts confusing and exciting for the fan base. They've got some stars, but do they have enough to have a high floor? I would say the Browns have one of the lowest floors out of any team in the league given their concerns on the offensive line and at quarterback right now.
This team's cupboard isn't exactly bare, however. Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, David Njoku, Jerry Jeudy -- those guys can still play. It's a matter of developing new core pieces in 2025.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers might be a better team than the Bengals in 2025, but they don't have a better roster.
The way the Steelers are constructed right now feels like a desperation attempt to keep the Mike Tomlin "above .500" record streak going. The addition of Aaron Rodgers this offseason is the latest Band Aid for Pittsburgh after the Kenny Pickett failure, and the rest of their moves are indicative of short-term thinking as well.
I loved the trade this team made to get DK Metcalf in the offseason, but it might not be long before this team is sending him off somewhere else because they're going to have to rebuild and reload again. The Steelers brought in guys like Darius Slay, Jalen Ramsey, and Jonnu Smith this offseason. Not bad players, by any means, but it feels like there's a non-Super Bowl ceiling on this team in 2025 and a lot of roster reconstruction to be done beyond this year.
2. Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals had arguably the worst defense in the NFL last season regardless of points allowed, but they've obviously made some changes and upgrades this offseason to try and get that fixed.
And people make it seem like this team was that far off last year, but they still won nine games and nearly climbed all the way back into the postseason. And regardless of how bad their defense was, everybody's sentiment toward the Bengals at the end of last season was that Buffalo and Kansas City would want no part in playing against them.
The Bengals got things ironed out temporarily with Trey Hendrickson, which is huge. This team might have the best collection of offensive weapons in the league, but at what cost? Will the offensive line be competent? Can the defense be even league average?
Having star players like Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins on offense really helps the Bengals, but this team isn't just those three guys, either. They've invested a lot of high draft capital on key players for both sides of the ball, but they need those picks to hit quickly.
1. Baltimore Ravens
They say there's no such thing as a "perfect" roster in the NFL today, but the Baltimore Ravens are pretty darn close.
This is the most balanced team in the entire NFL when it comes to star power on both sides of the ball, a superstar dual-threat quarterback, a dominant running back, an awesome offensive line, playmakers galore, waves of pass rush, and players who can take the ball away in the secondary.
The Ravens have better top-end talent than most, and they are deeper than most. There's really nothing not to like about this team going into the 2025 season, although the war on attrition hits everyone different throughout the course of the year.
This is a team that is built for a deep playoff run, and anything less than a Super Bowl win this year would be a catastrophic organizational failure. But the Ravens aren't just built to win now, either, which is what makes the job Eric DeCosta has done so ridiculous.