Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens got the closest of any team in the AFC North to head to the Super Bowl; they even beat their biggest rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers to get there. Last season saw the Ravens go 10-6, the resurgence then immediate disappearance of Steve Smith Sr, and the break out of running back Justin Forsett. In the 2015 draft the Ravens decided to give Joe Flacco some new weapons in first round pick Breshad Perriman and second round pick tight end Maxx Williams. Perriman is expected to replace Torrey Smith as the primary wide receiver and Williams is set to replace Owen Daniels who left in free agency.
During the draft the Ravens traded aging defensive tackle Haloti Ngata to the Lions for a fourth and fifth round pick. The Ravens would also release inconsistent running back Bernard Pierce and wide receiver Jacoby Jones. The Ravens would sign Matt Schaub to back up Joe Flacco, Kendrick Lewis a talented safety out of Houston, and resigned Justin Forsett after his break out season. The Ravens still have the same roster for the most part, and it will be interesting to see if there's any team in this division that could knock them off as champs.
Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers had a hard end to the season losing to hated rival Baltimore. The changes in the offseason for the Steelers have been minimal. Arguably their best picks in the draft were first round pick Bud Dupree and third round wide receiver Sammie Coates. Coates can break into the Steelers wide receiving core much like Emmanuel Sanders and Mike Wallace have previously.
The Steelers released wide receiver Lance Moore after an underwhelming 2014 campaign, and had three players (Jason Worilds, Ike Taylor, and Troy Polamalu) retire. The Steelers picked up wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, former Steeler James Harrison, and running back DeAngelo Williams. They also resigned Cameron Heyward and Ben Roethlisberger to multi-year deals. The Steelers do not seem to have done enough to surpass the Ravens in the long run but with an offensive player like Antonio Brown it is hard to say what is possible.
Cincinnati Bengals: The Cincinnati Bengals had their best season in a while finishing 10-5-1. They finally made it to the playoffs and lost in the first round to the Colts 26-10. Going into the offseason the biggest concern for the Bengals was to get some added protection for Andy Dalton. They did this by drafting Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher with their first two draft picks. They added one weapon within the first four rounds and it was Tyler Kroft a third round tight end. The other third round pick they used on Paul Dawson and inside linebacker. The Bengals signed Michael Johnson defensive end and Denarius Moore during free agency to add some depth and resigned Rey Maualuga and Devon Still.
The Bengals seem focused on this season even though AJ Green is not signed past this season and the brass will have to make a good choice between Mohammad Sanu and Marvin Jones. With Marvin Jones finally healthy maybe he can add some punch to this offense. The main weapon for this team is their run game. Jeremy Hill and Giovanni Bernard will continue to make plays as it is incredibly hard to stop either of them. With AJ Green and so many wide receivers in a contract year it could lead to some healthy competition that should get the Bengals another playoff berth.
Cleveland Browns: The Cleveland Browns are still a mess and that's no surprise to anyone, they are the ugly ducklings of the AFC North. The Browns went 7-9 and saw that their savior Johnny Manziel was more human than previously thought. With their quarterback situation in flux the Browns signed Josh McCown a very talented back up. They also added Brian Hartline to their wide receiving core along with Dwayne Bowe. On the defensive side of the ball the Browns landed one of the biggest free agents in former Packer Tramon Williams.
In the 2015 draft the Browns had two number 1 picks and selected nose tackle Danny Shelton and center Cameron Erving. Erving should help protect any Browns quarterback and Shelton should bring some fire to the defensive line. The Browns also managed to grab talented defensive end Nate Orchard with their second round pick. They have also seemingly found a running back in Duke Johnson who was drafted in the third round. The Browns unfortunately lost defensive back Buster Skrine in free agency along with tight end Jordan Cameron, quarterback Brian Hoyer, and wide receiver Miles Austin. The Browns currently have too many holes to address in just one draft but by this time next year if they have found a quarterback, they could be a force to be reckoned with.
