How the AFC North Sculpted their Drafts Around the Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens have followed their "draft the best player available" mantra like a north star these past few days, avoiding any unnecessarily flashy moves in the NFL Draft and bringing in players who they believed could fit in with their winning ways.

Instead of meddling with the offense around star quarterback Lamar Jackson, Baltimore executives chose to build up their secondary, their pass-rush and their special teams unit, addressing some big needs along the edge while making their already-versatile defensive talent pool that much more flexible.

The Ravens will continue filling holes and adding talent through the undrafted free agency market, but they can't just focus on their own internal game plan.

The AFC North, their division which includes three teams the Ravens play twice a season each, also got to work over the weekend. Even though the quartet isn't the same crop of guaranteed playoff teams that it was a few years ago (outside of the always-contending Ravens), it's still good for them to stay aware of what changes they should be looking forward to in the campaign to come.

The Cleveland Browns, Stars of the Draft

Cleveland entered the draft with the second-overall pick, a silver lining from the measly three wins they managed to claw to in 2024. With top quarterback Cam Ward's name bring tied to the needy Tennessee Titans for the few weeks leading up to Day One, it looked like the Browns should have Travis Hunter available for the taking.

Unfortunately for fans excited about bringing a wide receiver/cornerback dual threat and former Heisman Trophy winner aboard, Cleveland traded back to #5 in orchestrating a multi-pick deal with Jacksonville. While the Browns missed out on the two-way game-changer, they gained some long-term flexibility along with a potentially devastating defensive lineman in Mason Graham.

The @Browns are getting a dominant player in @MasonGraham_55 😤 https://t.co/iOSFt65Hl8 pic.twitter.com/58kbyqQsHZ
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) April 27, 2025

He'll make Jackson and his offensive guards' life that much tougher whenever they have to match up with the Browns, which was never easy to begin with with former Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett lurking along the edge.

The majority of Cleveland's other moves were offense-based, as they spent their later-day draft capital by bringing in a pair of running backs, a tight end, and most notably, two quarterbacks.

They ended Day Two by adding Oregon's Dillon Gabriel to the core of Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and whatever remains of Deshaun Watson under center, but clearly weren't satisfied until they also swooped in to save Colorado's Shadeur Sanders from his historic draft slide. Not only do these Browns still need to pick a starter between their various questionable options, but they've also engineered a rookie quarterback competition by bringing aboard one of the highest-profile draft picks of the 2020s.

They may not escape the division's basement this season, but these guys promise to be interesting.

The Cincinnati Bengals Hunting for Need

Cincinnati is under a bit more pressure than the Browns can relate to, as the Bengals have already locked down a stable offensive core worth building around.

Joe Burrow is set to orchestrate one of the league's more prolific offenses with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins once again at his sides, but their troublesome defense, or lack thereof, has kept them from reaching their winning potential.

They set a high bar for themselves with five playoff wins in Burrow's first two full seasons as the signal caller, and slow slippage on both lines has seen opposing offenses routinely get the better of Cincinnati's defense while Burrow's pockets seem to shrink a little bit quicker every season.

These worries were clearly weighing on the Bengals' minds entering the draft, as they spent their first-round pick on a potential Trey Hendrickson replacement with defensive end Shemar Stewart before taking one of their favorite prospects, well-rounded linebacker Demetrius Knight, at #49.

The rest of their picks, save for sixth-round running back Tahj Brooks, were used on various linemen. They got another linebacker right in between selecting a guard and a tackle to provide Burrow with some more protection, a sign of their desperation to solve their biggest needs.

Their defense was enough to get Lou Anarumo fired as Cincinnati's defensive coordinator last season, and adding this young help could reset their timeline while telling opponents that those high-scoring shootouts shouldn't be as common. Additionally, Burrow can avoid as many sacks with fresh legs in front of him along the line. A Bengals team with some of the league's most glaring holes is self-aware of their problems, and willing to make some changes after already committing to their offense.

The Pittsburgh Steelers Identity-Based Draft

The Steelers have consistently made the playoffs with their defense, much like the Browns briefly did two seasons ago.

Their style has resulted in more sub-20 point wins than most, but it's been their commitment to grit and making opposing quarterbacks' lives tougher that's persisted as their identity ever since longtime field general Ben Roethlisberger started to slip toward the back end of the 2010s.

That routine has become something of a gimmick to NFL fans, who have grown accustomed to the Steelers regularly winning slightly more games than they lose due to a lack of their own franchise quarterback.

Plenty of analysts wondered if they'd be the ones to snag Sanders in the first round, and the shocked reactions kept pouring in as they passed on him a half-dozen more times until his wait finally ended on Day Three. They did grab Will Howard out of Michigan with the 185th pick, betting on a collegiate winner who lacks that blue chip upside.

Outside of that, they handled their struggles at stopping the run by picking defensive tackle Derrick Harmon in the first round, a selection as focused on slowing down rivals Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry as any. On the other end, they added a running back in Kaleb Johnson two rounds later, addressing another need, before adding a few of their typical defensive depth pieces on the final day of the draft.

They'll be as much of a pain to play against as ever, still awaiting Aaron Rodgers' decision on who, if anyone, he'll saddle up with next. They, along with the Browns, will continue trying to retool, while the Bengals are looking to get right back into the race for the division alongside the Ravens.

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