[MUSIC PLAYING] It's the Lock-Dawn Podcast Network, your team every day. Why won't it be the Ravens winning the AFC North this season? Find out here on the 2024 Lock-Dawn NFL season previews continuing on the AFC North right now. This is the 2024 Lock-Dawn NFL season preview, only on the Lock-Dawn Podcast Network. Your team, every day. [MUSIC PLAYING] Welcome back to the 2024 Lock-Dawn NFL season previews. This episode, we are focused on the AFC North. This episode is brought to you by Fandall. Now, through September 22, all Fandall customers can bet $5 and get a three-week free trial of NFL Sunday ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Visit fandall.com/lockdawn to get started. I'm Christopher Carter, host of the Lock-Dawn Steelers podcast, and I'm your host for this divisional preview. Joining me are my collab colleagues from the Lock-Dawn Podcast Network, including Kevin Ostriker of Lock-Dawn Ravens. Jake Liscow of Lock-Dawn Bengals and Jeff Lloyd of Lock-Dawn Browns. Today, we are going to look at the contenders, what makes a successful season for them, any early host seats, what would one thing could derail each of their team's seasons, win totals, MVP candidates, and of course, predictions of where each of these teams will finish. Let's start with the end, though. We'll talk about the end of last year. We stick with the reigning division champions. That was the Ravens. So we go to Kevin. Kevin, where have the Ravens improved or stayed still to get ready for this season? And what is their outlook as a chance of repeating as division chance? I think they do have the shots to repeat this season. And part of that is because they are bringing back all of their stars. But the big question is about the youth stepping up. They lost a lot of four agents. And there's no doubt about it. Patrick Queen, Geno Stone, gone to division rivals and others as well who have left for divisions such as Tyler Huntley and Cleveland, others. But the Ravens did improve their run game. And they've been one of the top rushing teams in the league, really ever since the Lamar Jackson era started. And so people say, well, how can you improve that if they're already the best in the league? Well, Derrick Henry comes in, and obviously Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins were good when they were on the field for the Ravens. But Derrick Henry just brings you a whole different element as a running-back underrated speed. We know he's a power guy. And him and Lamar Jackson in the same backfield together, that's going to give opposing defenses nightmares. But the other question mark is on their offensive line. They lose three starters, a lot of youth coming in there. So Derrick Henry can't do it all by himself. Obviously, the offensive line has to block. And then on the defensive side of the ball, they're going to rely on a bunch of others as well. So obviously, a disappointing end for the Ravens and the AFC Championship game to Kansas City felt like that could have been the year. But they're back to the drawing board and hopefully a division repeats in the card sport this year. Do you have them-- you predicting them as the number one team in the division this year? I am. I think that it'll be close. I could definitely see the Ravens and another team from the division maybe having a tiebreaker scenario. But if I had to pick right now-- look, there's no question about the Ravens regular season. It's about the playoffs. They're a solid regular season team. Once we get to the playoffs, we can have a different conversation. But I trust their record in the regular season to say that even though it'll be a harder path for them, I think they still have a good shot and I'll pick them to repeat this year. I want to switch to Jake from locked on Bengals. Jake, last year the Bengals were the division champs coming into the season. They had injuries just derailed their season with Joe Burrow. But he's back. He's ready. Is this the year that they take back the division? Well, they have a chance of doing. So if Joe Burrow is healthy, and that is a question that we will continue to monitor with the Cincinnati Bengals as the season begins. The offense should be the Cincinnati Bengals offense. Tyler Boyd is out, but a compliment of receivers will replace his role as a wide receiver three from Andre Yosovash, to rookie Jermaine Burton, with contributions from tight end Mike Kaseki in that wide receiver role. We all know Mike Kaseki is really a wide receiver. Although I do think he'll line up more in line with the Bengals than he has previously in his career, for better or for worse. But the season will obviously hinge on Joe Burrow's health and ability to reach the levels that he's reached in the past. In addition to looking for veteran safeties, the return of von Bell and the addition of Geno Stone to solidify communication on the defensive end where that was an abject disaster for the Bengals in 2023 that led to a lot of explosive plays. If those two things go right, there's no reason to think that with the soft schedule, the Bengals can't get back to the top of the division. Jeff, I want to switch to you on the Browns. The Browns finished second division. It was the first time since 2007 that they finished second division. Is this the year they get over the top and win the AFC North? I, you know, look, I've kind of put myself out there already that I think this probably could be the year. And I think the biggest thing is, you know, everybody talked about how well the Browns defense played last year. For me, I think the thing that I'm really looking forward to this year is this is now year two of it all. Normally defenses don't come out of the gate that good. You know, when you have so much newness, the new defense coordinator, obviously a lot of new talent, you know, they pretty much are running back the defensive line. Rookie Mike Hall was supposed to be a big part of things. Not sure when we're going to see him as he's now on the commissioner's exemplist. You upgraded, in my opinion, at linebacker by bringing in Jordan Hicks. You know, the Anthony Walker, Cioni Taki Taki. They were nice names, but none of those guys had the actual football resume, but I like Jordan Hicks at the linebacker position. Granted, the Browns don't want to play a line in a lot of linebackers anyway. They want to get past rushers on the field and they want to get to nickel and dime as quickly as they can. They are legit three deep in corner, as we all know. Safety, they are legit three deep there. So these teams that move the ball by throwing it a lot, the Browns should be capable of taking care of that. You know, offense, it seems a little more promising today than it did maybe a week or two ago. We had no idea when either of the starting tackles or essentially who even the starting tackles are going to be. For right now, it looks like Jack Conklin is sooner back than Jed Willis. It looks like that. Jack Conklin is most likely going to be starting at the left tackle. Jed Willis could end up maybe the swing tackle here, that they really know what they have into Juan Jones and this also gives a Browns flexibility down the road where they can be able to save some money by having a starting tackle under contract for obviously relatively cheap. The Nick Chubb, we know to this point, we won't see him in September, which is kind of what everybody anticipated. The run game, look, this was never going to, it was always going to be a team that went more to Deshawn Watson anyway due to the fact that the investment that was made in Deshawn monetarily, this was going to become more his offense. It wasn't necessarily Nick Chubb's. Last year, that kind of got force fed and then it got force fed to where it wasn't Nick Chubb or Deshawn Watson's offense. But that's what it comes down to. I mean, they're going to just have to be able to score but I think the defense should be a little more consistent than they were last year. The defense didn't always travel as well last year on the road as well as they played at home. But it's a really, really, really good roster and it is really deep. Like when we had these roster break down, the cuts today, nothing was really surprising. You kind of knew who the Browns, 53 man roster was going to be probably about four or five months ago. - I hear you on that. Let's go quickly into over under projections brought to you by fan tool sports book, the number one sports book in America. We start with the Ravens, Kevin. The Ravens are given 10 and a half as they're over under mark. Are they going over or under you? - I think they're going over. It's going to be a tougher path. They're playing the first place schedule. They have a really tough, really season schedule too where look again, with that youth, it'll be a test and there'll be some growing pains, Zach Orrs, the new defensive coordinator and what a test for him, first ever game play calling ever at any level against Kansas City and the NFL opener. So even though it'll be harder, I expect the Ravens to hover around anywhere from 11 to 13 wins. I put them in that 12 range. So I'm going over for Baltimore on that one. - Jake, the Bengals have the same mark 10 and a half wins. Do they go over this year? - It's such a soft schedule for the Bengals. They benefit from the last play schedule despite finishing at nine and eight last year in those games against New England to start the season and Tennessee later in the season, both look like pretty advantageous match ups even if I think Tennessee has improved on top of that. The division opponents for the entire AFC North don't strike me as terribly threatening this year. Of course, these things can change. But with that soft schedule and a really soft start to the season featuring New England, Washington and Carolina, we've seen the Bengals dig themselves out of holes to beat this mark. This year they should start out faster and I like them to keep it together. Pending Joe Burrow's health. But I like the over and I like it for the Ravens too, Kevin. I like it for the entire division which I think is shaping up to be quite strong once again. - Once again, the AFC North there, Jeff, the Browns at eight and a half after an 11 win season, are they going over? - Smash it, smash it eight and a half. I think this team is capable of winning. Look, I think every team in this division most likely is gonna win nine games. So I think eight and a half is an unjust number probably to any team in this division. The whole division as a whole, even with Joe Burrow missing all that time, everybody talks about what the pressure was gonna be for this division to hold up, 'cause we talked about the AFC West the year before, everybody thought that division was gonna be. But it's a lot of pressure for four teams to truly be really good in the same NFL season. And you had that last year, everybody was above 500, stayed that way. But I mean, if it's only eight and a half, obviously I think it's eight and a half, there's some teams you're facing earlier in the year that I think you would rather face early than later Washington being one of those teams. You would rather face them earlier, I think, before they start to find their groove later in the year. But yeah, I mean, eight and a half. I have a lot of confidence that eight and a half is an easy, easy number that I would wager to take the ole for sure. - The Steelers are at eight and a half as well. I'm smashing you over as well on that. The Steelers as long as Mike Thomas been their coach, head coach have not had a losing season if they have eight wins, unless they tied in a game, they have a losing season. I think they're at least getting nine wins and who knows they might be even a little bit higher than that, even though they do have a brutal schedule. We'll get into more of that just here 'cause we're just getting started coming up. What's the one thing that could derail a success of each season if the 2024 locked on NFL season preview of the AFC North? Passion, drive and patience, that's what brings home the winning trophy and it's also what keeps your rider die alive. eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance from superchargers to roof racks, exhaust kits, LED headlights and more, whether you're to speed, power or style eBay Motors has got you covered. 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My expectation for them is to at least get back to the AFC Championship, if not that the season to me as a disappointment. And obviously there's a lot of talent in not only this division, but the AFC and it's gonna be tough for them to get there. Because especially with all the quarterback injury, if you saw last season, particularly in the division, which you'll borrow to Sean Watson, et cetera, it's not gonna be as easy for Baltimore. And to me, the expectation should be that because again, as I mentioned, we all know the Ravens are a good regular season team, barring injuries, barring health. They are always consistent, especially in this John Harbaugh era. But nobody here in Baltimore really cares about that anymore because no one cares about regular season success. If you cannot get the job done in the playoffs in winning the big game, which obviously Baltimore did not. Now, if there was a thing for the rail of the team, it would certainly be them going too far in on their youth movement, while trying to compete for a Super Bowl. As I mentioned, those guys, they lost in Craziancy. A lot of vets outdoor. Guys who were stable veteran presences for that team last season, now it's guys like Rashad Bateman stepping in into a full-time role. It wasn't necessarily proven anything in history seasons. You have rookie starting on the offensive line. Second year guys, other players who haven't proven a lot replacing players like Kevin Zaitler, who was one of the most steady offensive linemen in this league stills a bit. So to me, I feel like they needed to go some way into this youth movement because it's just the way that these teams with these big quarterbacks on those big deals, that's how they have to go. But their really only big signing of the offseason was their a chemery. Again, it's not like they lost Roquan Smith, their Kyle Hamilton or anybody like that. But to me, this division is going to be the best in football. And if you're relying too much on youth and experience and that doesn't come to fruition, especially chemistry early in the season, it could come back to bite you later. So I think it's a huge risk reward for the Ravens. The risk is obviously there. But if enough guys step up, second year players, third year players, fourth year players could pay off form in a big way. - Jake, the Bengals had their season derailed with Joe Burrows injury last year. Let's say Joe Burrows healthy and ready to go this year. Is there another thing that you think is the big question mark that could get in the way of a Bengals comeback season? - Yeah, that's a caveat. Is the Bengals season hinges on how Joe Burrows risk hinges? If he has full range of motion and the ability to grip the ball, then you're not really worried about that. But you're right, if something goes wrong there, well, all bets are off. Outside of Joe Burrows status, which is the obvious answer, and it's also the correct answer, you don't need to talk too much about it though, to your point, the next one would be, can the defense return to a functional defense at the NFL level? They were getting gassed in the running game last year, especially when DJ Reader was off the field. DJ Reader no longer plays for the Cincinnati Bengals, so he will be off the field for the entire season. They need to be better against the run than they were without DJ Reader last year. The Bengals would have you believe that I mentioned this earlier, improved communication from the secondary down to the front four should help this quite a bit. The linebackers last year felt like they had more on their plate than they did with Jesse Bates and Bon Bell roaming the secondary for the Bengals. And then they lost both of those guys. Bon Bell's return has been talked up consistently by both the coaching staff and defensive players on the Cincinnati Bengals as to how much the communication has improved throughout the preseason. That could be a big difference, but the question remains as to whether or not they can hold up on the ground against the run game. Without DJ Reader, without a real nose tackle on the team right now, McKinley Jackson, the rookie nose tackle is injured at the moment. We'll see if he's ready for week one or not. And then there's a youth movement similar to what Kevin's talking about. Dax Hill making a transition from safety to starting an outside corner. He's been good this preseason and he won that job, but the Bengals are young in the secondary outside of that safety position. And they also had issues with explosive plays last year. So for looking for significant issues for the Bengals, for months, I'm not talking about the offensive line. I actually feel okay there. I'm talking about potential issues on the defensive side of the ball. - Jeff, let's talk about the Browns expectations after last year making the playoffs, getting 11 wins. What are the expectations this year and what's the one thing that can't happen that getting away with them? - Well, I mean, the expectations should be high. I mean, you look at this roster and it's weird. Like I hear you guys talking about your rosters being young. Like the Browns roster is kind of like the veteran roster of the AFC North right now, which kind of sounds a little odd, just to even say it the way it is. Certainly, you know, their age, overall age, certainly is the latter part of the NFL spectrum. So the expectations should be extremely high. Certainly should be the quarterback you have and what you pay to him. That is the expectation should be playoffs, it should be winning division, should be hosting playoff games. There's two factors. Obviously, the biggest one, of course, is the same guy with a large contract to Sean Watson. There's certain ways to look at this. You know, and you don't wanna ever use QB wins as a way to justify any quarterback who is on a big money contract, but Sean Watson is eight and four starting quarterback to the Cleveland Browns. It is what it is. Sometimes it looked bad and he's still one. Yes, sometimes it looked better than people wanted to give it credit for it. Yes, and we know why some of the reasons that probably does come and it's justifiably so. But he really just has to take a step up here. Look, they doubled down. He's got five, if six not wide receivers that could play at any given time between Cooper, between Judy, Cedric Tillman's really looks good. Elijah Moore was a nice presence last year. You have rookie Jamari Thresh, David Bell, all these guys have produced at one point or another. You have David and Joku finally putting it all together last year becoming this all-around tight end that deserves to be mentioned when some of the top tight ends in the league. So it's on to Sean. And look, he doesn't have to go back to that magical final season that he played in Houston, you know, where it was just incredible numbers. Nobody else on the team really did anything, but he's got to do enough. And he can't be ever be the reason that the team loses a game, certainly not. And the other thing is it's, you have three offensive tackles. Every one of them is coming back off of knee surgery. Jack Conklin today, it was his ACL, his MCL, UCL towards the meniscus. I mean, like what else could you tear in your knee? So basically, you know, for him to even say that and less than one calendar year, he's back at practice. Most likely we're going to be ready to go for week one. Jed Wills is not there yet. They say, you know, he's off the list. He's ready to go at any given time, just not there yet. To Juan Jones is also coming off in knee surgery. And you got to keep in mind, last year was the most poor, the Browns offensive line looked during the Barons to Fansky regime. It had always been the absolute staple and one of the first things you either talk about, Miles Garrity, you talk about the Cleveland Browns offensive line. So when Bill Callahan left, it wasn't necessarily that it was, you know, what are you going to do? He's going to go work with his son. But it was also when they were coming off the worst run that they had had together as a group of the four years they were together. So if it was ever a time to maybe make a change, maybe it was the time. But we got in a way really evaluating that right now. Joe Batonio doesn't play in the preseason, nor should he. None of the tackles did anything in the preseason. So we have no idea. You have to think there's going to be some sort of learning curve for this offensive line. It doesn't help that you know you don't have Nick Chubb for a minimum, you know, four weeks. Although Jerome Ford, you know, still gave you 1,200 total yards and nine touchdowns last year, which, you know, I think a lot of people just sleep on for some reason or another. But that's really where it's going to come down to. It certainly comes down into Sean. And if it doesn't go well this year, obviously that's going to create a whole, you know, weird circumstance for this team, which would finally have draft assets and would be able to, you know, get back into the game and try to correct something somewhere if they had to. But it comes down to Deshawn going out there and the Browns finally getting the Deshawn Watson or at least 85% of Deshawn Watson that they thought they were getting and this offensive line performing. Maybe not going to be as good as they were in their heyday but getting back to being, you know, maybe not top five anymore. Top 10, top 11, somewhere in that range. - The Steelers I think are in a position where there's expectations for this team to get back to double digit wins. They had 10 wins last season. The question is, can they do that and get a playoff one? That's what everyone's been desperate to see in Pittsburgh. I think the biggest thing it gets in the way of getting back there because I do think this team is better as a roster. The thing is they're playing a much tougher schedule this year. They've got the Eagles. They've got the Chiefs. They've got the Chiefs on Christmas Day. It's going to be enough. And then of course, the whole AFC North Gotlet at the end of the season where everyone's playing each other, that's going to be where this division is won. I think the biggest thing that can get in the Steelers way is what got in their way last year and it's the injuries on defense. At one point, they were starting basically two practice squad linebackers, two practice squad safeties. Patrick Peterson was moving to safety at times. They were decimated with injuries last year and that contributed to a three game losing streak, including to the Patriots and Cardinals last year that derailed what was at that point a decent season. So the Steelers need to stay healthy. The good thing is they have depth on defense this year. They have Nick Herbig at outside linebacker to Marvin Leal switched out there and he's been looking fine. So they're not as inept at behind TJ Watt and Alex Heisler as they have been in past years. So I look at that and I see there's better chances for that. But still, if this is a team that misses TJ Watt for big chunk of time, misses to make it that's Patrick for a big chunk of time. Patrick Queen for a big chunk of time. This could be another year where the Steelers defense isn't living up to the hype. I think the offense as much as everyone wants to see it and prove as long as it's just beats the minimum that has been the last few years with Matt Canada, Kenny Pickett, Mr. Bisky, name a quarterback. I think the Steelers will be happy with what they see on offense from Russell Wilson and Company. But with that, we have to talk about MVP candidates real quickly, Kevin, is there any MVP candidate on this roster named, not named Lamar Jackson? And if not, what's the case for Lamar getting his third MVP? - Yeah, I mean, I think that Lamar is your, is there most obvious choice here? I guess as a door course, if you're not going to say Lamar Jackson, Kyle Hamilton's obviously a defensive player of the year candidate, but I mean, in a crazy world, maybe he goes out there and wins MVP, not putting any money on it. But I would maybe say him, maybe Derek Henry shocks the world. Who knows? But obviously for the Ravens, your MVP candidate is Lamar Jackson. - Jake, is it simple enough to say Joe Burrow or does Jamart Chase or someone else add into that conversation as far as MVP? - The MVP is a quarterback award. There are two teams in this division that have a player that is likely to win an MVP. We can talk about defensive player of the year candidates, offensive player of the year candidates, special teams player of the year candidates for some of these teams. There's good specialists in this division. - But if we're talking about MVP, we're talking about quarterbacks and that's obviously Burrow. - Absolutely. Jeff, is there an MVP candidate on the Browns? Can Miles Garrett beat Jake? What Jake just said? - Well, I mean, you know, there are a couple of teams in this division, Chris, that have had a defensive player of the year on their defense. So they could be maybe mentioned as MVPs and Mr. Miles got our TJ Y, of course. You know, I mean, you know, if the Browns are going to go where they go, you know, I mean, if we're talking overall league MVP, I think the Browns will be viewed as a, you know, a varied team if they are successful. Do I think, you know, that would, you know, you know, we're talking, you know, 45 touchdowns. I don't think Deshawn Boston's going to throw for 45 touchdowns. I don't think the Browns have any plans of trying to, you know, throw the ball like that, that much, not saying they may not or have to, you know, but, you know, it's, it's, the Browns are probably more of the overall parts become the greater sum. You know, I don't, we're not going to mention Deshawn on the level of certainly, you know, Lamar or Joe Burrow, if there were supposed MVP from the ASU North, most likely it would be number nine or number eight. Yes. - I look at the Steelers. I'm not saying Russell Wilson's going to be up in his conversation. I agree with Jake. TJ Watt has led the NFL in sacks in three out of the last four years and he's not been in MVP conversations. He has gotten a defensive player the year once, finished second twice, but in all that, that doesn't get you MVP. We got a lot more coming your way here with the grueling 18 week schedule. We're going to talk about what, what the other, what we like about the other teams in the division, all that next year on the preview for the 2024 NFL season focusing on the AFC North. Today's episode is brought to you by Fandell Sportsbook, the number one sportsbook in America. And you've heard us talk a lot about Fandell, America's number one sportsbook. A reminder, you're the win total predictions for the AFC North. Both the Ravens and the Bengals currently sit with their over-unders at 10 and a half wins while both the Steelers and Browns sit with their over-unders at eight and a half wins. This is a division where all 14s last year finished with winning records. So this year, who will go over, who will go under? Place your bets with the Fandell, America's number one sportsbook. Also, we have something a little different for you today on America's number one sportsbook with Fandell. Now through September 22nd, all Fandell customers can bet $5 and they'll get a three week free trial of NFL Sunday ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Then with a YouTube TV base plan, you'll be able to watch every regular season Sunday afternoon out of market game. All you need is a Google account in a current form of payment and you can cancel at any time. Just as visit fandell.com/lockdawn to download America's number one sportsbook that's fandell.com/lockdawn to download and load America's number one sportsbook and that's Fandell. - Hi, this is Jake from Lockdawn. There are a lot of moments in life that call for a celebration. 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We also have the NFL covered nationally with Lockdawn NFL, Lockdawn NFL Scouting, Peacock and Williamson, Lockdawn Fantasy Football and Lockdawn Dynasty Football and get 24/7 coverage of the NFL with our brand new Lockdawn NFL stream free YouTube and Amazon Fire TV. So let's play a game now. Each host, we're gonna run through each of you. I want you to give flowers to a different team in the AFC North based offs of something you admire about that team is it the defensive scheme, their dedication to the run game, anything that's just not, they have a good QB. We start with Kevin, pick your AFC North team to give some flowers to. - I'm gonna go and I've been very vocal about this. I'm gonna go with Cleveland and I'm gonna say-- - You're a good boy, Kevin. - You know this, that I've been very, the Sean Wilson trade, not my favorite. Every other move, for the most part, I've liked what Angie Berry has done in Cleveland. It seems like they have attacked a certain positional group every off season. I think the defensive line was a big talking point over there for a couple of seasons. They obviously won't open on that. I think Angie Berry, while it hasn't necessarily resulted in them winning a Super Bowl, I think it's been a nice change of direction for Cleveland. And again, while the quarterback move wasn't my favorite, I do think that getting in guys at other positions that can help round out this roster. Obviously, they're taking a chance on a guy like Jerry Junie and hoping that his career can kind of take off in Cleveland, but I've been very vocal. I think Angie Berry's done a great job for the most part in Cleveland. And so I know it's hard to give flowers to your division rivals, but I gotta give credit where it's to. I think Angie Berry's done a great job. - Jake, if you're giving flowers to one division team, what do you like about some team in the AFC North? - Kevin said it's hard to give praise to your division rivals. You would have to really hold my feet to the fire to get me to say anything nice about the Pittsburgh Steelers. I could if I had to, but I don't want to. So I won't, but I'll echo Kevin's praise for the Cleveland front office, but that's not where I'll focus my time. I just think that Cleveland does a good job of spending money and they spend money in a way that NFL teams don't I respect their gumption to go for it and really spend money to make that happen. And I could talk about the defenses for all of these teams, but then I would have to talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers. So let's talk about the Baltimore Ravens and their consistent attempt to make Ravens football win and the ability to do it. And by Ravens football, I'm talking about constructing that offense around Lamar Jackson and running the ball. And they found some receivers for him this year. We'll see if that transforms them a little bit and helps them modernize them under Todd Monk and who I think is a good offensive coordinator. But while I downplay the importance of running back routinely, I maybe can't quite do that when it's Derek Henry. And so I will give flowers to the pairing of Derek Henry and Lamar Jackson. If that works out and Derek Henry still has tread on the tires like we think he does, that could indeed be a significant factor for the AFC North to deal with this year. - Jeff, your flowers in the AFC North. - I'm assuming people have listened to some of our shows from years past and that's why they put this segment in. And I'll just spread it out. Look, Mike Tomlin is a ridiculously good NFL football coach. There is no way around it. The Bengals for, whatever everybody tries to make, and look, we all, we don't know truly what the finances are. But for where they are right now and the roster that they have, and there's gonna be some probably moving on from a guy or two and maybe T Higgins isn't gonna be here any longer. But trying to already cover that up, with the young Princeton kid, what's your main betting, your main burden, trying to make sure that they can keep this thing going over the next couple of years as they make a big investment in Jamar Chase, who is rightfully so trying to keep this thing sustainable. And the Ravens, I actually echo Jake's point 'cause every year when we talk about this is, well, did they get it right around Lamar? And then every year we would just see Lamar and Mark Andrews light it up all season long and they overcame whatever they didn't do. Zay Flowers looks like it's finally that guy, where they're gonna even get to talking about a second contract to have a wide receiver play with Lamar Jackson. I'm not sure how the Derek everything's gonna work out because it's money you put to it where they were never paying money to the running back anyway. And they were getting really great production from the running game. So it's interesting, you know, I mean, they kind of zagged here where, you know, they're normally they were digging that type of thing. But, you know, everybody, look, I mean, everybody's good in this division. So yeah, it bites our tongue, nobody wants to talk about it, but there are certainly positives within every franchise in this division currently. That's why this division is where it's at right now. - Everyone is good in this division. I'll say that. And that means I have bleakly said something nice about the Pittsburgh Steelers. - And you didn't, but now you actually said Pittsburgh. - Okay. - Yeah, there you go. But I'll say if I'm giving flowers, I love how the Ravens have assembled talent around Lamar Jackson in the office at the Playmaker position, adding Derek Henry, Zay Flowers developing into another year. I love Zay Flowers in college, got the cover in the ACC with Mark Andrews. I liked what they did with Isaiah likely last year. I think that Lamar Jackson has been asked to just carry the playmaking on that offense but on his back for too long. And now with more weapons, he doesn't have to do that as much. And that can allow him to play within a scheme. And I think that can do a lot for the Ravens. We still got a few more things to cover here though. Which rookies make a difference in the season? Give me one rookie that needs to be talked about. Kevin, you start with the Ravens. - For the Ravens, I do think it is Nate Wiggins. Baltimore loves running different corner rotations. Obviously they love his speed. Sub-43 guy and in an offensive system, an offensive world where you're seeing a lot of teams, for example, them going up against the Chiefs in week one, they add Xavier Worthy in that speed element. Wiggins can trail those guys. If he gets beat, he can catch up to those players as well. He's a good cover corner. A little concern about the frame, definitely. I think he needs to add a little more weight in order to be sustainable over the course of his career. But I think that is something they're gonna work on during the off season. For now, it's kind of like you have what you have and you're gonna work with it. But Wiggins is a player that can slot in with Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Stevens in a really quality three-cornerback rotation on the outside. You can use some of these guys inside as well while they're waiting for some other corners to heal up. But Nate Wiggins, I expect to have a pretty good rookie season in Baltimore, especially because they invested a high draft pick at him and Baltimore loves investing in their secondary. Then again here. - Jake, give me your rookie on the Bengals to be on the lookout for it. - How many, six, seven, six, eight, maybe? 340 pound, run a five second 40 yard dash, put up a nine foot broad jump with 36 inch arm tackles have been on the Cincinnati Bengals lately. - Damn dogs. - Zero. Amarius Mims is a freaking nature in the best possible way and the mentality matches the physical traits. If he gets on the field and we expect him to get onto the field early into the season, I'm excited for that kid's future, bringing a level of talent and physical ability that the Bengals have not had on the offensive line in the Joe Barrow era. - Jeff, give me a rounds rookie to be on the watch out for. - Well, obviously I can't bring up Mike Hall 'cause I don't know exactly when Mike Hall's gonna be seen again. But I think Zach Zinter was probably a really, really quiet quality draft choice. But this also what happens when you get hurt so late in the season like he did in the Ohio State game wasn't a part of the playoffs. Did nothing during the draft process plus he's a guard. It's like, if you're injured as a guard in the draft process, this is a really way to get, easy way to get overlooked. 'Cause everybody during the draft process looking for tackles or kicking tackles inside and then all of a sudden they drop through three rounds. But Zach Zinter is already the back up left guard. He's the back up right guard. So, Joe Batoni, he's not getting any younger. Obviously great player, fantastic career from Cleveland Browns. Wyatt Teller, there's been times where he's been dinged up late in the season. So, as far as a rookie that could see significant playing time, granted, a door would have to open for any rookie for the Browns to see significant playing time. It could be Zach Zinter. But as to the point I was making earlier with Juan Jones, as the Browns start spending more money elsewhere, you can start maybe starting to get that offensive line a little bit cheaper where you have to Juan Jones on a rookie contract. Zach Zinter could be a starting guard for this team full time as early as 2025. They'll make some money, save some money there. He would definitely be the one, and it would be key, obviously, because it is protecting, obviously, the overall $236 million investment. - The Steelers rookie, I'm picking his Zach Frazier, the rookie center out of West Virginia. He's a physical dominant leverage winning center in the middle part of the field. You saw it on their touchdown run in their last preseason game, when he opened up a hole for Cordell Patterson to scamper for 31 yards up the middle. He's going to be doing a lot of the things that the Steelers have been missing at the center position, which is a strong sturdy player at the middle who can handle defensive tackles in the gap, move them out of the way, chip to the second level, use this athleticism. I think Zach Frazier makes a world of difference both for the run game and in pass protection up the middle where the Steelers have also struggled in recent years. All right, here we go. The big finish here, real quick, guys. Kevin, give me your breakdown of division. First, second, third, fourth. Where does everyone finish? - I think the Ravens and Bengals tied for first with the Ravens winning with division tiebreaker head to head. One of those tiebreakers, I think the Joe Burrow, again, as Jake said, health presumed with this answer. I think that they will tie record wise. I have them both did around 12 wins. So right in that range, I think the Pittsburgh just needed something at quarterback and I think Cleveland needed an upgrade. I have those two tied for third with Pittsburgh coming out in the head to head. So I have them right around 10 wins each. I think that Cleveland finishes fourth in a just a sliver behind everyone to me. I mean, it's about believing in the Sean Watson. I have to see it first to believe it with him. - Jake, give me your division finish rankings here as you predict them. - I'll take the Bengals on the strength of that last play schedule I mentioned earlier. I'll take the Ravens. I'll take the Browns. I'll take the Steelers because I do not believe in Russell Wilson more than I don't believe. Well, I guess I believe in the Browns defense a little bit more. I don't know. The Steelers and Browns are annoying indistinguishable teams from one another to me. They both have really good defenses and huge question marks a quarterback. - Jeff, give me your division rankings and how you see them finishing. - I guess defense doesn't matter anymore in the NFL. Well, I think the Cleveland Browns are gonna finish one overall. I think the Baltimore Ravens are gonna finish second. I think the Bengals are trending right back up to where they were. I think they're probably just gonna be just one more all season away on defensive players. I think that's just gonna be the key for the Bengals. It's just, you know, as they're gonna lose, you know, tee Higgins and maybe some money there is gonna be probably getting somebody to solidify that defensive line. So hopefully, you know, when they get to some of these games later in the season, they don't struggle against the runs. Chris, I think the thing for you, and look, they may not get to less than 500, but I think Pittsburgh needs to find what is the next decade. Look, I mean, this team has had a long run of long-time quarterbacks. And even if Russ was good, how much, like, it's not gonna be a sustainable thing. Like, I think Pittsburgh, who's, you know, and they made a lot of good moves. Who's gonna be that quarterback, you know, for the next, you know, decade of Mike Tomlin's error there. I just, you know, look, the Russ Wilson and, you know, Jeff Fields, I mean, look, they're better names than Kenny Pickett. And I know that's a whole difficult situation for you, obviously. But, you know, I'm not sure if it's, you know, anybody's just gonna come in and just wow. And the other thing is, you know, I mean, the passing game outside of Pickens just seems, you know, you definitely have some questions about that. Obviously, it was probably their rumored interest in why they were so desired to, and wait many still, it was meant to rate a brand that I, but, you know, maybe just one more, you know, receiver in there as well. So, yeah, one, two, three, four, the way I dropped it, yeah. - Let it be known that this is the sixth straight season. We've done this, and Jeff Lloyd has picked the Steelers to finish last in every single time that we've done this. And it has not happened since 1989. I don't think there was a risk to what it said otherwise last year. - Sure. But anyway, the Steelers aren't finishing in first this year, but I don't think they're finishing in last. In fact, I think they could be finished right around tide for second. I think the Ravens win the division this year. The Steelers and the Bengals battle it out. I think the Browns, like Kevin said, kind of either a game, half a game tiebreaker right behind the Steelers and the Bengals this year. I think that Russell Wilson, I don't think he's gonna be as leaned upon as the other teams are gonna need their quarterback. This is still gonna be a team that wants to run the ball, use play action, be smart, and play great defense. And I think this defense got significantly better with the way the things are looking into the offseason compared to what they were doing with last season. So, I have the Steelers finishing in a tie with second and third, say that they'll get a tiebreaker over the Bengals to finish second. The Ravens win the division again. The Browns finish last this season. But like everyone's saying, this is going to be the best division in football. It's gonna be a tight race down the wire and it's gonna be really fun because we'll get hard knocks detailing the whole way through as all the teams play them play each other in the final eight weeks of the season and it's gonna be a lot of excitement. Thank you to all of you for joining me here on the AFC North preview. And thank you all for listening to the 2024 lockdown NFL season preview with the AFC North. If you wanna hear how the other divisions will play out this year, subscribe to lockdown NFL wherever you get your podcasts. Part of the lockdown podcast network, your team every day. - A Prime members, you can listen to this lockdown podcast ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today. [MUSIC PLAYING]
