Ranking The Rooms: AFC North iDL

Year to year, the interior of the defensive line in the AFC North gets better and better.

Last season alone, Baltimore Ravens’ defensive tackle Justin Madubuike had a breakout season, leading to a huge contract extension with the Ravens, while Steelers’ rookie Keeanu Benton put himself on the map as potentially the next big-name Steelers’ defensive lineman.

Cameron Heyward still resides in the AFC North, too, as one of the top 5-7 defensive lineman in football today. Though the North lost D.J. Reader to the NFC North and Detroit, the position group within the AFC North remains rather strong overall with the arrow very clearly pointing up from a stock perspective.

Let’s take a look at the AFC North iDL rankings in the Ranking the Rooms series.

1. Cleveland Browns

Once again, this group is absolutely loaded in Cleveland.

Dalvin Tomlinson is the headliner, a big, strong physical player that eats up blockers and really controls the point of attack. He really helped take some of the pressure off of Myles Garrett as a run defender last season, which helped Cleveland have one of the best defenses in football.

Though Tomlinson is the headliner, the Browns have incredible depth on the interior of the defensive line.

Shelby Harris returns for another year in Cleveland and provides some good snaps as a pass rushing interior defensive tackle. Siaki Ika enters Year 2 looking to take a step forward as another run plugger, while veterans Quinton Jefferson and Maurice Hurts II provide experience and versatility.

Cleveland also drafted Mike Hall Jr. out of Ohio State, giving the Browns a lightning-quick interior defensive lineman to unleash on guards and centers as another tough pass rusher to deal with. The Browns also added Jowon Briggs out of Cincinnati in the seventh round of the draft, giving Cleveland a short, squatty interior defensive lineman that has underrated explosion on the inside.

This group is so deep and talented. They’ll have some tough roster decisions to make late in training camp.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers

This group is a year older, and there is some concern about Father Time and Cameron Heyward at this point entering Year 14 and his age 35 season, especially coming off of an injury-plagued season. But when healthy, Heyward is still a dominant force and should be treated as such.

He hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down and continues to have great power in his game, which makes him a tough player to deal with, even on one leg.

Opposite Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi hasn’t been as impactful as many expected when the Steelers landed him two years ago and then signed him to a three-year deal in free agency ahead of the 2023 season, but he’s been steady and available. That matters.

He’s a guy that will take some attention away from Heyward because of how good he is in his own right. Hopefully a big Year 3 in the Black and Gold is coming for Ogunjobi.

The future is so bright on the interior for the Steelers though because of Keeanu Benton. The second-round pick out of Wisconsin was forced into a larger role early last season due to Heyward’s injury. For the most part, he thrived. Benton really impressed as a pass rusher and showed some impressive power at times. He just needs to find more consistency.

The Steelers added some solid depth in free agency in the form of Dean Lowry, bringing in an experienced, versatile interior defensive lineman to give Pittsburgh a boost in the depth chart. He’s not a flashy player by any means, but he’s super steady and knows his role, and can handle a starting job if needed.

Pittsburgh also re-signed Montravius Adams in free agency, bringing back a player that showed flashes last season on the interior, and drafted Logan Lee in the sixth-round out of Iowa. Lee can play all over the line of scrimmage and should be a dependable piece for Pittsburgh to rotate in.

DeMarvin Leal and Isaiahh Loudermilk are running out of time to put it all together. There is talent there, but they just haven’t figured out a way to be truly impactful consistently in the NFL. Decent depth to work with, though.

3. Baltimore Ravens

After landing at No. 4 last summer, the Ravens move up to No. 3 this summer, thanks in large part due to the development and breakout of Justin Madubuike.

Madubuike went from a solid piece and turned into a star for the Ravens, recording 13.0 sacks last season, becoming an absolute force for Baltimore. He showed good power and impressive athleticism on the inside, making him very difficult to block for interior offensive lineman.

He’s a known threat now though, so it’ll be interesting to see how he follows up his breakout season.

Nose tackle Michael Pierce returns, holding down a key role as a space eater for the Ravens. He’s basically a fire hydrant out there at 6-foot, 355 pounds. Very difficult to move, which is exactly what the Ravens want.

Veteran Deadrin Senat is an intriguing piece behind Pierce at nose tackle, too, as he’s another short, squatty player with plenty of experience and plays the run well.

Along with Madubuike at defensive tackle, Travis Jones enters Year 3 looking to put it all together. He’s shown flashes of being a good player for the Ravens, especially against the run. But he needs to take a step as a pass rusher and become a solid pairing for Madubuike. Jones had just 1.5 sacks last season, which came in Week 12 and Week 14. He did have 36 tackles though in limited snaps, which is encouraging.

Baltimore recently brought in former Bengals’ defensive tackle Josh Tupou in late May, too, strengthening depth. Tupou is a solid run defender but offers very little as a pass rusher with just 2.0 career sacks in seven seasons.

4. Cincinnati Bengals

Losing D.J. Reader is a massive blow for the Bengals. He was nearly unblockable on the interior 1-on-1 and really changed the way opponents attacked Cincinnati on the ground.

His presence will be sorely missed for the Bengals.

Cincinnati did well to address the position heavily in the draft though, landing Michigan’s Kris Jenkins Jr. and Texas A&M’s McKinnley Jackson in an effort to fill the void, not to mention signing Sheldon Rankins in free agency.

Rankins has quietly had a very good career in the NFL and is coming off of a great season in Houston, where he had 6.0 sacks for the Texans. In his career he has 29.5 sacks, which is solid for the former 2016 first-round pick who has spent time with the New Orleans Saints, New York Jets and Texans so far in his career.

The Bengals landing him on a tw0-year deal was a great move this offseason. He’ll be able to handle a heavy workload as Jenkins and Jackson adjust to the NFL.

B.J. Hill returns for the Bengals, too. He had 4.5 sacks last season and an absurd two interceptions, but he’s much better in a rotational role than in a larger starting role. His best seasons have come when he plays between 45-50% of the snaps.

Zach Carter is an intriguing depth piece with his size and strength, but he hasn’t put it all together yet and might be passed on the depth chart by the rookies.

Travis Bell, Domenique Davis, Devonnsha Maxwell and Jay Tufele will battle it out for the final roster spot for the Bengals. There are a lot of names here with experience, but limited ceilings overall. Hard to overcome the loss of Reader, too.