The AFC North got a lot stronger this offseason on offense, with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals adding to their respective offensive lines in the form of Isaac Seumalo and Broderick Jones in Pittsburgh and Orlando Brown Jr. in Cincinnati. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens both made additions to their wide receiver rooms, with Cleveland acquiring Elijah Moore and drafting Cedric Tillman and the Ravens signing Odell Beckham Jr.
With the Arizona Cardinals’ recent release of wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, both the Ravens and Browns have been linked to the former All-Pro receiver. Today, at the Browns’ annual charity golf outing, Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson, who played with Hopkins when both were members of the Houston Texans, expressed excitement about the possibility of bringing him aboard.
“I know there’s a lot of things swirling around in the media of him possibly coming to Cleveland. For me, my answer to that is of course we would love to have him,” Hopkins said via Brad Stainbrook on Twitter. “He knows that. We had a lot of connections. But that’s out of my range of things and coordinating things. All I can do is make a call and see what happens and let A.B. (general manager Andrew Berry) do the rest.”
The Browns have been linked to Hopkins largely due to the relationship he has with Watson. CBS Sports named the Browns a dark horse contender to land the star receiver. Hopkins also named Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson one of the top-five quarterbacks he most wants to play with, so the chance he winds up in the AFC North isn’t as low as Steelers fans would hope (and no, he’s not signing with Pittsburgh).
With the Browns and Ravens already making significant offensive additions and Hopkins as a potential option, it makes the moves Pittsburgh made in the secondary that much more important this offseason. Quickly bringing in Patrick Peterson after losing Cameron Sutton gives the Steelers a top-quality corner, and then addressing the position with two guys who fell to them in the draft in Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice Jr. looks that much better given the talent added to the division. Both Porter and Trice are big, physical corners who can knock guys off at the line of scrimmage. That is especially important when going up against receivers like Beckham and Moore, who can stretch the field vertically when given the opportunity.
Even if Hopkins doesn’t wind up in the AFC North — and I’m praying he doesn’t — the Steelers had to improve their cornerback room. Even though Watson wasn’t all that good last season, he has a history of success as a passer and the Steelers needed to improve their secondary in a division with him, Joe Burrow and Jackson.
Pittsburgh’s secondary still has flaws. The slot corner position is its biggest question mark, with Chandon Sullivan looking like the top option right now. But on the outside, Pittsburgh has legitimate depth for the first time in a long time. Peterson, Levi Wallace and Porter all could start on the outside, and there’s starting experience on the bench with James Pierre. Trice should also factor into the conversation, and maybe someone like Luq Barcoo could step up and provide some depth as well. And in a division as loaded as the AFC North, that depth is going to be incredibly important.
