Another year, another offseason of significant change at the quarterback position within the AFC North, particularly with the two teams that simply don’t have the stars at the position.
The Pittsburgh Steelers remade their quarterback room once again this offseason, bringing in all new faces compared to last year. Meanwhile the Cleveland Browns overloaded their quarterback room, bringing in four new faces, including two picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Then, there’s the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals, who are sitting pretty at the position thanks to stars Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow. It doesn’t get much better than that at the quarterback position.
With the 2025 NFL Draft in the rearview mirror and a few weeks between now and the start of OTAs, I thought now is a good time to bring back my yearly Rankings the Rooms: AFC North series, starting today with the Ranking the Rooms: AFC North QBs edition.
This series is where I take a deep dive into each position group for all four teams in the division and rank them from best to worst.
With some big names at the QB position in the AFC North, this should be a fun one to kick things off with much debate.
1. CINCINNATI BENGALS
While the Cincinnati Bengals missed the playoffs last season and weren’t all that good overall, finishing at 9-8, it had nothing to do with their offense. Joe Burrow had an absurd year and should have received some first-place votes in the Associated Press’ MVP voting, even with the incredible seasons from Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson.
Burrow threw for 4,918 yards with 43 touchdowns and just nine interceptions. Week after week he dominated, and he went on a heater late in the season trying to drag the Bengals to the playoffs after a poor start to the season. It helps that he has some great pieces around him in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but Burrow is as elite as they get.
He sees the field so well, is quick to process, has great pocket awareness and can make all of the throws. He’s truly special.
Behind him, the Bengals have some good depth with Jake Browning holding down the No. 2 job. Browning showed during the 2023 season that he can play some good football in relief of Burrow. That season, he threw for 1,936 yards and 12 touchdowns, going 4-3 in place of the injured Burrow, keeping the Bengals’ playoff hopes alive.
Browning isn’t a flashy QB2, but he can step in and run the offense and keep the Bengals on track. Sometimes, that’s all you need.
Logan Woodside and undrafted rookie Payton Thorne will compete for the QB3 role. Woodside has been with the Bengals for a while and has some experience. He has some starting NFL experience and in the now-defunct AAF. The Bengals know him well, too, having drafted him in 2018 out of Toledo in the seventh round.
2. BALTIMORE RAVENS
Having an MVP candidate at quarterback each and every year certainly helps the Baltimore Ravens in these rankings. It also helps, too, that they significantly upgraded the backup job behind Lamar Jackson this offseason, helping the Ravens jump from No. 4 last year to No. 2 this year.
Depth is so key in these rankings. The Ravens added Cooper Rush as a free agent, giving them an experienced spot starter behind Jackson who has a good arm and some mobility to his game. Last season in place of the injured Dak Prescott in Dallas, Rush threw for 1,844 yards and 12 touchdowns to just five interceptions, going 4-4 in eight starts.
In his career, Rush has played in 38 games with 14 starts. That’s a huge boost for Baltimore.
Jackson is the star, though, and is one of the best players in the NFL, period. He finished second in MVP voting last season, narrowly losing to Josh Allen after throwing for 4,172 yards with 41 touchdowns and four interceptions and adding 915 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 139 carries.
Put simply, Jackson was absurd last season. He is showing no signs of slowing down, either.
Devin Leary serves as QB3 for the Ravens right now. Leary didn’t see any action last season, but Baltimore drafted him in 2024 and has visions of developing the former sixth-round pick due to his athleticism and arm strength.
3. CLEVELAND BROWNS
What an interesting quarterback room this will be in 2025 for the Browns. Cleveland brought back Joe Flacco in free agency after he spent the 2024 season in Indianapolis following a resurgence in 2023, leading the Browns to the playoffs. The Browns also traded for former first-round pick Kenny Pickett this offseason.
They weren’t done, either. The Browns selected Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders in the third and fifth rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft, respectively, taking a swing on the QB position multiple times.
That doesn’t even touch on Deshaun Watson, who is expected to miss the entire 2025 season after re-tearing his Achilles during rehab.
Pickett wants to compete for the starting job and probably should win it when looking at the rest of the roster, though Flacco played well in Kevin Stefanski’s system in 2023 and could have a leg up there. Gabriel and Sanders are intriguing options as rookies, but they both might cancel each other out this season.
Depth looks intriguing on paper, but the way the Browns went about building this QB room was a bit messy. Competition breeds success, but there are a lot of egos in that room, and it could backfire on the Browns. At least they’re not last in the AFC North though when it comes to the QB rankings.
4. PITTSBURGH STEELERS
The Steelers are in a tough spot at quarterback. They’re still waiting on a decision from 41-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and currently have the likes of Mason Rudolph, rookie Will Howard out of Ohio State, and Skylar Thompson on the roster.
If Rodgers signs with the Steelers, they would bump up to No. 3 in the rankings because Rodgers — even at his advanced age — is better than Flacco or Pickett in Cleveland. He would boost the Steelers’ QB room significantly, as Rudolph would be solid at the No. 2 spot.
If Rodgers doesn’t sign, though, the Steelers are in the basement. For now, with no Rodgers on the roster, that’s where the Steelers reside.
Rudolph is currently projected as the starter, and while teammates and coaches have confidence in him after his run late in the 2023 season, viewing Rudolph as a starter for an entire season is a real concern. He might be a good fit in Arthur Smith’s scheme, but the Steelers let him walk ahead of the 2024 season for a reason as they remade their QB room.
Howard is an intriguing long-term option for the Steelers as he has great size, strength and physicality, but he can’t be viewed as a starting option in 2025. Thompson was a Reserve/Futures addition in mid-January, and while he has some NFL starting experience (three starts), he feels like a practice squad player at best.
Things aren’t all that good right now at QB for the Steelers, but they seem to have eyes on the 2026 NFL Draft. If they land a franchise quarterback there, things will look much, much better next offseason.
2024 AFC North QB rankings:
No. 1 – Cleveland Browns
No. 2 – Cincinnati Bengals
No. 3 – Pittsburgh Steelers
No. 4 – Baltimore Ravens
