Two familiar faces in the AFC North and franchise stalwarts to their respective teams are off to new locations this offseason, and four rookies are joining the rugged division as teams are reshaping their running back rooms.
King Derrick Henry headlines the running backs in the AFC North and is coming off a dominant season in Year 1 with the Baltimore Ravens. He rushed for 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns, earning a two-year extension with Baltimore, keeping him paired with MVP-caliber QB Lamar Jackson for the foreseeable future.
The Browns let longtime running back and franchise icon Nick Chubb hit free agency this offseason and have shown no interest in bringing him back, while the Steelers let Najee Harris walk in free agency.
The Steelers, Browns and Bengals all selected a running back in the 2025 NFL Draft, too, bringing fresh, new blood into the division ripe with rivalries.
So, how do the RB depth charts in the AFC North shake out? Let’s find out. It’s time for my Ranking The Rooms: AFC North RBs piece.
1. BALTIMORE RAVENS
How could it be anyone else but the Ravens?
Henry was absurd last season in his first year with Baltimore, nearly hitting 2,000 yards. Adding an entirely new element to the Ravens’ offense, he unlocked the passing game in a big way as well, leading to a historic Lamar Jackson season.
Despite rushing for nearly 2,000 yards, Henry didn’t win the rushing title, finishing behind Saquon Barkley, who had an MVP-caliber season with the Philadelphia Eagles. That takes nothing away from Henry, though. He remains a game-changer at this point in his career.
He’s as durable as they come, can still hit the home run and is a load to deal with snap after snap.
Behind him, the Ravens have a really good room. Justice Hill has developed into a solid change-of-pace/third-down running back in Baltimore and showed at times last season he’s good for a couple of explosive plays as game. Keaton Mitchell might be one of the fastest running backs in football, and if he can stay healthy, he could be very dangerous as a changeup to Henry’s style.
Rasheen Ali, Sone Ntoh and Marcus Major are all battling for the RB4 role and/or a spot on the practice squad. There’s some intriguing depth there, with Ali the front-runner after the Ravens spent a draft pick on him a few years ago.
Make no mistake about it: this room is loaded.
2. PITTSBURGH STEELERS
The loss of Najee Harris and his 299 touches last season stings, considering how durable he has been throughout his career. But the Steelers decided to move on and searched for more explosion.
They hope that comes in the form of rookie third-round pick Kaleb Johnson out of Iowa. Johnson led the Big Ten in rushing last season and was a consistent home run threat for the Hawkeyes. He’s a big, physical running back who fits what the Steelers look for, and he’s a great fit in offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s scheme, which has expectations pretty high entering his tenure in Pittsburgh.
Jaylen Warren returns as a guy who could handle RB1 duties early in the season while Johnson adjusts to the NFL. He is an explosive player with great power and contact balance. He can catch the ball out of the backfield and make defenders miss in space and is among the elite of the elite in pass protection. Durability and ball security are concerns, though.
The Steelers also added former Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell on a one-year deal in free agency, shoring up depth at the position. He’s a smaller running back, but he’s tough as nails and is quite elusive. Cordarrelle Patterson remains on the roster, and Trey Sermon earned a spot after a rookie minicamp tryout.
There’s some talent and experience here, which is encouraging. If Johnson can produce as expected in Smith’s scheme, look out.
3. CLEVELAND BROWNS
Letting Nick Chubb walk after a tough return from a devastating knee injury has been tough for Browns fans to come to grips with. While the franchise icon and fan favorite is gone, the Browns did get a bit better in their running back room.
Jerome Ford projects as the starter to enter the year, but Cleveland drafted two running backs who were highly ranked in the buildup to the draft in Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins and Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson.
Judkins fits the mold of an AFC North running back. He’s not the biggest or the fastest, but he’s very strong and can wear defenses down. Sampson is more of the speed back, though he does have some power to his game. Ford will need to start fast if he wants to hold onto the job coming off a season in which he rushed for 565 yards and three touchdowns on 104 carries and added another 225 receiving yards on 37 receptions.
The Browns also have special teams ace Pierre Strong Jr. and undrafted rookie Ahmani Marshall vying for roster spots. This group could look much better next offseason if the rookies pan out.
4. CINCINNATI BENGALS
Moving on from Joe Mixon didn’t exactly pan out for the Bengals. Mixon was outstanding in his first season with the Houston Texans, while the Bengals struggled in the run game for much of the year.
Chase Brown showed some promise, though, rushing for 990 yards and seven touchdowns on 229 carries. He brought an explosive element to the Bengals’ running game, but the consistency wasn’t quite there. Brown had seven games under 50 rushing yards on the season, so he was boom or bust.
The Bengals are expecting more from Brown in 2025, and they should. He’s a talented running back with homerun speed. He needs help though.
Zack Moss was a disappointment in his first year with the Bengals, rushing for just 242 yards and two touchdowns on 74 carries in eight games before being lost for the season with an injury. Durability is a major concern for Moss, but if he can bounce back in Year 2, the Bengals’ running back room should be solid.
Cincinnati also brought back Samaje Perine in free agency, giving them a dependable pass catcher out of the backfield. At this point in his career Perine isn’t much of a factor in the run game, but he’s dangerous in the passing game and could be great for the Bengals working with Joe Burrow again.
The Bengals also drafted Tahj Brooks in the sixth round out of Texas Tech, giving them a very intriguing running back to develop as he has great feet, is built like a fire hydrant and is explosive. He might not see much playing time in 2025 though.
Kendall Milton, Quali Conley and Gary Brightwell round out the running back room competing for a practice squad spot.
2024 AFC North RB rankings:
No. 1 – Pittsburgh Steelers
No. 2 – Baltimore Ravens
No. 3 – Cleveland Browns
No. 4 – Cincinnati Bengals
