For the rest of this week, we will continue to unveil our Precision All-Division teams, as is our annual tradition around this time of year. As always, the rosters were compiled largely by a panel of one, although there was significant input from the writing and editorial staff at CBSSports.com after I took an initial run on the rosters on my own.
We started with NFC last week, moving through NFC East, NFC North, NFC South and finally NFC West. This week, it's on AFC. We started with AFC East and progressed through the rest of the conference this week. Without further ado, the Precision All-AFC North Team.
Offensive skill positions
QB: Lamar Jackson (BAL)
RB: Nick Chubb (CLE)
WR: Tee Higgins (CIN), Chase Claypool (PIT), Odell Beckham Jr. (CLE)
TE: Mark Andrews (BAL)
FLEX: Joe Mixon (CIN)
Choosing a quarterback for this division was actually quite difficult. The Bengals are almost certainly going to throw more often than the other teams in the division and they have great receivers, so it is easy for Joe Burrow to find success. The Browns have the best offensive line and the most well-designed offense, so Baker Mayfield could very well pick up right where he left off towards the tail end of last season. And Ben Roethlisberger clearly has an established track record of success. However, Jackson is the most talented player in this division, so we're giving him the benefit of the doubt despite some questions about the supporting cast and aggressive design.
Chub may be football's most talented net runner in the NFL. He led the league in pro football focus's elusive rating—which measures how often players break tackles and make yards after contact—a mile last season. He is in a system designed to optimize rapid efficiency and, despite the presence of Kareem Hunt, still seems like a good bet to end up in a fast effort among the league leaders. Meanwhile, Mixon no longer has to compete with Giovanni Bernard for passing-down work, which should allow him to become a more well-rounded player than in the past.
We paid a lot of attention to Ja'Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd, Jarvis Landry, and Diontae Johnson in the wide receiver position. Ultimately, it looks like Higgins has emerged as the No. 1 target in the Cincinnati passing game this year, with his extra experience and perceived struggle being in the chase camp. The combination of Claypool's proficiency and touchdown production as a rookie predicts big things in his future, and it's entirely possible that he may overtake Johnson as No. 1 in the Pittsburgh offense this year. There are obviously concerns about Beckham's injury. But he is still one of the most talented receivers in football and apparently looks quite healthy in camp. With Brown likely to open things up a bit more than last year. He has a chance to shine.
Andrews is the top target for Jackson, and after battling health and a fall last season, we're betting on a bounce-back for a player who during his first two seasons is the most efficient receiving tightrope in the league. was one of the ends.
Offensive line
OT: Ronnie Stanley (BAL), Jack Conklin (CLE)
G: Joel Bitonio (CLE), Wyatt Teller (CLE)
C: JC Tretter (CLE)
Brown finished last season in first place by the PFF in both run blocking and pass blocking. According to PFF, he also finished first in Football Outsiders' adjusted line yards and allowed pressure on the second-lowest percentage of dropbacks. So it should come as no surprise that they dominate this part of the roster. Stanley missed a lot last season due to injury, but is still firmly in his prime and one of the league's best left tackles. Jedric Wills may finally reach his level, but isn't there yet. Neither the Bengals nor the Steelers had a serious lineman challenger for the roster spot here.
Defensive front
EDGE: Myles Garrett (CLE), T.J. Watt (PIT)
IDL: Cameron Heyward (PIT), Stephon Tuitt (PIT)
LB: Devin Bush (PIT), Anthony Walker (CLE)
We named Garrett and Watt our first and second best edge rushers in the league earlier this off-season. Those were the locks for this roster.
Like his older brother, Watt has grown into an absolute force that causes all kinds of ridiculous problems to defend. He led the NFL with 15 sacks and 23 tackles for losses last season, added a career-high 41 QB hits, and checked in fourth in the aforementioned WoW RTGs (third among players with 30-plus snaps per game). . Garrett, so far, hasn't been nearly as impressive a player as Watt, but perhaps not as impressive. He has missed some time with injuries, has a low snap rate. It seems for him to still have meat on the bone, there is room for him to reach a higher level than ever before.
Meanwhile, Hayward and Tute finished fifth and sixth in the interior linesman.
Hayward and Tute are the linchpins of that defense, causing havoc as they can eliminate 3-4 defensive ends. They were ranked fourth (Tute) and eighth (Hayward) in WOW Rtg last season, and they each loaded more than 50 snaps per game. The Steelers' depth will be tested this year as they let contributors go for pay-cap reasons, but they have nothing to worry about on their debut. These guys are studs.
Bush played only five games last season, but the kind of playmaking he displayed as a rookie makes him a good bet to be among the best linebackers in the AFC this year, assuming he's healthy. can stay. Walker turned himself into an above-average starter during his four years with the Colts, and while Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoa may have a high ceiling in the future, Walker could outlast his rookie teammate this season.
Defensive backfield
CB: Denzel Ward (CLE), Marlon Humphrey (BAL), Marcus Peters (BAL)
SAF: Minkah Fitzpatrick (PIT), Jessie Bates III (CIN)
FLEX: John Johnson III (CLE)
Hot damn there is a lot of cornerback talent in this division. We couldn't find room on the roster for Joe Haden, even after William Jackson III left Cincinnati in free agency. Ward and Humphrey were roster locks, with the former a true No. 1 perimeter corner and the latter arguably the league's best cover guy in the slot. It was then a choice between Haden's high floor and Peters' high ceiling. We went with the ceiling, though you could certainly make an argument to go the other way.
Fitzpatrick has been well worth the first-round pick the Steelers traded for him, making back to back All-Pro First Teams. He even managed to get his hands on more passes last season than he did the year before, and continued forcing turnovers at what seems like -- but may not be? -- an unsustainably high rate. Bates took a third-year leap last season and became one of the NFL's best center-field safeties. He can come down and make plays in the run game or take away the deep half. The same is true of Johnson, who was one of the quiet keys to Brandon Staley's Rams defense last year. He was the Browns' most important free-agent pickup.
Specialists
K: Justin Tucker (BAL)
P: Sam Koch (BAL)
RET: Devin Duvernay (BAL)
I won't lie, when it came to kickers and punters, I touted John Breech, our resident expert. He told me Tucker was the best kicker in the division and the coach was the best punter, and I believe him. DuVernay averaged 27.5 yards per kick return last season, and was one of the few players to withdraw kickoffs for touchdowns. He is a dynamic player with the ball in his hands.