AFC NORTH DIVISION WINNER ODDS

• Baltimore Ravens +145
• Cincinnati Bengals +175
• Cleveland Browns +375
• Pittsburgh Steelers +900

OVER/UNDER WIN TOTALS

• Baltimore Ravens 10.5
• Cincinnati Bengals 9.5
• Cleveland Browns 8.5
• Pittsburgh Steelers 7.5

BALTIMORE RAVENS

2021 SEASON

• 2021 record: 8-9
• 4th in AFC North
• Playoffs: No

LOSSES

• WR Marquise Brown
• WR Sammy Watkins
• CB Tavon Young
• OL Alejandro Villanueva
• DL Derek Wolfe
• LB Chris Board
• DL Justin Ellis
• S Deshon Elliot

ADDED

• S Marcus Williams
• CB Kyle Fuller
• DL Michael Pierce
• T Morgan Moses
• RB Mike Davis
• DL Brent Urban

NOTABLE DRAFT PICKS

• Round 1 S Kyle Hamilton (Notre Dame)
• Round 1 C Tyler Linderbaum (Iowa)
• Round 2 LB David Ojabo (Michigan)
• Round 3 DT Travis Jones (UCONN)

After a hot start going 8-3 through the first 11 games, the Baltimore Ravens lost 6 straight games to finish the season with a losing record and found themselves at the bottom of the division. They were devasted by injury which led to the late-season skid. They lost all their running backs even before the season started and the Lamar Jackson goes down in the middle of the season. Though they lost all their remaining games they did not go down easy as they lost by 3 points or less in 5 of the 6 games. I think they were able to do this because of their very good roster with depth as they were one of the most injured teams in the league. I believe Lamar Jackson will return to form coming off the season-ending injury and pick up where he left off. Their WR corps may be lacking a bit but their offense is based on Lamar’s ability to run as well as he does and it has worked so far in his career. The Ravens have made the playoffs 3 straight times when Lamar is fully healthy. They improved a lot in the secondary with the players they picked up in free agency and through the draft. This strengthens what was their major weakness last year as they were dead last in passing yards allowed. They have won 10 or more games in each season Lamar has been starting so I don’t feel it is much of a stretch to say they will hit the over. The Ravens have a relatively soft schedule having finished last in the division as they have the 23rd-ranked toughest schedule. With healthy running backs and a group of great TE play, I like them to win the division as they are favored in 12 games.

2022 FUTURES BET

• Win Total: Over 9.5
• 1st in AFC North
• Playoffs: Yes

CINCINNATI BENGALS

2021 SEASON

• 2021 record: 10-7
• 1st in AFC North
• Playoffs: Yes

LOSSES

• CB Trae Waynes
• T Riley Reiff
• DL Larry Ogunjobi
• TE CJ Uzomah
• DL Wyatt Ray
• WR Auden Tate

ADDED

• T Lael Collins
• G Ted Karras
• TE Hayden Hurst
• G Alex Cappa

NOTABLE DRAFT PICKS

• Round 1 S Daxton Hill (Michigan)
• Round 2 CB Cam Taylor Britt (Nebraska)
• Round 3 DT Zachary Carter (Florida)

Probably the biggest surprise of the 2021 season was the Cincinnati Bengals. After coming off a 4-win season and quarterback Joe Burrow coming off a season-ending injury the Bengals way overachieved by making it all the way to the Super Bowl. The reason I believe they overachieved is because they were not a world-beating team they got swept by the Browns and lost to bad teams such as the Bears and the Jets. I also feel they got a lot of luck on their side against the Raiders and the Titans which were both very losable games.  I think like many other Super Bowl runners ups they will come back to earth a little bit but they still have a lot of weapons for an excellent quarterback that is still young and improving. He will have a fantastic set of receivers along with one of the better running backs in the league. They will in a tough divisional battle with the Ravens and the rest of the AFC. The Bengals fixed their biggest weakness which was their offensive line which was why they lost the Super Bowl. They may be a better overall team but may not show in the win column as they have the 3^rd toughest schedule in the league. I also feel they did not address their biggest weakness on defense which was their secondary as they were 26^th in passing defense. If Burrow can get the interceptions to a minimum, I think they will hit the over but fall short of winning the division and make the playoffs as a wildcard.

2022 FUTURES BET

• Win Total: Over 9.5
• 2nd in AFC North
• Playoffs: Yes

CLEVELAND BROWNS

2021 SEASON

• 2021 record: 8-9
• 3rd in AFC North
• Playoffs: No

LOSSES

• QB Baker Mayfield
• WR Jarvis Landry
• TE Austin Hooper
• CB Troy Hill
• WR Rishard Higgins
• LB Elijah Lee
• LB Mack Wilson

ADDED

• QB Deshaun Watson
• QB Jacoby Brissett
• DL Tavon Bryan
• DL Isacc Rochell
• WR Jakeem Grant
• EDGE Stephon Weatherly

NOTABLE DRAFT PICKS

• Round 3 CB Martin Emmerson (Miss St)
• Round 3 DE Alex Wright (UAB)
• Round 3 WR David Bell (Purdue)

In an offseason with so much drama, the biggest story came from the mess that is Deshaun Watson. From what the Browns gave up for him to what gave to him in signing him and finally the NFL dragging out his suspension was all a great big whirlwind of issues. Also, all the drama that came with Baker Mayfield when pursuing Watson and then finally trading him to the Panthers. This all shows what a dysfunctional organization the Clevland Browns truly are. They were able to do one good thing by trading for Amari Cooper adding him to an already decimated WR corps. They still have a very talented defense with players like Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward That was ranked 5^th in the league last year. As well as still having two good backs in Chubb and Hunt that produced the 4^th best rushing attack. But all that is pointless when you’re going into a season with the quarterback being Jacoby Brissett who is just a backup and is 14-23 in his career. He is not very accurate and doesn’t have great production. Too much chaos surrounds this team and signing a guy like Watson just puts more bad juju on this team. I think this is a very secure under and give them no chance to win the division.

2022 FUTURES BET

• Win Total: Under 8.5
• 4th in AFC North
• Playoffs: Hell nah

PITTSBURGH STEELERS

2021 SEASON

• 2021 record: 9-7-1
• 2nd in AFC North
• Playoffs: Yes

LOSSES

• LB Joe Schobert
• WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
• G Trai Turner
• WR James Washington
• WR Ray Ray McCloud

ADDED

• LB Myles Jack
• DL Larry Ogunjobi
• QB Mitchell Trubisky
• S Damontae Kazee
• CB Levi Wallace
• G James Daniels
• C Mason Cole

NOTABLE DRAFT PICKS

• Round 1 QB Kenny Pickett (Pitt)
• Round 2 WR George Pickens (Georgia)
• Round 3 DL Demarvin Leal (Texas A&M)

For the 1^st time in 18 years, the Pittsburgh Steelers will be without Ben Rothlisberger as their starting quarterback. Even with an aging big Ben, the Steelers were still able to have a winning season and make the playoffs as a wildcard team. The most important question is at the quarterback position as they brought in Mitchell Trubisky who has had some success in the league having a winning record 29-21 and having a playoff appearance. Then they draft Kenny Pickett out of Pitt who is already familiar with his surroundings and the offense that he will be running. He wasn’t an outstanding prospect but as a 4-year starter in college, I believe he will have an easier transition into the NFL. Whoever is the quarterback they will have Najee Harris in the backfield who is everything they had hoped he be when they took him in the 1^st round. Their young offensive line has another year of experience as well as signing two veterans to help stabilize that position. They lost JuJu but seemed to have easily replaced him with George Pickens who looks really good so far. This just adds to the reputation that the Steelers have for obtaining really good receivers. Their major weakness on defense is stopping the run. They may still have that problem as I don’t feel they did much to fix it but they still got the defensive MVP in TJ Watt. I think the Steelers may not be great overall but Tomlin has not won less than 8 games ever in his career and that won’t change this season. They will hit the over but they have an unknown at quarterback which should steer you away from making any sort of bet on them to win the division.

2022 FUTURES BET

• Win Total: Over 7.5
• 3rd in AFC North
• Playoffs: No

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