The NFL All Divisional Teams & Squads Part Two – AFC North

Welcome to the second part of our series of nine articles that will create one Divisional Squad for all eight NFL Divisions, selecting players from only the four teams in that division.

In this second article, we will be focusing on the AFC North.

Check out our first post in which we look at the Divisional Team for the AFC East by clicking on the link.

There’s no prospect of all divisional teams competing against each other, but that doesn’t mean it would not be interesting to see what odds bet365 Sport would offer on the AFC North squad having a chance to compete against other all-divisional squads and teams.

So who are the four teams that are going to provide players for selection for our hypothetical AFC North divisional squad and team? Let’s take a closer look.

The best three players on each AFC North team, per @TampaBayTre

(Presented by @meetfabric) pic.twitter.com/451BIfonc4

— PFF (@PFF) June 2, 2023

AFC North

• Baltimore Ravens
• Cincinnati Bengals
• Cleveland Browns
• Pittsburgh Steelers

Now would be a good time to remind ourselves of the squad selection process and how the 53-man squad will be organised in terms of positions on offense, defense and special teams.

Rules For The Squad Selection

• All players must be from one of the four teams in the division stated.
• All squads will be comprised of the same number of players (53).
• All squads will be uniformly selected with the same number of players in each position.
• In addition to the 53 squad players, a starting Offense and Defense will be picked.
• Finally a head coach from one of the four teams will be picked to coach the team.

Each squad will comprise of the following 53 players.

Offense (24 players)

• Quarterback – 3
• Running Back – 2
• Full Back – 1
• Wide Receiver – 6
• Tight End – 2
• Left Tackle – 2
• Left Guard – 2
• Center – 2
• Right Guard – 2
• Right Tackle – 2

Defense (25 players)

• Defensive Tackle – 4
• Defensive Ends – 5
• Inside Linebacker – 2
• Outside Linebacker / Edge Rusher – 4
• Strong Safety – 2
• Free Safety – 2
• Cornerbacks – 6

Special Teams (4 players)

• Kicker – 1
• Punter – 1
• Specialist Punt/Kick Off Returner – 1
• Long Snapper – 1

So let’s now get the process started by taking a look at the 53 players from the AFC North that get into our divisional squad.

Light work @_TJWatt pic.twitter.com/Dr1WnSNsyt

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) June 6, 2023

AFC North – Squad Selection

Pos	Name	Team	Rating		Pos	Name	Team		Rating
Offense					Defense
QB	Joe Burrow	Cinc. Bengals	A+		DT	Cam Heyward	Pit. Steelers		A
QB	D’Shaun Watson	Cleve. Browns	B-		DT	Dalv. Tomlinsn	Clev. Browns		B
QB	Lamar Jackson	Balt. Ravens	B		DT	D.J.Reader	Cinc.Bengals		B-
RB	Joe Mixon	Cinc. Bengals	B+		DT	Mont. Adams	Pit. Steelers		B-
RB	Nick Chubb	Cleve. Browns	A		DE	Tr. Hendricken	Cinc. Bengals		A-
FB	Patrick Ricard	Balt. Ravens	B+		DE	Myles Garrett	Clev. Browns		A+
WR	Odell Beckham	Balt. Ravens	A-		DE	Z’Darus Smith	Clev. Browns		B
WR	Ja’Marr Chase	Cinc. Bengals	A+		DE	Larry Ogunjobi	Pit. Steelers		B
WR	Tee Higgins	Cinc. Bengals	B+		DE	Joeph Ossai	Cinc. Bengals		B-
WR	Elijah Moore	Cleve. Browns	B+		ILB	Roquan Smith	Balt.Ravens		A
WR	George Pickens	Pitt. Steelers	B		ILB	Logan Wilson	Cinc. Bengals		B
WR	Amari Cooper	Cleve. Browns	B		L/E	TJ Watt	Pit. Steelers		A+
TE	Mark Andrews	Balt. Ravens	A		L/E	Alex Highsmith	Pit. Steelers		B+
TE	David Njoku	Cleve. Browns	A-		L/E	J-O. Koromoah	Clev. Browns		B
LT	Jack Conklin	Cleve. Browns	A-		L/E	Germaine Pratt	Cinc. Bengals		B-
LT	Chuk. Okorafor	Pits. Steelers	A-		SS	Rodney Mcleod	Clev. Browns		B-
LG	La’el Collins	Cinc. Bengals	B		SS	Grant Delpit	Clev. Browns		B-
LG	Joel Bitonio	Cleve. Browns	A		FS	Juan Thornhill	Clev. Browns		B+
C	Mason Cole	Pitt. Steelers	B-		FS	Minkh Fitzpatrk	Pit. Steelers		A-
C	Tylr Linderbaum	Balt. Ravens	A		CO	Chdobe Awuzie	Cinc.Bengals		B
RG	Kevin Zeitler	Balt. Ravens	B+		CO	Grg Newsome	Clev. Browns		B+
RG	Wyatt Teller	Cleve. Browns	B+		CO	Denzel Ward	Clev. Browns		C+
RT	Morgan Moses	Balt.Ravens	B		CO	Rock Ya-Sin	Balt.Ravens		C+
RT	Orlando Brown	Cinc. Bengals	A-		CO	Pat. Peterson	Pit. Steelers		B-
Special Teams					CO	Mike Hilton	Cinc. Bengals		C+
K	Justin Tucker	Balt. Ravens	A+		Head Coach
P	Jordan Stout	Balt. Ravens	B-		HC	Mike Tomlin	Pit. Steelers		A
KR	Jordan Byrd	Pitt. Steelers	C		Nominated Home Stadium (Capacity)
LS	Charl Hughlett	Cleve. Browns	B-		ST	Heinz Field (65,050)		Steelers

AFC North Squad Gradings

Offense

• Quarterbacks – B+
• Running/Full Backs –  A-
• Wide Receivers – B+
• Tight Ends – A
• Offensive Line – A-
• Overall Offense – A-

Defense

• Defensive Line – B+
• Edge Rushers – A-
• Linebackers – B+
• Safeties – B-
• Corners – B-

Special Teams

• Kicker – A+
• Punter – B-
• Kick Returner – C
• Long Snapper – B-

Team Intangibles

• Experience – B-
• Pace – B+
• Physicality – A
• Mental Toughness – B
• HC Effectiveness – A

the Z trade was too good to be true until Myles' dad confirmed the news 😆 pic.twitter.com/xJfT6hCDHz

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) June 6, 2023

AFC North Starters

Offense					Defense
Pos	Name	Team	Rat		Pos	Name	Team	Rat
QB	Joe Burrow	Bengals	A+		DE	Trey Hendriksn	Bengals	A-
RB	Nick Chubb	Browns	A		DT	Cam Heyward	Steelers	A
WR1	Ja’Marr Chase	Bengals	A+		DT	Dalv. Tomlinson	Browns	B
WR2	Odell Beckhm	Ravens	A-		DE	Myles Garrett	Browns	A+
WR3	Elijah Moore	Browns	B+		OLB	TJ Watt	Steelers	A+
TE	Mark Andrews	Ravens	A		ILB	Roquan Smith	Ravens	A
LT	Jack Conklin	Browns	A-		OLB	Alex Highsmith	Steelers	B+
LG	Joel Bitonio	Bengals	A		FS	Mink. Fitzpatrick	Steelers	A-
C	Ty. Linderbm	Ravens	A		SS	Rod McLeod	Browns	B-
RG	Wyatt Teller	Bengals	B+		CB1	Greg Newsome	Browns	B+
RT	Orlando Brwn	Bengals	A-		CB2	Chid. Awuzie	Bengals	B
Special Teams
K	Justin Tucker	Ravens	A+		P	Jordan Stout	Raven	B-
LS	Char. Hughlett	Browns	B-		PR	Jonathan Byrd	Steelers	C

AFC North Starting XI Analysis

• Baltimore Ravens – 6 starters
• Cincinnati Bengals – 7 starters
• Cleveland Browns – 8 starters
• Pittsburgh Steelers – 5 starters

Strengths

• Great balance on offense for pass and run.
• Outstanding offensive line.
• Two of the best catching receivers in the NFL.
• Outstanding pass rush on defense
• Great coach.
• Best kicker in the NFL.

Weaknesses

• Other than kicker special teams looks weak
• A relatively poor secondary

Key Player – Offense

Joe Burrow (Bengals) QB – Burrow is the key to this offense and with so many great weapons around him at receiver and tight end, he could open up the pass attack, especially with Nick Chubb in the backfield waiting for a handoff.

Joe Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase🏈🏈 #Bengals pic.twitter.com/zGTdqhDM0x

— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) June 6, 2023

Key Player – Defense

Myles Garrett (Browns), TJ Watt (Steelers) – Can’t separate these two best in positions in the NFL. Imagine these lining up against your offensive line. That pass rush would be frightening for any o-line to face.

Conclusion

The AFC North may not have as strong a 53 squad as other divisions, but they have enough quality players to make an outstanding team of starters. They do look a little weak in the secondary and on special teams but they’ll give anybody a run for their money.

Overall Team Rating – B+

A very strong first XI, but I think there is a lack of depth in the squad which means if injury bites, the quality of the starters could be affected.