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(Polls) AFC North Young Core Roster Comparison - Where Do the Browns Rank?


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AFC North Young Core Roster Comparison  

23 members have voted

  1. 1. Which AFC North Team & their Core Roster Will Give the Browns the Most Trouble Over the Next 5 Years?

  2. 2. When It's All Said and Done, Who Has the Best Career?

  3. 3. How Much Longer Will Lamar Jackson Be a Top Performing QB?

    • Within the next 2 years, the League will figure him out and his play will fall off.
    • His style of play likely means he's at risk for a serious injury soon. Probably within 3 years he falls off due to injury.
    • Hate to say it, but he probably keeps improving and stays healthy enough to ball out for at least 5 more Years.


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(List of Each Team's Young Core Talent Roster Below Wall of Text)

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How do the AFC North Roster's Compare Regarding their Talented, Younger Core Guys (i.e., 27 years old and below, quality contributor or potential for quality contribution)?

It's easy to see a Lamar Jackson and John Harbaugh led Ravens team and think "Those guys are going to be a problem for the Browns for a long time."

But what is the real state of their core Roster as it pertains to talented, younger individuals that have the ability or potential to be quality contributors over time.

That question made me curious as to where the rest of the the AFC North teams stand in terms of quality of young core talents.

If we define "young core talented players" along the same lines as the Browns analytic guard rails: that is, the player has to be 27 years old or younger and let's just add to the criteria that the player has to have shown some ability thus far to be a quality contributor in some way (even if it is brief flashes).

With that criteria, guys like Joel Bitonio don't make the list for the Browns and Cameron Heyward don't make the list for the Steelers b/c of age. That's not to say that they don't play well at a high level for the Browns and Steelers for years to come, but for the purpose of the exercise they aren't core parts the roster for years to come as tough salary decisions may be made with them in the not too distant future.

We also know that many of the guys on this list won't be on the teams going forward due to cap and/or injury related decisions. But assuming health, the complexion of AFC North roster's in terms of young core talents is very interesting.

By looking around the AFC North, the Browns are clearly first and the Bengals second. This of course makes sense as the Steelers and Ravens have been winning so much consistently that their draft selections and or ability to trade down and acquire extra draft capital have been seriously limited. So, it makes sense that their young core isn't as robust as the Bengals and Browns. However, it does mean that the Ravens are at the most risk of having difficulty sustainably winning going forward after Lamar signs the massive contract b/c they will not have the salary cap money to improve substantially in free agency and they won't have the high draft capital to substantially change the roster. The Steelers don't have a QB but they have the ability to do a roster reset by losing, cutting big contracts, and accumulating draft capital via trade down from higher draft selections.

 

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Bengals:

Offense

**= Forecast of Pro-Bowl  Level Talent

**QB Joe Burrow

**RB Joe Mixon

**WR Ja'Marr Chase

**WR Tee Higgins

WR Tyler Boyd

**LT Jonah Williams

OG Jackson Carman

**TE CJ Uzomah

TE Drew Sample

Defense

**= Forecast of Pro-Bowl  Level Talent

**FS Jesse Bates III

SS Vonn Bell

**EDGE Trey Hendrickson

EDGE Sam Hubbard

EDGE Cameron Sample

DT Larry Ogunjobi

**DT BJ Hill

CB Trae Waynes

CB Chidobe Awuzie

CB Eli Apple

**LB Logan Wilson

LB Germaine Pratt

LB Akeem Davis-Gaither

 

Browns:

Offense

**= Forecast of Pro-Bowl  Level Talent

**QB Baker Mayfield

**RB Nick Chubb

**RB Kareem Hunt

**WR Donovan Peoples-Jones

WR Demetric Felton

WR Anthony Schwartz

WR Rashard Higgins

TE Austin Hooper

**TE David Njoku

TE Harrison Bryant

**LT Jedrick Wills Jr.

**OG Wyatt Teller

**RT Jack Conklin

Defense

**= Forecast of Pro-Bowl  Level Talent

**DE Myles Garrett

**NT Malik McDowell

DT Jordan Elliott

LB Sione Takitak

**LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah

**CB Denzel Ward

**CB Greg Newsome II

CB Greedy Williams

CB AJ Green

**FS John Johnson III

FS Richard LeCounte

SS Grant Delpit

SS Ronnie Harrison

 

Ravens:

Offense

**= Forecast of Pro-Bowl  Level Talent

**QB Lamar Jackson 

**LT Ronnie Staley

**TE Mark Andrews

WR Marquise Brown

WR Rashod Bateman

WR Devin Duverney

WR Miles Boykin

OG Ben Cleveland

OG Ben Powers

OC Bradley Bozeman

RB JK Dobbins

Defense

**CB Marlon Humphrey

**NCB Tavon Young

**EDGE Odafe Oweh

LB Patrick Queen

CB Brandon Stephens

CB Anthony Averett

EDGE Tyus Bowser

LB Malik Harrison

SS Chuck Clark

FS DeShon Elliott

DT Justin Madubuike

 

Steelers:

Offense

**= Forecast of Pro-Bowl  Level Talent

**WR Chase Claypool

WR Diontae Johnson

WR JuJu Smith-Schuster

**RB Najee Harris

**OG Kevin Dotson

**OC Kendrick Green

TE Pat Freiermuth

Defense

**= Forecast of Pro-Bowl  Level Talent

**EDGE TJ Watt

**FS Minkah Fitzpatrick

**EDGE Alex Highsmith

DE Chris Wormley

NT Isaiah Buggs

**LB Devin Bush Jr.

SS Terrell Edmunds

CB Cameron Sutton

Edited by Empire Lies
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I think Lamar has the best career, lasts 5+ more years, and their roster is the one that concerns me the most. IF Oweh continues his pace, to go with Lamar and a few of their defensive pieces, not to mention their physical style of play, I think they're the most built for long term success.

While I think Burrow on paper is actually the best, I don't believe Cincinnati, their revolving door at HC, their culture, and their inability to protect him makes the Bengals a viable choice going forward.

Unless Pitt trades for someone like Rogers or Matt Ryan, I think their days are numbered.

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All 3 qbs have some exceptional traits. 

 

Baker has the best arm and accuracy, if he was 6'3" I think he is the best of the bunch. 

Burrow is an amazing field general and playmaker as other have said, Concinatti hate him, they dont bother protecting him

Lamar is one of the best athletes in the nfl, and a good thrower of the ball, that is improving. On passing downs, I think we need to rush 3 hard, myles, clowney and mcdowell, have 7 cover and special lamar with JOK, you just cannot unaccounted for him as a runner or kills. 

I'd just have jok follow his eyes and mirror his movement.  

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I really like a lot of the pieces Cincinnati has, but they have a bad head coach and I don't trust their ownership.

Baltimore has a good head coach and is a consistently stable franchise, so I'll view them as our biggest challenge in coming years.

Pittsburgh would be in the conversation if they find a new legit QB, but their defense is likely going to be good enough to prevent them from picking really high in the draft to select a top QB prospect. They'll either have to get lucky and hope a franchise QB falls to them in the draft or that they're able to get a guy like Rodgers (please god no).

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When the Ravens do lose people, they are really good about bringing in veterans on short term deals so they don’t really end up rebuilding too many positions at once. Guys like Eric Weddle, Calais Campbell, Jimmy Smith, etc. As long as Lamar Jackson is healthy and still playing at a high-level, they are going to be in it. The Bengals, I’m not sure about their coaching and also if they can manage to keep Joe Burrow healthy long-term. If they can though, he is in for a really bright future. The Steelers are an unknown to me. They don’t look as good on paper but somehow they always manage to do well. Until we go out and look like the best team in the division and when a conference, I’m going to have to see it before I believe it. I certainly think we are in it, but we have to find a way to take that next step and close things out. 

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When you look at the Ravens roster, I think they are smoke and mirrors this year.

Lamar Jackson's top level performance this year is unsustainable b/c of it.

He's transcended the surrounding talent and been the tractor/truck pulling the trailer along like elite QBs; however, I don't think his ability to perform like that is sustainable on the levels of Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, etc, nor will it ever be and for the Browns sakes let's hope I'm right in that assessment.

The Ravens Defense is not good at all due to injury, talent deficiencies, and serious depth issues. 

The offensive line is horrendous at the Tackle spots and leaky inside. The RBs have little juice and dynamic ability. Without Rashad Bateman, the Ravens still don't have a go to  reliable WR2.

I expect them to fall off this year in the second half of the season and get exposed as their depth continues to dwindle with the rest of the league through the grind of the season.

As long as Lamar's healthy, they'll have a chance to thrive b/c he's that special, but I don't see him as the type of guy yet to carry a roster like theirs the entirety of the season.

If he does, he's the clear MVP and bad for the Browns.

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58 minutes ago, dawgdish said:

That's what I keep wanting to believe...I hope we're right and he goes the way of RGIII soon.

I do not wish for injury with Lamar at all or root for an RGIII type of career collapse.

I do hope that he plays terribly in games that are relevant in-division and otherwise for the Browns.

By all accounts, he's a quality young man, great leader, smart, tough, and hard worker.

The Ravens roster is superficial, has no depth really anywhere, and is relatively lacking when it comes to young core talents throughout the roster.

They are overperforming expectation at this point in unsustainable ways. The injuries and issues on defense and OLine will likely catch up with them soon. 

And in my mind, that means they are going to fall off a lot starting with the Chargers game and onward.

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47 minutes ago, Empire Lies said:

I do not wish for injury with Lamar at all or root for an RGIII type of career collapse.

I do hope that he plays terribly in games that are relevant in-division and otherwise for the Browns.

By all accounts, he's a quality young man, great leader, smart, tough, and hard worker.

The Ravens roster is superficial, has no depth really anywhere, and is relatively lacking when it comes to young core talents throughout the roster.

They are overperforming expectation at this point in unsustainable ways. The injuries and issues on defense and OLine will likely catch up with them soon. 

And in my mind, that means they are going to fall off a lot starting with the Chargers game and onward.

Ravens have plenty of young talent, the problem is the injuries this year. They do have some reinforcements coming shortly with Bateman, Boyle, Ferguson an hopefully Ronnie Stanley so I actually think they will improve offensively as the year goes on. Lamar is the truth and as long as he's out there balling the Ravens aren't going anywhere, the dude is a winner.

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8 minutes ago, RayLew52 said:

Ravens have plenty of young talent, the problem is the injuries this year. They do have some reinforcements coming shortly with Bateman, Boyle, Ferguson an hopefully Ronnie Stanley so I actually think they will improve offensively as the year goes on. Lamar is the truth and as long as he's out there balling the Ravens aren't going anywhere, the dude is a winner.

You are right in that injuries are the primary issue this year for sure.

I also forgot to add Rashod Bateman as he hasn't played a snap though I don't believe he's the pro-bowl level talent that many think he'll be.

For the purpose of this thread, it was about looking at each AFC North Division Team's roster's and comparing the players that are under 27 years old in order to figure out which team's have the relatively better young talent cores to build with in the future.

This matters b/c each team (excluding the Steelers) will soon have to make a decision on paying a QB top tier contracts that will effect roster building decisions going forward.

It's true to say that as long as Lamar is healthy he'll keep ballin out and the Ravens will be in the mix, but the Ravens can't just put it all on Lamar and have to continue to build around him with young talented guys b/c of their low salary cap numbers.

In the end, compared to the rest of the AFC North Division, the Ravens aren't in the best position currently when it comes to young pro-bowl talents to build around compared to others. This of course has much to do with draft position each year and the Ravens are always winning too much to have a high selection, but salary cap and free agent decisions matter as well.

On 10/12/2021 at 12:33 PM, Empire Lies said:

Ravens:

Offense

**= Forecast of Pro-Bowl  Level Talent

**QB Lamar Jackson 

**LT Ronnie Staley

**TE Mark Andrews

WR Marquise Brown

WR Rashod Bateman

WR Devin Duverney

WR Miles Boykin

OG Ben Cleveland

OG Ben Powers

OC Bradley Bozeman

RB JK Dobbins

Defense

**CB Marlon Humphrey

**NCB Tavon Young

**EDGE Odafe Oweh

LB Patrick Queen

CB Brandon Stephens

CB Anthony Averett

EDGE Tyus Bowser

LB Malik Harrison

SS Chuck Clark

FS DeShon Elliott

DT Justin Madubuike

 

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3 minutes ago, Empire Lies said:

You are right in that injuries are the primary issue this year for sure.

I also forgot to add Rashod Bateman as he hasn't played a snap though I don't believe he's the pro-bowl level talent that many think he'll be.

For the purpose of this thread, it was about looking at each AFC North Division Team's roster's and comparing the players that are under 27 years old in order to figure out which team's have the relatively better young talent cores to build with in the future.

This matters b/c each team (excluding the Steelers) will soon have to make a decision on paying a QB top tier contracts that will effect roster building decisions going forward.

It's true to say that as long as Lamar is healthy he'll keep ballin out and the Ravens will be in the mix, but the Ravens can't just put it all on Lamar and have to continue to build around him with young talented guys b/c of their low salary cap numbers.

In the end, compared to the rest of the AFC North Division, the Ravens aren't in the best position currently when it comes to young pro-bowl talents to build around compared to others. This of course has much to do with draft position each year and the Ravens are always winning too much to have a high selection, but salary cap and free agent decisions matter as well.

 

I here what your saying I just think it's way to early to make claims on what young players are possibly going to be pro bowl talents. Oweh is looking like a beast and Bateman was looking like the real deal before his injury. The Ravens also have 9 picks within the first 4 rounds this year so they will be stocking up to begin building within the confines of Lamar's contract. Should be a fun AFC North for years to come.

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