The AFC North is heralded by some of the most bitter rivalries, within a division that houses some of the premier quarterbacks, wide receivers, and defensive players in the entire league.

Whether it’s the MVP trophies on Lamar Jackson’s mantle, or T.J. Watt continuously needing to expand his trophy case to accommodate his growing collection of individual awards, some of the sport’s most storied franchises are in the midst of fielding some of the more talented rosters in the NFL.

Each Tuesday, through camps opening, we’ll be breaking down the five best players in each division, continuing today with the AFC North.

Additionally, I asked a veteran AFC South Scout his choice as the one non-quarterback that he would choose first from this division to build his team around.

Here’s an in-depth look at the AFC North, and the players who will likely set the tone for the 2026 season ahead.

Arguably the sport’s definitive force multiplier, and the perfect complement to Lamar Jackson’s explosive versatility, Henry’s arrival hasn’t just introduced balance to the Ravens’ offense but also made the production in the passing game even more prolific.

Henry doesn’t just avoid contact; Pro Football Focus points out he forced 43 missed tackles last season, he runs through it, averaging 3.59 yards after contact per carry, fourth most among running backs.

Last season, Henry surpassed 100 rushing yards eight times, including a bombastic 216-yard and four-touchdown outburst in a win over the Packers in frigid Lambeau Field. But, Henry’s production isn’t just empty calories, as he produced five multi-touchdown games, with the Ravens winning three of them.

While injuries ravaged the Ravens at all levels of the roster in 2025, Henry was a constant driving force, rushing for 1,595 yards with 16 touchdowns, one shy of tying a career-high, while averaging 5.2 yards per carry.

Time will tell just how much losing stalwart center Tyler Linderbaum, who signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency, impacts Henry’s production and the offense’s upside in 2026, but the punishing 32-year-old, who shows no signs of slowing down, is the kind of back who masks many of the problems and inconsistencies of an offensive line in transition.

Ja’Marr Chase’s ability to tilt the outcome of a game, or make circus catches seem routine, regardless of who is throwing him the football put him in the conversation as the standard bearer at the wide receiver position across the league.

There’s a reason the Bengals paid Chase $112 million guaranteed, including cutting a $73.9 million check when he put pen to paper on his contract extension last summer.

It didn’t matter if it were Joe Burrow, Joe Flacco, or Jake Browning, Chase still got his, finishing as the league’s fourth-leading receiver, while pulling down 125 receptions for 1,412 yards and eight touchdowns.

As Pro Football Focus points out, that cavalcade of mediocre quarterbacks still posted a stellar 90.2 passer rating when throwing Chase’s direction, underscoring that he’s as steady and reliable as he is a game-altering big-play weapon.

Chase somehow elevates the play of his quarterback, when Burrow is out of the lineup, and is the very definition of a franchise player.

There might not be a quarterback this side of Patrick Mahomes more feared by opposing defensive coordinators, and certainly inside linebackers tasked with containing him, than Lamar Jackson.

Jackson is the rare breed of quarterback who is equally dangerous on the run, as he is slicing and dicing opposing secondaries from the pocket, especially as the Ravens have invested significant resources in bolstering his supporting cast with ascending star receivers Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, and the steady reliability of veteran tight end Mark Andrews.

Last season, Jackson continued his trend of annihilating defenses when they brought extra pressure against the blitz, and over the past several seasons, he has become even more lethally accurate in the vertical passing game.

Already with two MVP awards under his belt, Jackson showed throughout an injury-plagued campaign just how dominant and effective he can be, while passing for 2,549 yards with 21 touchdowns to just seven interceptions, in 15 games, while adding 349 rushing yards and a pair of scores.

Critics will point to Jackson’s relative lack of postseason success, but his 9.7-yard Average Depth of Target, ranking second in the league, according to Pro Football Focus, and nine big-time throws last season telegraph a quarterback capable of being a driver of his team’s success.

A more balanced roster arriving this season, thanks in part to the Ravens’ blockbuster signing of All-Pro pass rusher Trey Hendrickson, along with just a bit more luck, may be what it takes for Jackson to get across the finish line and into a Super Bowl for the first time.

There might not be a more efficient, effective, or consistently dominant quarterback in the NFL, who thrives more within the confines of a system and the fundamentals of pocket passing than Joe Burrow.

Burrow’s value to the Bengals is as illustrative as his ability to dominate in the clutch, via his six career fourth-quarter comebacks and nine game-winning drives, as the impact his absence has on Cincinnati’s entire trajectory when he is out of the lineup.

Staying healthy is legitimately the biggest concern facing Burrow’s entire career, and the Bengals’ genuine Super Bowl aspirations. However, as Pro Football Focus points out, his two Turnover Worthy Plays, were the fewest of any quarterback in the history of the outlet.

Burrow only appeared in eight games last season, passing for 1,805 yards with 17 touchdowns to five interceptions, but it is entirely fair to wonder how differently the Bengals’ season would have played out had he been available for an entire season.

Thanks to a two-year overhaul on defense, and a significant commitment to keeping his elite arsenal in the passing game intact, if Burrow can survive a season, the Bengals have to be considered among the top threats to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, for the second time in Burrow’s career.

T.J. Watt is among the most disruptive chaos agents in all of football.

Watt effectively destroys opposing backfields and sets the tone for the rest of the Steelers’ defense, as illustrated by his 37.5 sacks and 48 tackles for loss over the past three seasons. That kind of consistency makes him foundational to everything the Steelers are trying to do, in lieu of a full-fledged rebuild in Pittsburgh.

There’s a reason Watt was named a First-Team All-Pro selection four times in five seasons from 2019 through 2023, and it is because he’s equally adept at shutting down the run as he is making life miserable on opposing quarterbacks.

Back in 2024, Watt became Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded run defender in football, and while injuries (including a late-season collapsed lung) slowed him a bit last season, Watt’s 90.4 pass rush grade from Pro Football Focus in 2024 ranked fourth-highest in the league.

There’s an argument to be made that the Steelers would be better off trading Watt for a bounty of picks to a contender, but the simple fact remains that he may be the most vital and valuable player on the roster and the most disruptive presence within the division, now that the Browns shipped Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams earlier this spring.