By Adam McCoy
steelernation.com
Over the next few weeks I will be ranking every starting positional player in the AFC North. This will not only give us a good opportunity to know our enemy heading into the new season, but also to see where the Steelers rank within their own division. These rankings will be in consideration for the 2019 Season and will not be an all-time ranking. Enjoy!
4. Lamar Jackson - Baltimore
2018 stats - 1201 yards, 6 TD's, 3 INT's, 48.7 QBR
With Joe Flacco traded to Denver, Lamar Jackson will no longer be rotating in for obvious run situations. His first full year as a quarterback is sure to show some growing pains. Last year Jackson showed some inconsistency with his accuracy and overall throwing mechanics. Word out of Baltimore is they plan on using him in the run game less and are working hard on developing him into a bonafide quarterback. Time will only tell, but the jury is still out.
3. Andy Dalton - Cincinnati
2018 stats - 2566 yards, 21 TD's, 11 INT's, 64.6 QBR
Andy Dalton saw his 2018 season cut short with a season ending thumb injury with 5 weeks remaining. That injury coupled with injuries to AJ Green spelled the end of any playoff hopes for the Bengals last year. The Bengals brought in new head coach Zac Taylor to emulate the Sean McVay offense that utilizes a lot of play action passes, something that Dalton has quietly been successful with during his career. The key to Dalton's success in 2019 will revolve around the offensive line, which lost Clint Boling to retirement and first round pick Jonah Williams to a season-ending injury.
2. Baker Mayfield - Cleveland
2018 stats - 3725 yards, 27 TD's, 14 INT's, 55.7 QBR
Baker Mayfield is looking to end the long list of Browns quarterbacks we've seen in the past decade plus. If anyone has the ability to do it, its Baker, and he has the weapons around him to do it. Jarvis Landry and OBJ make up arguably the best widereceiver tandem in the NFL, and David Njoku is a serious threat at tightend. The biggest question mark for Mayfield is if he can avoid the sophomore slump and live up to the massive hype that surrounds a Browns team looking to make 0-16 a distant memory.
1. Ben Roethlisberger - Pittsburgh
2018 stats - 5129 yards, 34 TD's, 16 INT's, 73 QBR
The crown as the top quarterback in the AFC North is Ben's to lose, and it’s not happening this year. The loss of Antonio Brown may be seen as too big of a hurdle by some, but Ben Roethlisberger has made a career out of elevating his wide receivers, and he has the perfect room of young receivers to make just that happen. Adding to that the fact the Steelers still boast one of the top offensive lines in the NFL, there's no reason to expect to see nothing but what we've come to expect from the future Hall of Famer.
Feel free to let me know what you think down below in the comments! Do you agree or disagree? How would you rate these players? Look out for my running backs ratings to come out next!
