AFC North over the next 5-7 years

This is going to be one of the best divisions in the NFL for the next 5-7 years.

Here is how I see things shaking out:

1. Bengals - Burrow is the real deal. Chase will become the best WR in the NFL. The team is loaded with talent on both sides of the ball. I believe Burrow will be the best AFCN QB going forward for the next decade.
2. Ravens - For all of Jackson's shortcomings they have the coaches best at scheming to fit their players. Just look at how their running game is still dominant despite starting 3 street free agent RBs. The Ravens aren't afraid to make big moves to win. See when they fired their OC midway through the season and ended up winning the Super Bowl.
3. Browns - Mayfield may not be an elite QB, but he is still way better than what the Browns have fielded in the last 20 years. They have amazing skill players on offense and a DPOY in Garrett.
4. Steelers - Unless the Steelers (a) find a gem of a franchise QB soon and (b) have a total amazing turnaround I'm afraid we're going to be the AFCN cellar-dwellers for a long time. We are the only team in the AFCN without a viable starting QB, and our OL is a complete mess. Add in coaches who seem a bit befuddled on how to utilize talent and I think we're in for several years of rebuild. And that's without factoring in what happens if Tomlin leaves for a college job and we need a new HC.

Let me know if you think I'm off on my projection here.

 

Ravens and Browns will lose quality and depth the moment they hand out big QB deals.

 

Maybe a bit, but we just handed out the biggest ever contract to a defense player to TJ, so that affects us too.

 

Imma need to see your prediction from 7 years ago before I can decide how much stock to put in this one. 7 years is an eternity in the NFL, entire rosters turn over in that time.

 

I think the Ravens will pay Jackson, not so sure the Browns are sold on Baker and handing out a huge contract just yet.

But the more I see of Burrow, the more I'm like dang he seems really good, and could have the longest career of the 3.

But yes Steelers will have to improve to keep up.

But just think Bengals haven't won a playoff game since 1990. They have been to the Super Bowl twice clear back in the 80's and haven't won it.

The Browns got their 1st playoff win against us last since, before that had not ever won a playoff game since coming back into the league in 1999.
If you want to use their old history haven't won a NFL championship since 1964.

Ravens are pretty well run organizational they have had some bad season years back, they won't regress too much.

But we will need to improve or yes we may get left in the dust.

But these teams have windows to win now, young cheap QB's who have a bit of talent, it gets very hard with salary cap to keep a lot of other talent when your paying the QB huge money.

Heck even look at Mahomes right now, looks like the NFL would never figure the guy out, he's been to 2 Super Bowls won 1, and now KC is struggling even with the other talent are sitting at 3-4.

 

Agreed.
Predictions were sky-high after the Eagles 2017 season.
And after the 2018 season, Goff was going to lead the Rams to great things for many years.
(When Porter left, I don't think there were many who predicted DPoY from his undrafted often-cut replacement.)

Three years ago, the Browns had finished their 12th losing season in a row.
Despite having Mayfield, Chubb, Landry, and Garrett (among others), they still had 2 seasons of below-average play.
A 5-7 year prediction from 3 years ago would be very different than today.

 

And just when I was starting to feel good about the Steelers. Thanks for bringing me back to reality and helping me realize that the Steelers suck.

 

franchise QB will be gone from here and also a new GM. we shall see. i agree though, as soon as these other teams start handing out bigger contracts it takes away from other parts of the team. the ravens have shown many glimpses of being very average. two games the NFL gave to them in the last month and then beaten at home by cinci. browns are also beatable as they have shown. no consistency in either them or the ravens so far. we have started a rebuild like it or not and time will tell. dealing with injuries can change everything for any team. our front office move will be huge and if they just hand it out to someone already here because of racial and political looks alone, it may sink us. i hope they do their due diligence and look for what's best, but i doubt it. this will determine a lot for where we go from here. new perspective's can sometimes be beneficial in a changing league. will we change with the times?

 

If our main hope for competitive in the AFCN going forward is "well the other teams have to pay their stud QBs" I think we'll be in trouble. We need to have our own stud players, not just hope that our rivals studs eat up a lot of salary cap.

 

5-7 years is an eternity in a league with as much roster turnover. I suspect the Steelers will have their QB and OL solidified by 24, and revamping the DL in the meantime. I have little hope for this particular season and even next season. But long term, the Steelers are the crop of the north, and has been since the north became a division. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

 

Ravens will overpay Jackson. It will be Flacco.2

Cleveland took the 5th year option on Mayfield. They did not extend him. That shows they aren’t sold on him. Therefore, I’m not seeing a big contract. Which means they will sign him to a big contract 15 minutes after I post this.

 

I think we have our Stud on Defense in Watt, to build the defense around.

And now I think we have our stud on Offense in Najee, that we will be able to build our offense around as soon as Ben retires or gets out of the way.

 

He will need to be Derrick Henry-esque to be the true focal point of our offense. And he'll need a top tier running blocking OL. Not sure there is more than 1 or 2 OL we currently have that even has that potential. Even then you need a competent game manager at QB, like Tannehill, who was a 1st round pick himself.

 

Within the next 7 years the Bengals finally get a Super Bowl maybe 2. Kenny Pickett (terrible name for a QB) takes the Steelers to their 7th SB finally beating 49 year old Tom Brady.

 

I suspect we will be there or thereabouts for a few seasons until we draft that special player to put us over the top.

Im not as hung up on a franchise QB as some seem to be. I’ve seen good QBs suffer in bad systems and vice versa. Ben was special, there’s not one in every draft.

Beyond that, the issues the OP attributes to the Steelers are the same for the other teams. It’s just they are too busy talking up the other’s accomplishments to notice.

As a side note, I suspected the Bengals would do well this year. Will it last? It didn’t with Palmer, Dalton, Anderson or Esiason. But who knows?

 

Bengals maybe but we will never beat Brady in the playoffs. He will have 10+ rings when he retires at age 52

 

5-7 years is an eternity in NFL time.

Especially for a running QB like Jackson. I definitely don’t see him being relevant in 7 years. Burrow is another story. He looks like the real deal. Mayfield is meh. If the Browns win it’s because they build around him.

And then there’s the issue of what the Ravens and Bengals look like when they’re paying their starting QB 40+ million a year. Their rosters are going to be thinner as a result.

Plus the Steelers could find their QB. The rest of their roster isn’t bad - at least at the moment. The next couple of years look dicey for the Steelers but I wouldn’t go any farther than that.

 

"build our offense around".

 

I believe we can summarize the thread by saying this year it would be a shock if we do better than 2-4 in the division. That will not change anytime soon.

 

Burrow looks to be a proper NFL franchise QB in the Drew Brees mould. Fantastic young player. The Bengals don’t have a history of success so who knows how it all works out for them.

I don’t think it’s a given whatsoever that the Browns pay Baker, and they are going to run in to cap issues very soon. I will say they are a well run team now, have a good GM and HC and appear to be drafting well. I think they are here to stay.

Ravens will always be knocking on the door

Steelers future depends on finding a QB. They are in a group of teams with the Broncos, Bears, Vikings, 49ers, Dolphins, Eagles etc that have good rosters but no QB. I know some of those teams drafted QB’s recently but it remains to be seen if they have found their answer at the position

 

Well, we are in rebuild mode on offense. Oline, RB, TE, WRs are all young. And Big Ben is on his way out. So, it is what it is. I trust Kevin. Yes, it feels abrupt that we are struggling in this division, but it's a rebuild.

 

7 years is an eternity, but one thing never changes. The teams with the best chance to win are those with elite QB's. Jackson has his issues, but he makes up for them. He's become a pretty good passer too. Burrows looks pretty damn good too. Mayfield is a game manager.

The Steelers will need to get a top QB if they want to compete. With a top defence, strong running game and playmakers at WR, it's possible to win with a QB who is above average but not elite. I think Tannehill has a good shot this year if everything falls just right. But the odds aren't good without an elite QB.

 

As Nobel Prize winning physicist Niels Bohr once said, " Predictions, especially about the future, are very difficult."

 

The success of a franchise basically starts and stops at the QB position in today's NFL.

The situation as it now stands is that the Steelers QB situaion is the worst in the division. Browns are next, while the Ravens and Bengals both look set. Of course, they're both one injury away from being back to square one and the Steelers are one good draft pick away from being set. That's the way it works. But make no mistake, you have to have a franchise QB.

/And yeah, yeah, yeah, Ravens with Dilfer and TB with Johnson. Nearly 20 years ago and just proves the point.

 

In my humble opinion.....we are doomed.