When the New York Giants traded Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns, the NFC East suddenly became boring and the AFC North became glamorous. Andy Dalton, Ben Roethlisberger, Lamar Jackson and Baker Mayfield provides a mix of both old and new flavours.

The Steelers lost Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown (so did Oakland) and suddenly the landscape has shifted in the division. Let’s take a look at how the season shapes up for the AFC North:

Odell Browns Jr. …

The Browns are relevant again and are now the darlings of the NFL. Not a single down has taken place this season yet Cleveland are already considered to be the new powerhouse of the NFL, significant seeing they went 1-31 in 2015 & 2016.

On both sides of the ball they’re stacked. In a move out of this world Odell Beckham Jr was traded to the Browns from the New York Giants where he’ll join his former LSU teammate Jarvis Landry. With these two on board quarterback Baker Mayfield will have probably the best wide-receiving duo in the NFL to throw too.

The Brown’s defence is bursting at the seams with talent – Myles Garrett, Larry Ogunjobi, Denzel Ward, Sheldon Richardson and Olivier Vernon the stars on the defensive end. The only weakness if any to exploit will be their lack of physicality in the secondary exposing the possibility for wide receivers to jostle downfield.

The Browns not only look like they’ll reign over the AFC North but they look like a team who can make a deep playoff run. It’s been a long 16 years since the Browns reached the playoffs and an even longer 30 years since they won last their division.

Odell Beckham Jr. at Brown’s Training Camp.

The Bengals or Bungals?

The Bungals, sorry the Bengals … are already screwed. Finishing bottom in the AFC North last season with a 6-10 season they’ve now employed Zac Taylor at head coach. The 36-year old’s only experience to date is five games at offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins in 2015. Star wide-receiver A.J. Green is also out for at least the first few games.

Let’s not write Cincinnati off completely. They did draft the best out of all teams in the division, filling their weaknesses most effectively at positional needs at tackle, tight-end and at linebacker.

Where games will be won or lost for the Bengals will come down to how effective their offensive line is. Quarterback Andy Dalton is solid but not a franchise QB – he’ll need all the time he can get in the pocket. First up for the Bengals, a Jadeveon Clowney led Seahawks …

Bye-Bye Brown Bells …

The Steelers missed the playoffs and failed to reach double-digit wins for the first time since 2013. The loss of Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell rocked Pittsburgh on a seismic level however a career high 5129 throwing yards in 2018 by an ageless Ben Roethlisberger and the emergence of Juju Smith-Schuster gives them enough fire power.

A catastrophic spinal injury to their defensive leader Ryan Shazier in 2017 means they’re still without their fearless leader lining up in the middle. The Steelers drafted well at Pick #10, with Michigan Linebacker Devin Bush tasked with filling the void Shazier has left.

Mike Tomlin is only the third head coach at Pittsburgh in the last 50 years – the Steeler Nation priding itself on always being steady without drama. With Brown and Bell both moving on from Pittsburgh, you’d expect harmony to return to the locker rooms and the Steelers to have a real shot at taking out the division…

Lamar Jackson is the future of Baltimore, with Joe Flacco being traded to Denver in February.

Lamar ‘Hackson’ …

The reigning AFC North champions, the Baltimore Ravens incredibly won 6 of their last 7 with rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson starting under centre. He has made 176 passes and 108 rushes in his career so far – a rush for every 1.6 passes – unheard of in today’s game.

Jackson is as mobile a quarterback as you can get and his offence is almost revolutionary. His sheer pace troubles defences and his speed is considered a hack in Madden.

The Ravens also addressed one of their biggest weaknesses, wide-receiver. They drafted Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and Miles Boykin in the first and third rounds respectively to build a strong core for Jackson to throw too.

The Ravens had one of the best defences last season giving up very few yards and points. They have however lost Terrell Suggs, C.J. Mosley and Za’Darius Smith which severely weakens them. Their secondary remains strong with the acquisition of Earl Thomas.

They’ll have their work cutout for them if they’re to keep their reign as AFC North champions with the Browns on the charge. You’d have to think their head-to-head match-ups may well decide the division.