AFC North EDGE rankings
AFC North EDGE rankings
In today’s NFL, there are three very valuable positions: quarterback, pass protector and pass rusher. You either have them or you don’t. If you don’t have the quarterback, you’re trying to find guys to get the other one on the ground as much as possible.
The AFC North has those guys in abundance entering the 2025 season.
Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson is coming off a 2024 season in which he led the NFL in sacks. Cleveland’s Myles Garrett and Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt are perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidates. Even Baltimore’s Kyle Van Noy is having a late-career resurgence.
That doesn’t even begin to touch on all the depth coming off the edge in the division, either.
So, how does it all shake out in the AFC North pecking order from the EDGE position? Let’s take a look and see.
1. PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Having a starting point duo of T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith off the edge is a great place to be for the Steelers. Watt remains a dominant force, one that teams have to scheme against weekly to try and take away, while Highsmith has become a consistent presence when on the field.
Together, they are arguably the best pass rushing duo in the NFL.
Watt is coming off a quiet season from his absurd standards after he recorded just 11.5 sacks last year and saw his pressure numbers drop to just 56 after dealing with the league’s most chips and double teams last season. He also was slowed by an ankle and thumb injury late last season that likely impacted his production.
Entering 2025, he’s eyeing a bounce back season. The last time he was frustrated after a season, he won the league’s Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Highsmith battled injuries, too, playing just 11 games. But when he was on the field opposite Watt, he was a great running mate and consistently provided pressure from the other side of the defensive formation. Highsmith finished with six sacks and 48 pressures as one of the top 10 highest-graded pass rushers in the NFL from PFF.
Depth is quite good for Pittsburgh, too, as third-year pro Nick Herbig is the top backup behind Watt and Highsmith. Herbig has been quite impactful when on the field. He had a career-best 5.5 sacks last season and forced four fumbles, proving himself as a key rotational piece behind the top pairing.
The Steelers also spent a fourth-round pick on Ohio State’s Jack Sawyer in the 2025 NFL Draft, giving Pittsburgh a tough, hard-nosed player to add to the room, one that can be a serviceable run defender early in his career. He has some pass rush juice, too, and should be a nice No. 4 for the Steelers to develop long-term.
Jeremiah Moon returns as a possible special teams piece, having played 222 special teams snaps last season for the Steelers, with another 111 on defense.
2. BALTIMORE RAVENS
After finishing last in the rankings a year ago, the Ravens have made quite a transformation at the EDGE position ahead of the 2025 season and look good top to bottom.
Van Noy is the headliner for the Ravens, coming off of a career-best 12.5-sack season that saw him earn a Pro Bowl nod — the first of his career. He’s a much better fit as a standup pass rusher, and he was quite good all season long for the Ravens, building off of a good 2023 season, too.
Opposite Van Noy, Odafe Oweh had a breakout season, generating 10 sacks, doubling his career-best. When the Ravens drafted him out of Penn State, they envisioned a speed rusher with great athleticism. It took him awhile to figure it out, but he found his game last season and was impactful for much of the season.
The Ravens had some decent depth already, but hit a home run (talent wise) in the draft with the selection of Marshall’s Mike Green in the second round. Green was arguably the best pass rusher in the class not named Abdul Carter, and he’s a force off the edge with his speed and athleticism, able to turn the corner with ease. He has some character concerns though, so it’s worth monitoring. But on the field, he could be a good rotational piece right away as a rookie.
Adissa Isaac, David Ojabo and Tavius Robinson return as depth, too. Robinson had 3.5 sacks last season while Ojabo had 2.0 on the season.
3. CLEVELAND BROWNS
Having Myles Garrett as the headliner is certainly a great piece to have for the Browns. He’s arguably the best defender in the NFL and is a nightmare matchup for every opponent due to his size, strength, speed and freakish athleticism.
He doesn’t have much help, though. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo was a nice addition two years ago and had a solid 2023 season with 4.5 sacks in a rotational role. But as a full-time starter after Za’Darius Smith was traded away, he struggled last season and had just three sacks.
The Browns added veteran Joe Tryon-Shoyinka in free agency in hopes of the former first-round pick in Tampa Bay finding his game up North. They are counting heavily on young pieces Isaiah McGuire and Alex Wright to take significant steps forward.
Depth is decent here, considering name recognition with veterans Julian Okwara, Cameron Thomas, Sam Kamara and Elerson Smith are battling it out for end of the roster roles.
But this group goes as Garrett goes. He is a one-man wrecking crew and is coming off of another 14-sack season that garnered Pro Bowl and All-Pro accolades once again. After an offseason in which he requested a trade, alienated parts of the Browns’ fan base and then signed a record-breaking extension, Garrett needs to have a monster year for the Browns to have any real chance.
4. CINCINNATI BENGALS
Having the reigning sacks leader in the NFL is a great place to start for the Bengals, and Trey Hendrickson is exactly that, coming off of a 17.5-sack season. But things are not all well with the Bengals and Hendrickson at the moment.
Hendrickson rightfully wants a new deal and deserves to be compensated, but the Bengals aren’t budging, which has led to a trade request from the All-Pro pass rusher. Since signing with the Bengals as a free agent in 2021, Hendrickson has racked up 57 sacks for the Bengals and has consistently produced.
But now that it’s time to pay him, the Bengals are balking. It’s not pretty right now, and if they can’t figure out anything with him and have to trade him, the Bengals are toast on the edge.
Behind Hendrickson, there’s not much to be excited about. Outside of Hendrickson’s 17.5 sacks, no other player had more than five. Joseph Ossai was closest to Hendrickson with those 5 sacks last season. Ossai returns and should be the starter opposite Hendrickson, but he’s done very little in his career to worry opposing offenses.
Long-time running mate Sam Hubbard retired, and the Bengals didn’t do anything to replace him. Outside of Ossai, young player Myles Murphy is being counted on to take a step forward, but he played in just 13 games last season and had just 20 tackles with no sacks.
Cam Sample and Isaiah Thomas are useable depth pieces for the Bengals, while names like Cedric Johnson and Raymond Johnson III round out the roster at the position for the Bengals. It’s not pretty.
2024 AFC North EDGE rankings:
No. 1 – Cleveland Browns
No. 2 – Pittsburgh Steelers
No. 3 – Cincinnati Bengals
No. 4 – Baltimore Ravens