The AFC North has been considered arguably the best overall division in the NFL for the past few seasons — and for good reason. The division is loaded with talent and usually uber competitive, with a combination of high-end quarterback play, rugged defense, and a blend of All-Pro caliber talent at different position groups.
Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder recently put together an All-Star roster for each division in the league, featuring nine positions on offense and six on defense. Out of 22 possible individual spots, Ravens’ players occupied 10 of them. They are as follows:
- QB: Lamar Jackson
- RB: Derrick Henry
- WR3: Zay Flowers
- LT: Ronnie Stanley
- C: Tyler Linderbaum
- RT: Roger Rosengarten
- DT: Nnamdi Madubuike
- ILB: Roquan Smith
- NCB: Marlon Humphrey
- S: Kyle Hamilton
The Steelers and Browns were tied for the second-most players featured with five, followed by the Bengals with two. While this is only a mock exercise, the wide gap between the Ravens and the rest of the division is indicative of the team’s high-level talent at various position groups at both sides of the ball.
If an all-division team was in fact a real entity, it’s hard not to imagine the Ravens would in fact be featured heavily in this sort of manner. Some may make an argument that Joe Burrow, not Lamar Jackson, holds the title of best quarterback in the AFC North. While Burrow is elite in his own right, it’s hard to negate the combination of Jackson’s statistical progression, accumulated accolades, and team success in recent years.
“The Ravens are set up better to make a Super Bowl run than the Bengals, but Burrow can easily put up better numbers than Jackson if Cincinnati is constantly playing from behind, like last year,” Holder wrote. “Ultimately, the two-time MVP is going to be plenty productive and should have his team in contention again this season.”
The biggest notable snub for the Ravens, one could argue, is at tight end — where Mark Andrews was not listed and instead Pittsburgh’s Pat Freiermuth earned the nod.
Andrews is coming off a statistical step-back season overall but posted a career-high 11 touchdown receptions. He had four more scores and 20 more receiving yards than Freiermuth, while the latter posted 10 more receptions. Andrews has been the consensus best tight end in the division for the past few years, but Holder based his ranking more off of projection for the 2025 due to roster circumstances.
“Mark Andrews might feel like the obvious pick, but Isaiah Likely has been on the rise recently, so those two will take targets away from each other,” he wrote. “Cleveland’s quarterback situation makes it difficult to see an impressive campaign from David Njoku, and Freiermuth is higher on the pecking order in Pittsburgh than Mike Gesicki is in Cincy.”
Andrews has been the consensus best tight end in the division, as one of the elite players at his position in all the NFL as well, for the past several seasons. However, the tight end talent level and competition in the AFC North has increased recently between the likes of Freiermuth, David Njoku, Jonnu Smith, and the Ravens’ own Isaiah Likely.
What do you think of this All-Star AFC North roster? Do you think an appropriate number of Ravens’ players are featured? Chime in below with your thoughts!