Bengals: Where does the AFC North rank when it comes to quarterbacks?

The AFC North is home to some impressive quarterbacks, as Cincinnati Bengals‘ former No. 1 pick Joe Burrow is in the division along with 2019 MVP Lamar Jackson of the Ravens, 2018 No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield of the Browns, and two-time Super Bowl champion Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers.

With these big names in the division, it’s no surprise that the AFC North was heavily praised by CBS Sports. Cody Benjamin ranked all eight divisions based on quarterback play and the AFC North came in at No. 3.

Benjamin offered this analysis:

"Jackson is arguably the most electrifying player in the entire league. Critique his deep-ball/big-game passing, but few QBs threaten to change the game every time they touch the ball. He does. Mayfield has successfully adapted to serve as something of a spunky game manager in Kevin Stefanski’s smooth offense. Burrow still has plenty to prove but has the moxie and football IQ to put up numbers and survive any forthcoming staff overhauls. Roethlisberger, once the face of the North, is better suited for a Mayfield-type role now that his arm has lost the juice for signature gunslinging, but he’s still capable of a playoff bid."

Truthfully, the AFC North should have been at No. 2. The NFC West took the No. 2 spot while the AFC West was No. 1 and while I get that Patrick Mahomes is in that division, that division’s group of quarterbacks isn’t as good as the NFC West’s or AFC North’s.

Anyway, going back to what Benjamin said, he said that Burrow still needs to prove himself but there’s reason to believe he can become one of the faces of the division, much like Big Ben was a few years ago. Now, Roethlisberger is looked at as the weakest member of the division while Burrow could honestly be considered the second-best quarterback in the league behind Jackson. It all depends on what people think of Mayfield.

The AFC North has some of the best quarterbacks in the league, including Bengals QB Joe Burrow.

Three of the four quarterbacks in the AFC North have only been in the league for three or fewer years, which sets this group up to be competing against each other for the foreseeable future. Jackson and Mayfield could very well earn extensions before the start of the season and Burrow is entering year two of his pro career, so he’s still got plenty of time to wreak havoc on this division.

Roethlisberger is inching closer to the end of his career, or at least his Steelers career, and that could set the division up to have another rookie quarterback taking over next year. The AFC North is only going to get stronger at the quarterback position and it’s why this division is so competitive year in and year out.