NFL Offseason Wish-Lists: AFC North

The 2024 NFL Season is over, and the 2025 Offseason is in full swing! It’s an exciting time for fans and franchises alike as new hope dawns with the records reset for all 32 squads. With that in mind, I want to do a series looking at all 32 teams “Offseason Wish Lists” with a special look at how each team will attack the new league year and how they will use the various methods of adding talent to best prepare their rosters for 2025.

We’ll break it down by division over the coming days. We’ve already looked at the East and South Divisions in both Conferences, plus the NFC North. Now, let’s dive into the enigmatic AFC North:

Note: All Cap Space projections come from spotrac.com

BALTIMORE RAVENS

2024 Result: 12-5 Reg. Season, Lost in AFC Divisional Round
Biggest Needs: Edge, WR, OL
1st Round Draft Slot: 27th Overall
Proj. 2025 Cap Space: $10.8M

The Ravens do a phenomenal job covering for their biggest weaknesses, but their quest for deeper playoff runs and Super Bowl championships means strengthening some spots they have traditionally overcome. They need a real disruptor off the edge and a legitimate WR1 to pair with Zay Flowers, who is good but has a limited ceiling. Even after re-signing Ronnie Stanley Baltimore could use some more help along the OL. With their limited cap space, the Draft will make or break their offseason.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS

2024 Result: 10-7 Reg. Season, Lost in AFC Wild Card Round
Biggest Needs: QB, DT, WR
1st Round Draft Slot: 21st Overall
Proj. 2025 Cap Space: $58.1M

The Steelers boast the 7th most Cap Space in the league, but where do they start? Ideally, they need a QB early in the process to figure out the rest of the roster, but with nothing materializing in that regard so far, it’s still priority number 1 when tampering opens up. The team will chase a QB and a WR for sure in Free Agency, but a lot of their focus has gone towards the DL in Draft prep. With the cash to spend and 8 Draft selections, PIT should be able to make major improvements to an already solid roster.

CINCINNATI BENGALS

2024 Result: 9-8 Reg. Season, Missed Playoffs
Biggest Needs: OT, Edge, CB
1st Round Draft Slot: 17th Overall
Proj. 2025 Cap Space: $45.5M

Cincinnati’s best bet at contention is always going to be Joe Burrow, and by franchise tagging Tee Higgins and re-signing Mike Gesicki the Bengals make their intentions clear. The focus isn’t on defense, in fact, they’re willing to let their best defender, Trey Hendrickson, go to avoid the big payday. With a decent amount of Cap Space to work with, especially if Hendrickson is moved, the Bengals should be able to lock of Tackle help to protect Burrow, and they’ll want to use the Draft to add defensive playmakers to keep costs down and still improve that side of the ball.

CLEVELAND BROWNS

2024 Result: 5-12 Reg. Season, Missed Playoffs
Biggest Needs: QB, Edge, OT
1st Round Draft Slot: 2nd Overall
Proj. 2025 Cap Space: $4.3M

The Browns are a mess at 2 of the most important positions in football. We all knew about the QB disaster, but with Myles Garrett requesting out and reportedly willing to hold out if his wish isn’t granted, the Browns have a big hole to fill at Edge as well. The Deshaun Watson contract has the Browns in cap hell, even after restructuring things just to get cap compliant. Finding a QB has to be their top priority, and with the 2nd overall pick they have a chance to land one of the top draftable targets, and with some fancy cap management they might be able to sign one as well. It’s a bit of a rebuild on the docket for CLE, so they need a good offseason.