Should Steelers Be Skeptical Of Harsh AFC North Quarterback Rankings For 2023?

The Pittsburgh Steelers have both a storied and convoluted history with the Cleveland Browns. While the current iteration of the Browns is actually the newest team in the AFC North, the backstory has the original Browns leaving the city to become the Baltimore Ravens, misery ensued in Cleveland, and they brought back the "new" Browns in 1999 with fanfare, celebrity Drew Carey in attendance, and a resounding 43-0 loss to the Steelers. When it's about the Steelers and Browns, it tends to take on a life of its own, so when the Cleveland media decided to rank the quarterbacks within the division for 2023, it was intriguing and didn't disappoint in being just as topsy-turvy as the Browns franchise itself.

Steelers Slide As Rivals Predicted To Tower

You may expect to see Deshaun Watson comfortably at the top of a ranking system created by a Cleveland representative, but it seems that The Factory Of Sadness comes with a dose of self-honesty this year.

The Cincinnati Bengals find themselves at the top of the quarterback heap for the AFC North in 2023, according to Jacob Roach from BrownsWire, for pretty much the same reasons that the NFL considers the Bengals among the upper echelon. With the receiving duo of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins primed for another high-flying season, even the drama surrounding Joe Mixon can't put a damper on how the Cincinnati situation is going into this season. 

"Joe Burrow and the Bengals have easily the best weapons around the quarterback position led by Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Leading his team to back-to-back AFC Championship games, winning one, despite shaky offensive line play is impressive."

For a time, it seemed like the Ravens would be floundering in the shallow end trying to find a starting quarterback with the Lamar Jackson contract back-and-forth, but when the sides found whatever common ground got the job done, it solidified the position for Baltimore in 2023 and beyond. Had the Ravens lost Jackson, there is little doubt that a separate ranking would be required for the haphazard patchwork that would be the Baltimore quarterback situation, but as it stands now, Roach ranks the Ravens quarterback at second in the AFC North. The receiver room is led by Odell Beckham Jr. and rookie Zay Flowers, which on their own would be hard-pressed to shoulder a team, but the one-man-band that is Jackson makes the May-December receiving duo something much more legitimate.

"When you have number eight in the backfield, you always feel like you have a chance and the drafting of Zay Flowers and signing of Odell Beckham gives Jackson the best group of pass catchers he has had in years."

Steelers Apparently Lower Than The Browns?

This is where things go a bit off the rails, though considering the Cleveland-based source, it isn't necessarily unexpected.

The entire basis behind Deshaun Watson claiming the number three spot in the AFC North quarterback rankings comes down to the sheer hope that he is the same athletic playmaker that he was at Clemson and with the Houston Texans. Perhaps if the 2022 version of Watson had shown any glimmer of who he had been before his deserved suspension, this would make some sense, but it was far from the reality as he played in five games and never truly looked comfortable, tallying barely only 1,102 yards, seven touchdowns, six total turnovers, but managed to get sacked 20 times in those five games.

All this is in stark contrast to the perspective given by Roach on why the Browns are ahead of the Steelers on this list, which could be summarized as a hopeful outlook paired with a Nick Chubb-led rushing attack. Browns bias or not, based on 2022, one can hardly envision Watson as a dynamic leader who would be content letting the run lead the offense.

"He has an improved group of pass catchers and the best running back to help take pressure off him in the offense. Pair that with the best offensive line in the division and Watson is set up to reclaim his position as one of the best quarterbacks in the league."

Steelers Embrace Underdog Role Regardless Of The Source

Well, it seems that a huge series of upgrades on the offensive line, at cornerback, in the secondary, and at tight end did nothing to make the Steelers into a team capable of improving from 2022 - at least in comparison to their AFC North rivals. Luckily, those of us who actually observed the offseason in full, know that the squad that Pittsburgh will field in 2023 will be very different from the one that willed itself to a 9-8 record.

This list is all about which quarterback is the best in the division, and the kneejerk reaction is to look at the resumes so far by the four individuals and Kenny Pickett, on paper, seems like the logical choice to be the one catching up to the others - but this isn't about what they have done in the past, this is about what they can do in 2023. Pickett showed his fire as he bucked against the uninspired reins of Matt Canada, and by the season's end had found an almost-sandlot style of play that got the job done.

The reasons given for why Pickett is destined to be the basement dweller comes across as a generic cut-and-paste without the desire to look beyond a sophomore season.

"After improving the offensive line and a year in the system, Pickett is primed to take a step forward in 2023."

With such a simplistic take, it's hard to be too frustrated at the rankings. Especially when we all know that Pickett needs no added reason to ball out on Sundays.

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