Ranking the AFC North quarterbacks in 2019

The 2019 NFL season opener doesn’t kick off until September 5th. Still, it’s never too early so start thinking about who the best AFC North quarterbacks will be this year.

Here are my AFC North quarterbacks in 2019:

4. Andy Dalton, Bengals

Though he’s had his moments throughout his 8-year tenure as Cincinnati’s starting quarterback, Andy Dalton is no higher than the 4th best quarterback in this division to me.

There was once a time when Dalton averaged 10 wins a season over a 5 year span to start his career. But that seems like ages ago. Dalton has still put up solid numbers as of late, but a lot of those are gained in garbage time with the Bengals often trailing.

The Bengals finished dead last in the division last year with Andy Dalton missing five games, but the Red Rifle is just 12-15 in his last 27 starts. Making Dalton nearly a hundred-million dollar man probably wasn’t the best use of money for Cincinnati.

Dalton  has eclipsed a 92 passer rating just once in his NFL career. Coming off a season with pedestrian numbers and just an 89.6 passer rating, I can’t imagine the case being much better in 2019.

3. Lamar Jackson, Ravens

Bengals fans would argue with ranking Lamar Jackson above Dalton, but there is good reason for this. Jackson’s stats were less than pedestrian, as he garnered just 6 passing touchdowns in 7 career starts. He also racked up 12 total fumbles last year, according to Pro Football Reference (which I can’t act like it’s not an eye-popping amount).

Even with this, Lamar still found ways to win close games. Jackson only threw 3 interceptions en route to a 6-1 season as the Ravens starting quarterback. What makes Jackson so hard to stop is his rushing ability. The rookie quarterback added nearly 700 yards on the ground and an additional 5 scores.

His playoff performance wasn’t pretty by any means, but I give him a bit of a pass as he was the youngest quarterback to start a playoff game in the modern era. Jackson must improve his passing if he want’s to be more than just a threat to run the ball, but I expect him to take a step forward and be better than Andy Dalton in year two.

2. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers

Before you let this send you into a tizzy, hear me out. Ben Roethlisberger has been the single most important players to the Steelers for over a decade now. Though he’s still putting up yards and touchdowns, Roethlisberger has struggled with his decision making.

Big Ben now has 59 interceptions over the past 4 seasons – more than any quarterback in the NFL. That is a number that came while he had receivers like Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant and JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Roethlisberger is a 37-year old quarterback who is going to be without one of the leagues best receivers this season. Ben has stood alone as the AFC North’s best quarterback for a long time now, but 2019 may be the year that Ben passes that torch to someone else.

1. Baker Mayfield, Browns

It’s not a stretch to have Baker as the number one quarterback in the AFC North. In fact, there are several key reasons why this is probably going to be the case in 2019. As Roethlisberger continues to inch closer to his 40’s, Baker Mayfield hasn’t yet reached quarterback prime.

Baker finished his rookie campaign with 27 touchdowns, despite just 13 starts. Over his last 7 games to finish the season, Mayfield managed 17 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions. Astonishingly, Mayfield exceeded a 121 quarterback rating 4 times in his last 7 games.

With Odell Beckham Jr. and an arsenal of weapons at his disposal, Mayfield should take an even bigger leap in year two. We knew Ben’s reign wouldn’t last forever. This will be the year he finally passes the flame to another quarterback in the AFC North.