AFC North Notes: Bengals, Browns, Ravens

Bengals

• The Athletic’s Paul Dehner lists Bengals QB Andy Dalton as the team leader in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) at 5.5 wins above backup Jeff Driskel.
• Dehner ranks OT Cordy Glenn as second on the team at 3.0 WAR, as there are few other options to play tackle on the roster after the loss of first-round OT Jonah Williams. 
• Bengals WR A.J. Green, LB Nick Vigil, DT Geno Atkins, CB William Jackson, WR Tyler Boyd, RB Joe Mixon, DE Carl Lawson and S Jessie Bates are other players with a positive WAR, per Dehner. 
• Dehner says he’s hesitant to use the term “career-threatening” for an undisclosed injury that kept Bengals G Clint Boling out during the spring until he hears more from Boling or the team.
• He adds the Bengals like G Christian Westerman and will give him a shot to start at left guard. 

Browns

Browns TE Demetrius Harris had several teams show interest in him when he became a free agent this offseason, but he called the two-year, $6 million deal he signed with the Browns a “no-brainer” given the talent Cleveland has acquired this offseason. Harris brings something the roster lacks, though, and that’s playoff experience after making the AFC Championship Game with the Chiefs last year. 

“I know how to win. I know what winning feels like. I know how almost getting to the Super Bowl feels,” Harris said via Scott Petrak of the Chronicle-Telegram. “Just want to bring that winning mentality and to show them how to win. And not just make it to the playoffs. Yes, my first goal here is to win the division, but after that we want to win the AFC championship and then a Super Bowl. I want to go beyond the AFC championship. That’s not the real goal. That might be people’s goal, but that’s not the real goal.”

Ravens

The Ravens lost several key pieces from 2018’s elite defense. That hasn’t adversely affected their confidence, though, as LB Matt Judon says the team still has the capability to be great in 2019. 

“We can be legendary, one of the best,” Judon said during an appearance on 105.7 The Fan. “You’ve got to say those things, and you’ve got to believe those things to obtain those things. You can’t be shy or timid to say we can be the best defense out there. . . . Some people are going to call you crazy. They might have called us crazy last year, but we did it, and we obtained it, so that’s what we are going to do again.”