During this year’s free agency cycle and 2026 NFL draft, all four AFC North teams made significant moves to add talent to their rosters. While more additions are still possible over the next few months, everyone’s core players are mostly set ahead of the 2026 season.
How do the different positional groups in the division stack up to one another? Let’s rank the AFC North squads by position, continuing with the interior offensive line.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers
Starters: Gennings Dunker, Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick
Depth: Brock
Hoffman, Ryan McCollum, Steven Jones
At 24 years old entering this third career season, Zach Frazier has quickly emerged as one of the top centers in the league. He’s coming off back-to-back seasons having ranked Top 8 among all centers in PFF grade and was Top 5 in pass block grade in 2025. The former West Virginia product has a strong argument for best offensive lineman in the division. Flanking him to the right is another rising third-year player in Mason McCormick, whose started 31 games in his first two seasons. McCormick had a solid overall campaign in 2025 and was a better graded pass blocker than run blocker. Rookie third-round pick Gennings Dunker out of Iowa is projected to start at the opposite guard spot in his first season. Dunker is an accomplished first-team All-Big Ten prospect with the potential to acclimate well to the NFL early on.
2. Cincinnati Bengals
Starters: Dylan Fairchild, Ted Karras, Dalton Risner
Depth: Brian Parker II, Connor Lew, Jalen Rivers
The Bengals re-signed Dalton Risner this offseason after he started 11 games for the team in 2025. Risner had a decent first season in Cincinnati, grading 17th in pass blocking and 23rd in run blocking among all offensive guards per PFF. He will start opposite returning center Ted Karras and fellow guard Dylan Fairchild. Fairchild was a third-round pick out of Georgia in 2025 and started all 15 of his played games in his rookie season, playing nearly 1,000 offensive snaps. His 31 pressures allowed and six penalties committed highlight room for improvement entering Year 2. Karras is a 33-year-old veteran who ranked 22nd in overall PFF grade last year among centers with a 63.1 mark. He was Top 12 at the position in pass block grading. Karras has been a mainstay at center for the Bengals since joining the team in 2022, starting 67 games.
3. Cleveland Browns
Starters: Zion Johnson, Elgton Jenkins, Teven Jenkins
Depth: Kendrick Green, Parker Brailsford, Zak Zinter
The Browns are set to roll out a new-look interior offensive line in 2026. Longtime veteran starting guards Wyatt Teller (signed with Houston Texans) and Joel Bitonio (retired) are gone, as is center Ethan Pocic – who started 57 games for the Browns over the past four seasons. Teven Jenkins, who signed with the Browns last year and started four games, is returning as a projected starting guard. Cleveland added two veterans in free agency to replace their departed starters: Zion Johnson and Elgton Jenkins. Jenkins, 30, was graded as a Top 5 pass blocker (per PFF) last season and the 25th overall center. Johnson was a former first-round pick in 2022 that had an up-and-down four years with the Los Angeles Chargers. At 26 years old, however, Johnson is still in his athletic prime and could potentially right the ship in a new situation.
4. Baltimore Ravens
Starters: John Simpson, Danny Pinter, Olaivavega Ioane
Depth: Emery Jones Jr., Jovaughn Gwyn, Andrew Vorhees, Corey Bullock
The Ravens lost premier center Tyler Linderbaum in free agency, which is a big blow to their spot in these rankings. They did not make a splash move to replace him, instead only signing a pair of unproven centers to one-year deals (Danny Pinter and Jovaughn Gwyn). A veteran signing or trade for a more reliable center remains possible over the summer, but for now Pinter, Gwyn, and Corey Bullock will compete for the starting role. They did, however, make acquisitions to upgrade both guard spots. Veteran John Simpson, while not without his flaws, should provide more stability in his second stint with the team. At right guard, incoming first-round pick “Vega” Ioane will start right away and projects as an instant-impact player. The Ravens will need him to play quality football early to help anchor the interior offensive line. Ioane’s ability to develop as his rookie season progresses is a determining factor for the ceiling of this group.
