Everyone is aware of the elite talents of Lamar Jackson, TJ Watt, Joe Burrow, and Myles Garrett, but today we are going to dive into one breakout player from each team in the AFC North. This can be a solid player that is ready to breakout and become a star, or a young underused player that is ready to step into a bigger role and help his team. 2022 Rookies were excluded from this exercise as you can’t make a leap if we have not seen you play in the NFL. We will be diving into one breakout candidate from each team leading up to the season.

Pittsburgh Steelers – EDGE Alex Highsmith

Alex Highsmith is entering his 3rd season after being picked by Pittsburgh in the 3rd round out of Charlotte. He is a a bit lighter than your typical EDGE at 242 pounds but tested with good speed (4.7 40 time) and great explosiveness at the 2020 NFL Combine (96th percentile broad jump for DEs) for an overall Relative Athletic Score of 8.23. EDGE has one of the strongest correlations between RAS and NFL Production. You need a certain level of traits athletically, and Highsmith meets them. A part-time starter in year 1, rotating with Bud Dupree, Highsmith won the job after Dupree’s departure last year. The Charlotte product has an elite motor and plays every down like it’s his last. He has great pursuit and never gives up on plays even if it’s an outside run to the direction opposite of him. He is a solid run defender and does a good job disengaging blockers on runs his way. As a pass rusher he shows great speed to get to the EDGE and has a nice rip through move to get past LTs. He tallied 6 sacks and 25 pressures this year. Most of which came off of beating the OT to the spot with speed, his rip through move, stunt blitzes, and the occasional spin move. If he can continue to develop his pass rush arsenal, mixing it up with more inside moves to counter his speed rush, I could see him tallying double digit sacks this season.

Cincinnati Bengals – LT Jonah Williams

With all the deserved praise of Cincinnati’s last two first round picks, Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, many outside of the city forget their 2019 choice: Jonah Williams. Heading into 2019 Draft Day, many expected the Bengals to go Linebacker or to keep Dwayne Haskins (R.I.P.) in Ohio. Fortunately, they went in a different direction and drafted the only good OL they’ve picked in recent memory. Williams, a 5 star recruit out of high school, became just the second true freshman OL to ever start under Nick Saban at Alabama. He told reporters the only places he knew on Alabama’s campus were his dorm, the business school, and the football facility as a freshman because he spent most of his time watching film on his iPad. He started every game of his 3-year Alabama career and was a unanimous All-American as a junior. Williams unfortunately missed his rookie year with a neck injury, but played 10 games in 2020 grading out with a 70.1 PFF grade, by far the best on the Bengals OL. Last season, Jonah took another step forward, playing in every game outside of a meaningless Week 18 bout with Cleveland, and again led the team’s OL posting a 77.1 PFF grade. If you’re into OL play, I recommend you check out OL Guru Brandon Thorn and his site Trench Warfare where last month he sat down with Jonah and they broke down his 2021 film. It is clear that Williams has made great strides in his footwork, punching, and ability to slow down bull rushes and long arms maneuvers. He keeps rushers on their toes by mixing up his approach every snap, and almost never has a mental lapse. Still just 24 years old and now with some better, more experienced running mates on the OL, I fully expect Jonah to continue to progress and take a leap from an above average to really good Left Tackle in 2022.

Baltimore Ravens – WR Rashod Bateman

Rashod Bateman may seem like an obvious candidate as the Ravens breakout player solely because of opportunity. Baltimore traded away Hollywood Brown and is now left with a WR room of just Bateman, Devin Duvernay, James Proche, and Tylan Wallace. Someone has to catch these passes from Lamar Jackson other than just Mark Andrews. However, it is more than just opportunity and target volume that I like about Bateman. He was a really good prospect in the 2021 Draft. I had him as my #3 ranked WR in the class behind only Ja’Marr Chase and Jaylen Waddle. He has not lived up to that ranking yet, but more time working with Lamar should really help their chemistry on the field. Bateman suffered a groin injury early in camp last year that caused him to miss most of camp and the first five weeks of the season. When he got back, he played 6 games before Lamar ended up getting hurt and missing the rest of the season. Bateman started to get more comfortable toward the end of the year, even with the drop in QB play, and a full camp working with Jackson should be very helpful for both players. Bateman had a strong prospect profile coming out of Minnesota. Breakout age, or how young a player is when he accounts for 20% of his team’s total offense, has a very strong correlation to success for WR prospects. Bateman had a breakout age of 18.8 years old at Minnesota which is 93rd percentile among WR prospects. At 6’0″, 190 lbs, Bateman isn’t the biggest, but he is definitely big enough to win on the outside and a smooth enough route runner to win in the slot. He showed the ability to do both in college. He probably does not have the upside to be an elite WR in this league, but Rashod Bateman is talented enough to be a consistent 1,000 yard receiver starting this year. Expect Baltimore to use him in a variety of different positions as they try to re-sculpt what is left of their WR room.

Cleveland Browns – CB Greg Newsome II

In what will likely end up being their last first round pick until 2025, the Browns took Greg Newsome, a long athletic corner out of Northwestern. The 6 foot corner ran a 4.39 and had a 40 inch vertical leap which resulted in a 9.66 Relative Athletic Score (RAS). He also has arms over 31 inches which is a minimum threshold for great CBs in the NFL. While not as flashy as some of the bigger names in the class (Sewell, Parsons, Chase, Lawrence, and his former teammate Slater), Newsome had very promising rookie season opposite of one of the league’s best Corners – Denzel Ward. He led all rookie CBs in man coverage grade and allowed the 3rd lowest completion percentage among rookies in press coverage per PFF. Cornerback is one of the most difficult positions to have immediate success in the NFL, and Newsome often looked like a veteran. He is at his best in man coverage where he has the long speed to run with burners and the length to disrupt at the catch point. He is also a willing tackler and has the size to bring down bigger runners. The Browns spent their first pick on Day 2 in the 2022 Draft on another big outside CB – Martin Emerson Jr. You can never have enough good CBs. If Emerson hits, then Newsome could spend a lot of time in the slot much like how the Ravens have used Marlon Humphrey. Newsome has the talent to play either role, and with a good Secondary group around him, there is no reason to believe he can’t ascend to become a great Corner in 2022.