To say the AFC North is interesting would be an understatement.
The Cincinnati Bengals helped build intrigue in one of the NFL’s better divisions this offseason with the removal of Marvin Lewis and arrival of Zac Taylor.
But the Cleveland Browns — and the offseason hype surrounding them — are on a whole different level.
Here’s new Browns wideout Odell Beckham Jr. talking about Baker Mayfield and his plans for the team with GQ’s Cam Wolf:
“He’s Brett Favre—he’s going to be a Hall of Famer.” He’s excited about the rest of the first-round talent filling up the roster, too, so much so that he thinks this is a championship-level team. Dynasty-level, even. “I plan on being there for the next five years and trying to bring as many championships there as possible,” he says, “turning [the Browns] into the new Patriots.”
Of course, the Browns will have to win something other than offseason awards before comments like this are anywhere close to justified.
But the Browns have made some interesting moves this offseason. They traded for Beckham, shuffled the coaching staff and had a quality draft with names like Greedy Williams.
If anything, this immense confidence stemming from an in-state rival should only further motivate the Bengals, who suffered their first sweep in the Battle of Ohio since 2002 last year.
The Browns still have to actually prove it will all work on the field — and the Bengals should have plenty of motivation to put a stop to it.
