Three reasons the Ravens will win the AFC North

The AFC North may be the most competitive division in the NFL in 2023 with every team seemingly getting better this offseason. Here are three reasons the Ravens will take the North.

A happy Lamar Jackson

For a large part of the offseason, many believed Jackson had played his last snap in Baltimore. But the Ravens finally put their money where their mouth is and made him the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL. It's a lot to invest in a player who has yet to make it past the Divisional round of the playoffs, but the 2019 NFL MVP is still one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

Jackson also missed five regular-season games along with the team's Wild Card matchup, which it lost 24-17 to the Bengals. If he had played, things may have turned out differently. Jackson can rewrite his script in 2023.

Weapons upon weapons

Baltimore signed wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Nelson Agholor in free agency as well as drafting WR Zay Flowers in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. They join an offense that already includes All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews, former first-round pick WR Rashod Bateman and RB J.K. Dobbins.

It would be difficult to argue that Jackson's 2023 supporting cast isn't the best he's had in his career, and he knows it. Jackson said he wants to "throw for 6,000" yards this season, which would destroy Peyton Manning's record of 5,477 yards. Given the people he's throwing to, it might not be as far-fetched as it seems

Young defense

The Ravens defense has a ton of upside heading into 2023. Safety Kyle Hamilton and edge rusher David Ojabo could take massive leaps in year two after showing promise in 2022. Hamilton had 62 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble as a rookie. Ojabo, who tore his ACL during his Pro Day, only played in two games to end the season but had a strip sack in his NFL debut.

Along with both second-year players, Baltimore also has LB Patrick Queen (23), edge rusher Odafe Oweh (24), LB Roquan Smith (26), safety Marcus Williams (26) and CB Marlon Humphrey (26) as young, key pieces to its defense.