Fantasy Football Draft Guide 2024: AFC North Coaches & Their NFL Systems

Understanding NFL coaching systems is paramount to your success in fantasy football. With the knowledge you can attain, you will have better insights into why players are where they are in the fantasy football rankings, why some players are considered fantasy football sleepers and why others may be considered fantasy busts.

Here in the Fantasy Alarm NFL Draft Guide, we pride ourselves on sharing this knowledge with you in the hopes that this article series, plus the tools we provide such as the Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet, not only help guide you to a fantasy championship, but help you become a better fantasy football player for years to come.

The key to remember is that, once you have the base knowledge of NFL systems, schemes and personnel packages, everything else seems to fall into place rather easily. Everything you see from NFL coaches these days is some sort of derivation from the past. Bill Walsh created the west coast offense and concepts you’re seeing from coaches like Kyle Shanahan and Mike McDaniel can be traced back to then. Sure, every coach likes to put their own spin on things, but there is a base to every coaching tree, and we like to teach you everything from the roots up.

Before we get to the AFC North division, allow me to direct you back to our complete glossary of terms for NFL coaching systems. It would be wise to bookmark the first installment of this series – the AFC East – as it leads off with definitions and explanations of all the terminology we use here. From that page, you will be able to get to every one of the eight NFL divisions. 

At some point, you won’t have to refer back, but it’s always good to keep it handy. Now let’s dive into one of the toughest NFL divisions – the AFC North.

2024 Fantasy Football: AFC North NFL Coaching Systems

Baltimore Ravens

Ravens Offensive Breakdown

Last season was an interesting one for the Ravens as head coach Jim Harbaugh made the decision to go from Greg Roman, the architect of run-first schemes that cater to having a mobile quarterback, to Todd Monken, a noted Air-Raid offensive guy who loves to huck it and chuck it downfield. But what did we get? We got an old-school scheme that saw the Ravens rank first overall in both rushing attempts and rushing yards. And it wasn’t Harbaugh’s doing. You have to credit Monken for making vast adjustments from what we thought he was going to do to an offense that helped Lamar Jackson win the MVP and bring the Ravens to the AFC Championship game.

It starts with the personnel packages Monken turned to for his offense. The Ravens went from running two- and sometimes three-tight end sets roughly 60% of the time to one- and no-tight end sets nearly 80% of the time. That’s a massive change. Monken lived in 11-personnel nearly half the time and then used 21-personnel almost 24% of the time. The heavy use of three-receiver sets helped stretch the defense, both vertically and horizontally, which helped open up some fantastic running lanes for both Lamar Jackson and his running backs.

We expect the personnel packages to stay roughly the same this year, as well as the shift towards more power-gap. The Ravens offensive line may not be ranked all that high this year, but that’s because of some of the personnel changes. The players there now may not be experienced starters, but most have come from within the Baltimore system, so they are both familiar with and able to go back and forth between the zone and power blocking. They want to maintain as much continuity as possible with their new bell cow, Derrick Henry, in the backfield. 

As for the passing game, again, tight end Mark Andrews will be the featured pass catcher. Jackson’s passing is strongest when he is throwing over the middle and Monken wants to keep that highlighted. We expect Zay Flowers to have a similar role to what we saw in 2023, but without a lot of sideline work, he’s always going to be capped a bit for fantasy. Not a knock on him as much as it is Jackson’s offense first and everyone else’s needs come after that. As for the other wide receivers, I think the current fantasy football ADP tells you all you need to know for Draft Day.

One final note for fantasy – if you draft Andrews, which is highly recommended, be sure to use a late-round pick to handcuff Isaiah Likely. We speak often about handcuffing and how it’s about investing in the system and not just the players. This is the perfect example and we witnessed it first-hand last year. When Andrews is out, Likely steps in seamlessly and becomes a fantasy beast just the same.

• Players Who Best Fit The System: Lamar Jackson, Mark Andrews/Isaiah Likely, Derrick Henry
• Worst Fits For The System: Rashod Bateman

Ravens Defensive Breakdown

• Defensive Front: 3-4 With Multi-Front Looks
• Secondary: Man & Cover-4 Zone Mix
  • Man Coverage: 27% (11^th)
  • Zone Coverage: 71.9% (23^rd)

After eight seasons of service under the Ravens banner, defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald left to take the head coaching job in Seattle, leaving Harbaugh with an important choice to make. We all love Lamar Jackson, but the Ravens defense has been the backbone – the pride and joy – of the team, and a change like this should never be taken lightly. That’s why Harbaugh promoted from within and tabbed former inside linebackers coach Zach Orr as the new DC. It should be a relatively seamless transition.

A former Ravens linebacker himself, Orr is expected to maintain Macdonald’s system, which means we will continue to see the 3-4 base and sometimes use four and five linemen up front, depending on the situation. The one thing that will be different is that Orr is expected to increase the amount of blitzing the Ravens do. Orr wants his front seven to be aggressive. Not to a fault, but the former linebacker in him is all about getting to the quarterback.

As for the secondary, Orr will, again, do what Macdonald did last season. The base will be a Cover-3 zone, but he will mix in man coverage situationally. The key for the Ravens defense is their ability to adjust pre snap once the offense has committed. The play call will go in quickly, the defense will set up in whatever coverage they see fit and then will make last-minute adjustments based on what the offense is showing them. With guys like Kyle Hamilton at safety and Roquan Smith in the middle, this defensive unit should continue to shine.

• Players Who Best Fit The System: Roquan Smith, Kyle Hamilton, Marlon Humphrey
• Worst Fits For The System: Trenton Simpson, Marcus Williams

Cincinnati Bengals

Bengals Offensive Breakdown

While the Bengals lost offensive coordinator Brian Callahan to the Titans in the offseason, the offense shouldn’t miss a beat. This has always been Zac Taylor’s system and he has been the play caller for, pretty much, all his time as the head coach. So, the natural progression was for Taylor to promote long-time quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher, and that’s exactly where we’re at.

Taylor’s system is a relatively conservative, west coast-based offense that emulates what we have seen from the Los Angeles Rams under Sean McVay. Taylor spent two years under McVay as a receivers and quarterbacks coach for the Rams, so he took what he knew was working and brought it to the Queen City. He likes to use short, high-percentage passing to set up the run and deeper plays downfield. Small, methodical gains (this offense works at a very slow pace), to set up the big chunk plays is where it’s at for this crew.

Taylor likes to live in 11-personnel most of the time but will also sprinkle in some 12-personnel from time to time. The goal is to have either three receivers or two receivers and two tight ends so there are always three distinct pass catchers the defense needs to worry about. This keeps the defense stretched both horizontally and vertically and tends to open up better running lanes as well. As a result, defenses start playing to the short work and that leaves a guy like Ja'Marr Chase to head downfield and blow things up.

While I would love to tell everyone that this is finally the year Mike Gesicki breaks out, let’s understand that the Bengals do not use the tight end as often as people would like. Tanner Hudson had a few moments last year, but with all the buzz that this will be Tee Higgins’ final year, Gesicki is not the guy who is going to replace him. The scheme just doesn’t dictate that kind of a target share for the position. At best, he’ll probably deliver what Hudson delivered in 2023.

As for the ground game, the Bengals have parted ways with Joe Mixon and brought in free agent Zack Moss to handle the workload. Many are expecting Chase Brown to have a larger role this season and while yes, he may get a few extra looks, Taylor has always been a bell cow back guy. The Bengals were near the bottom in rushing attempts last year, but Mixon was actually near the top in carries among all running backs. If Taylor maintains, then Moss will definitely be someone you want in fantasy. That’s not to say you ignore Brown but go with the coach and his track record before you start buying into all the fantasy football Twitter wish casting. 

• Players Who Best Fit The System: Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Zack Moss
• Worst Fits For The System: Mike Gesicki, Chase Brown

Bengals Defensive Breakdown

• Defensive Front: 4-3 Base With Multi-Front Looks
• Secondary: Outside Press-Man With Cover-3 & 4 Zone Mixed
  • Man Coverage: 28.7 (9^th)
  • Zone Coverage: 70.6 (24^th)

What makes Lou Anarumo so valuable is his ability to adapt. Sure, you can say he works with a 4-3 base and a Cover-3 zone, but that would be an incomplete response to the question of what the Bengals defense looks like. Anarumo likes to have four pass rushers with seven guys falling back into coverage, but which guys are doing what is the question. Everything is so matchup based that pinpointing exactly what he’s going to do is a daunting task.

This isn’t a heavy blitzing team and yet they always seem to be able to generate a ton of pressure on the opposing quarterback. Anarumo likes to focus on gap control at the line, so he is all about the elite interior linemen. Sam Hubbard and B.J. Hill are fantastic at controlling the line of scrimmage, but former Texans DL Sheldon Rankins is going to have to really step up to replace D.J. Reader who is now in Detroit. 

As for the secondary, Anarumo does a fantastic job with this crew. Last year they lost both safeties and struggled early on, but as the season progressed, they continued to improve. They weren’t perfect, but it was a lot better than I thought it was going to be at season’s end.

Expect man coverage on the outside. Anarumo has groomed Cam Taylor-Britt well over the years and he will likely serve as the top corner facing the top opposing wideout. DJ Turner will likely be on the other side, but don’t count out third-year corner Dax Hill either. With the outside guys in man coverage, Anarumo will use multiple zone packages over the middle. Last year, Jordan Battle posted a fantastic rookie campaign, so a rotation of him, Vonn Bell and Geno Stone will help minimize the downfield damage teams will strive for against them.

• Players Who Best Fit The System: Sam Hubbard, Geno Stone, Vonn Bell
• Worst Fits For The System: Sheldon Rankins, DJ Turner

Cleveland Browns

Browns Offensive Breakdown

This offense is riddled with big question marks right now, isn’t it? Which version of Deshaun Watson will we see? Is Nick Chubb going to be ready to open the season as the Browns starting running back? What will Ken Dorsey do as the new offensive coordinator? Those are three major components for this Cleveland offense and fantasy owners are scratching their heads, wondering if it’s safe to draft any of these guys.

Let’s start with Dorsey as the new OC and take it from there. This offense still belongs to head coach Kevin Stefanski, and it seems like it will continue to run as such. Dorsey will have input for sure, but the general scheme remains. It is a west coast offense that uses the run to set up the pass. Stefanski learned about effective blocking schemes when he was working with Gary Kubiak and Rick Dennison in Minnesota, and he has maintained the same outside-zone scheme throughout his time here in Cleveland. 

While we won’t know about Chubb’s readiness, it’s always nice to see a summertime hype video to get you a little amped up. If you are nervous, there’s nothing wrong with drafting him and handcuffing him to D’Onta Foreman. Most will point towards Jerome Ford, but it’s difficult based on the ADP and, let’s face it, if Chubb isn’t ready, Ford will share the workload with Foreman and the latter will likely be the goal-line back. The passing game is all about the play action, something Watson, for years, thrived in. He was one of the best when he was with Houston and even flashed some of that talent at times last season.

Having such a strong rushing game and offensive line makes it a lot easier for a quarterback to work out of play action and the subsequent chunk plays that come out of it are plentiful. Watson’s ability to extend plays with his legs also helps in a major way and with added receiving weapons, he should fare well, so long as his head’s in the game. That’s the part that concerns us all and, unfortunately, we don’t have the ability to read his mind. Risk versus reward doesn’t even matter though, since Watson’s ADP makes him a second QB in a single-QB league.

One adjustment I do implore you to make is with regard to the tight end, David Njoku. While I remain a big fan, you have to expect some pullback on the target share now that Jerry Jeudy is on the roster and both David Bell and Cedric Tillman are pushing for larger roles. Last year, Alex Van Pelt leaned heavily on Njoku because the receiver room was lacking. I may not love Jeudy, but we should see a lot of targets shift back to the receiving corps.

• Players Who Best Fit The System: Deshaun Watson, Nick Chubb, Amari Cooper
• Worst Fits For The System: Elijah Moore

Browns Defensive Breakdown

• Defensive Front: 4-3 With Multi-Front Looks
• Secondary: Man Outside With Mix Of Cover-1 & Cover-3 On The Inside
  • Man Coverage: 42.3% (1^st)
  • Zone Coverage: 56.1% (32^nd)

Jim Schwartz is one of the best defensive coordinators in the business. His extensive experience in the NFL as both a coach and coordinator is fantastic, but it’s his ability to adjust with the times that makes him so invaluable. Over the years and at every stop, Schwartz has tweaked his system and adjusted full-season game plans based off of what he’s seeing in games and around the rest of the league. His aggressive style has also helped transform the Browns defense from a good unit to a great one.

It starts with Schwartz’ defensive line which is typically a four-man front lined up in a wide-zone formation. That puts edge rushers Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith on the outside of the tackles in an effort to spread the line more and isolate the tackles one-on-one. This can often lead to wider gaps for blitzing linebackers and/or safeties to come barreling through. The drawback to the formation is that it becomes a struggle to stop the run if you don’t have high-end interior linemen.

Dalvin Tomlinson is solid, but the Browns went out and added Ohio State’s Michael Hall in the second round to help plug the gaps. If he can help solidify the interior, the run defense should improve exponentially. In the secondary, Schwartz’ aggressive tendencies usually leave him with man coverage for his corners while using a mix of zone coverage in the middle. Both Denzel Ward and Martin Emerson have been strong on the outside and Schwartz trusts both of them, as well as slot corner Greg Newsome, enough to let them handle the work one-on-one. 

From there, he mixes in zone coverage across the middle depending on what he’s reading and will use his safeties at varying depths to ensure they don’t get beaten over the top. If you’re dealing with a quarterback with a quick read-and-release, you may need to drop one of the linebackers into coverage to help, but again, with the way Schwartz adjusts in game, it’s a very simple maneuver to make the change.

• Players Who Best Fit The System: Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, Martin Emerson
• Worst Fits For The System: Rodney McLeod

Pittsburgh Steelers

Steelers Offensive Breakdown

Welcome to the Arthur Smith Era in the Steel City. The new offensive coordinator was lambasted in Atlanta for his play calling and personnel choices, but still landed a gig here in Pittsburgh. Some believe it’s Mike Tomlin’s way to deflect any blame away from him – a proverbial meat shield, if you will – but you have to think there is some semblance of belief in his coaching in order to land an NFL job after what we witnessed last year.

It starts with the ground game as Smith is a throwback with a run-first mentality. We watched him in Tennessee with Derrick Henry and then in Atlanta with – well, we can say Bijan Robinson, but it was a whole lot of Tyler Allgeier as well. Smith gets a tandem here with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren who will see the bulk of the touches, but can we rule out some usage of Cordarrelle Patterson? It sounds gross, but they gave him a two-year, $6 million deal, which probably tells us he’s not just there for kickoff returns. Yes, you Scott Fish Bowl people can enjoy that late pick, but in seasonal formats? No thanks.

Smith uses a wide-zone blocking scheme, something the Steelers used for much of last season and a scheme Najee Harris lived in during his time at Alabama. It seemed to work for Harris last season, though we do expect a fairly strong split between him and Warren, who profiles as the pass-catching third-down back. Smith will move both in and out throughout the game and the season, so watch the ADP and where you’re drafting them.

In this version of the west coast offense, Smith uses the run to set up the pass. He prefers a methodical, efficient quarterback as opposed to some big gunslinging hero and likes to use the short, high-percentage passes to help move the chains. While we may not love the Falcons quarterbacks for fantasy purposes, you cannot deny the fact that guys like Desmond Ridder and Marcus Mariota still had strong completion percentages. Even the ghost of Matt Ryan posted a completion rate above 65% in his final season. 

Smith doesn’t want his quarterback to take risks, so a quick release is important to his gameplan. They need someone to step in for Diontae Johnson this year to help with the underneath work, so keep a watchful eye on some extra two-TE sets. Pat Freiermuth profiles more as the pass catcher than Darnell Washington, but we also know how he used Jonnu Smith over Kyle Pitts, so just be wary.

Obviously, with such a heavy run scheme, play action is a big thing as well. This is where we expect Russell Wilson and George Pickens to connect the most. Pickens is a strong downfield threat and the hope is that he and Wilson mindmeld on the field so that when Wilson rolls out, Pickens knows exactly where Wilson wants him to be.

This is going to be a work in progress throughout the season, I think. Lots of committee work all around, so for fantasy purposes, Pickens and Freiermuth probably have the most appeal while Harris and Warren can be viewed as depth backs for your roster. The ADP puts them around 80-90, which usually means your RB3 or 4 depending on your early-round fantasy draft strategy. 

As for Justin Fields, I get the potential and I get the upside, especially for those who love their mobile quarterbacks. I just don’t know if he takes the field at all unless Wilson gets hurt. Again, a work in progress, so keep a watchful eye on things during training camp.

• Players Who Best Fit The System: Russell Wilson, Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren
• Worst Fits For The System: Calvin Austin, Cordarrelle Patterson

Steelers Defensive Breakdown

• Defensive Front: 3-4 Base With Multi-Front Looks
• Secondary: Cover-2 Zone/Man-Coverage Mix
  • Man Coverage: 30.8% (7^th)
  • Zone Coverage: 68.5% (26^th)

Mike Tomlin and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin have been very likeminded over their first two years together running this defense. They both subscribe to the belief that stopping the run is the top priority and rushing the passer as the second. They task their players to be versatile in an effort to move them all around the field, disguise pressure and coverage and keep offenses guessing. Given their personnel and the scheme, it looks like another strong season for the Steelers defense.

Up front, the Steelers are loaded with talent. The base may be 3-4, but with guys like Larry Ogunjobi, Cameron Heyward and, of course, T.J. Watt, they can shift back and forth to three and four-man fronts with ease and still not worry about what is happening in the middle. Nose-tackle Keeanu Benton is great at closing gaps up the middle and the addition of Patrick Queen to this linebacker corps is going to be huge. He can be a fierce pass rusher but is also strong when he falls back into coverage. 

In the secondary, Tomlin has always favored the Cover-2, dating back to his time with Tampa Bay, but has definitely been more open to making adjustments to different zones. What will be interesting to see is how much they utilize man coverage. They ranked seventh, but outside of Joey Porter, the group was pretty suspect. The hope is that Donte Jackson, acquired in the Diontae Johnson trade, can lock down one side of the field with Porter on the other, but again, I expect them to stay in zone more.

Lots of blitzing, strong sack totals – Watt should be your No. 1 fantasy IDP target and don’t be afraid to take him early – and an overall strong game plan. People forget how strong Tomlin has been as a defensive coach, so expect another good season here and maybe, just maybe, he keeps his streak of over-.500 seasons alive. If not, well, I guess we have Arthur Smith to blame – again.

• Players Who Best Fit The System: T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, Patrick Queen, Minkah Fitzpatrick
• Worst Fits For The System: Donte Jackson, Elandon Roberts

2024 Fantasy Football: Related Draft Guide Articles

Check out our other 2024 fantasy football draft guide articles for more tips and guidance as you get ready for the upcoming campaign:

• NFC East Coaches & Systems
• NFL Players On New Teams
• Fantasy Football RB Rooms
• NFL Injury Report