The use of the tight end position is the current evolution in the NFL. With gigantic wide receivers playing in-line like Green Bay's JerMichael Finley and New Orleans' Jimmy Graham, the AFC North hasn't really dipped that far down the line just yet.

A position of rising strength in the AFC North, it's young and it's uber-talented.

A division that used to pride itself heavily on the pounding bruising style of Jerome Bettis, Jamal Lewis and Corey Dillon has made way for smaller, multi-faceted backs.

Teams across the league are starting to see the value of a dominant center, and two teams in the AFC North are on the front line of this. It would be three if not for the injury of the center of another team.

Two teams selected offensive guards in the first round of the 2011 draft (the Steelers took David DeCastro, the Bengals took Kevin Zeitler), and the Ravens gave a big extension to another one - RG Marshal Yanda.

The AFC North has improved quite a bit in terms of its passing offenses. What used to be considered a grind-it-out, smashmouth goup of teams now looks to become one of the better aerial assaulting divisions in football.

To say the Steelers have been bitten by the injury bug is like saying you've been bitten by a grizzly bear. It's going to leave a mark.

A shift in skill among Baltimore's defense makes the team's 2012 squad look as strong as it usually is, but the strength is in the secondary as opposed to their front seven.

This time last year, the Bengals weren't expected to add enough wins in 2011 to their dismal total in 2010 to make enough to qualify for the playoffs. How wrong people were.

The Browns failed to move up in the draft to get to a spot where they could take QB Robert Griffin III, instead, swinging a deal with Minnesota to ensure they could get RB Trent Richardson. Their other first round pick was QB Brandon Weeden.