The Pittsburgh Steelers have long been built on their defense, and the AFC North as a whole has a reputation as a physical, gritty division. But the top two contenders, the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals, boast lots of offensive firepower. The Bengals are led by QB Joe Burrow, and WRs Ja\u2019Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, while Baltimore has QB Lamar Jackson, RB Derrick Henry, and WRs Zay Flowers and free agent pickup DeAndre Hopkins.<\/p>\n
With Cincinnati making an effort to retain both Higgins and Chase and the Ravens signing Hopkins, Steelers analyst Max Starks said on SiriusXM NFL Radio\u2019s The Blitz<\/a> that the Steelers\u2019 trade for CB Jalen Ramsey<\/a> makes sense to help combat some of the receivers they\u2019ll face twice a year.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ve been looking for that opposite corner for Joey Porter Jr., and I think Jalen Ramsey makes perfect sense. Especially when you think about what the lineups are gonna look like now in the AFC North coming up this season, with what the Bengals have done with signing both of their receivers. Didn\u2019t think Tee Higgins was gonna stay there, but he\u2019s there now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo you got two issues to deal with, DeAndre Hopkins now enters the Ravens\u2019 wide receiver room,\u201d Starks said. \u201cI think when you kind of look at those things, it makes sense why you want to pair up the dual cornerbacks with dual wide receivers.\u201d<\/p>\n The Steelers focused on improving their secondary in free agency with the additions of Darius Slay and Brandin Echols, but they felt they could do more, hence why they traded for Ramsey. Last season, in Pittsburgh\u2019s Week 18 matchup against the Bengals, the team had to rely on CB Cory Trice Jr. to cover Ja\u2019Marr Chase. Chase finished the game with 10 receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown.<\/p>\n Now, with Ramsey and Slay joining Porter, the Steelers shouldn\u2019t have such a drastic mismatch at cornerback. While Hopkins\u2019 best football is likely behind him, he\u2019s a nice fit in a Ravens\u2019 wide receiver room, which also features Rashod Bateman in addition to Flowers. Now the Steelers have the personnel to match up against not only their receivers, but TE Mark Andrews as well.<\/p>\n