AFC North Rookies Expected to Have 2026 Impact Seasons

NFL training camps are right around the corner, and each of the 32 teams is looking to its rookies to be the next generation of stars. The AFC North, meanwhile, is looking to send a team to the Super Bowl for the first time since the Bengals’ loss in Super Bowl LVI.

In the past draft, the four teams made their selections to better their teams. Three of the teams had first-round picks, while the Bengals shipped theirs off for Dexter Lawrence. Xgscore predicting each player’s chance at Rookie of the Year is a fun way to keep up with the game, and each team has a player or two worth keeping an eye on.

Baltimore Ravens: Ja’Kobi Lane

The Ravens continuously draft well. While the obvious instant-impact player would be first-round pick, Vega Ioane, let’s think a bit outside the box, especially since the Ravens need a reliable option opposite Zay Flowers. Lamar Jackson is considered a run-first quarterback, but if you give him a great receiving corps, he can sling it.

Ja’Kobi Lane was a star at USC over his final two seasons. In his breakout campaign in 2024, Lane hauled in 43 passes for 535 yards and 12 touchdowns, leading the Trojans. Last year, he recorded 49 receptions for 745 yards and just four touchdowns. When you play opposite the Biletnikoff Award winner, that’s going to happen.

Lane is a six-foot-four-plus, 200-pound athletic freak with a larger-than-life catch radius. On a handful of occasions, he had to go up and get the ball and came down with a highlight-reel catch. He will be a reliable red zone option at the very least, with a possibility of a Tee Higgins-esque impact as a ceiling.

Cleveland Browns: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren

The Browns picked two receivers with their first two picks, but their impact could be limited by the quagmire at quarterback. So, the top defender of the Browns’ draft class could be the real impact player.

The Browns picked Emmanuel McNeil-Warren with the 58th-overall pick, significantly later than most experts expected. He was a three-year star at Toledo as a strong safety, recording five interceptions and 214 total tackles.

What he will likely star in is his ability to create chaos. In addition to those five interceptions, McNeil-Warren forced NINE fumbles. In a division like the AFC North, causing chaos and stealing possessions could be the difference between a win and a loss.

He’s a tackling machine and is a hard hitter. If there’s an Xgscore prediction of who will force the first turnover of the game, McNeil-Warren would consistently be a great choice.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Kaden Wetjen

Wait, the Steelers took two tackles, a wide receiver, a quarterback, and a cornerback with their first five picks. Why a kick returner?

Kade Wetjen is more than just a kick returner. However, as a kick returner, he was the single best in college football over the last two seasons. He was given the Jet Award in both 2024 and 2025 as the nation’s top returner.

In 2023, he returned 14 kicks for 335 yards and seven punts for 63 yards. Then, he broke out in 2024. Wetjen brought back 26 kicks (led the Big Ten) for 727 yards (led the nation) for a Big Ten-best 28.0 yards per return and a touchdown. As a punt returner, he amassed 328 yards and a touchdown on 26 returns.

Last year, he was even better. Wetjen returned just 16 kicks, but went for 476 yards, or 29.8 yards per, and a touchdown. He earned his All-American spot with his 21 punt returns for 563 yards (26.8 yards per return) and three touchdowns.

The Steelers need a playmaker in special teams, and Wetjen will be just that.

Cincinnati Bengals: Cashius Howell

Finally, the Bengals didn’t feel like a first-round pick would be worth the 10th-overall pick, so they traded for the NFL’s top defensive tackle. As a result, their first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft was at 41 overall.

Helmet scouts groaned at the selection of Cashius Howell, considering Shemar Stewart also went to Texas A&M, and he was a non-factor as a rookie. However, Howell did something Stewart couldn’t: get sacks. In his five-year career, Howell amassed 27 sacks. 15.5 of those sacks came over the last two seasons when he played in the SEC.

To start, Howell will likely be a pass-rush specialist, which is fine, considering the Bengals have had less-than-zero pass rush from players not named Trey Hendrickson over the last three years. If the Bengals are going to get back to the playoffs, Howell will have to be a big part. If the Bengals can actually get a pass rush going, getting to the playoffs may just be the start of what this team could do.