Fantasy Football Draft Guide 2025: AFC North Coaches & Their NFL Systems

Having a comprehensive understanding of NFL coaching schemes is paramount to your success as a fantasy football player. With the knowledge you can attain, you will have better insights into why players are where they are in our fantasy football rankings, why people take them where they do in both a fantasy football mock draft as well as in real drafts, and of course, why some are considered fantasy football sleepers versus fantasy football 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, will not only help guide you to a fantasy championship but also 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.

2025 Fantasy Football: AFC North NFL Coaching Systems

Baltimore Ravens

Ravens Offensive Breakdown

While Todd Monken’s first year as the Ravens' offensive coordinator was applauded by most and saw Lamar Jackson earn MVP honors, it was his second season that things really took off. Jackson should have received the MVP for a second-straight season, posting over 4,000 passing yards for the first time in his career and a career-best 41 touchdown passes, but perhaps the voters refrained due to the presence of Derrick Henry and a rushing attack that dominated the NFL. Regardless of the accolades, this Ravens offense looked spectacular, and fantasy owners will certainly want to be invested.

Monken likes to keep defenses guessing, and his use of multiple personnel packages did just that last year. While the Ravens used 11 and 12-personnel for the majority of their packages, they also ran 21 and 22-personnel a significant amount of time. This kept defenses on their heels, trying to figure out what the Ravens were going to do, and given the extensive weapons on this roster, it worked.

Derrick Henry leads this ground attack once again, and his presence does so much for Jackson and the rest of this team. He’s a bell-cow back who runs like a bull on the inside and also has the speed (and stiff-arms) to cut to the outside and toss aside anyone who gets in his way. He’s feared on all the specifically designed running plays, but when you factor in the RPO work, he’s an absolute nightmare for defenses. Imagine trying to tackle this guy when he has a head of steam, and you were just looking to stop Jackson? Brutal.

As for the passing, again, the use of so many different personnel packages has the defense scratching its head. Targets predominantly go towards the middle of the field, and the passing work features the tight ends while the wide receivers tend to handle most of the perimeter work. The good thing for fantasy owners is that we know how consolidated the targets are. Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman are probably the only receivers worth owning (sorry, DeAndre Hopkins), and Mark Andrews will lead the tight ends. 

One aspect we did identify last season was the heavier lean on Isaiah Likely for his blocking. In match-ups against soft run defenses, the Ravens knew Henry would dominate. Likely played more snaps simply because he’s the better blocker. So, not to tip their hand, they incorporated him a bit more in the overall passing attack, but remember that Andrews was and still is the top guy. 

• Best Fits for the System: Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, Mark Andrews
• Worst Fits for the System: Zay Flowers, DeAndre Hopkins

Ravens Defensive Breakdown

• Defensive Front: 3-4 with multi-front looks
• Secondary: Man/Zone mix with heavier Cover-4
  • Man Coverage: 24.4% (18^th)
  • Zone Coverage: 71.1% (10^th)

The Ravens' transition from Mike Macdonald to Zachary Orr was not as easy as they would have liked. Macdonald is an absolute mastermind when it comes to coverage schemes and finding ways to get pressure on the quarterback without selling out the pass coverage. Orr is a talented, young coordinator, but he definitely showed he wasn’t at the same level. Of course, maybe a shoddy secondary made things more difficult than they needed to be, but a solid offseason for the Ravens should help that moving forward.

As for the defensive front, we’re looking at a 3-4 base, but you’ll see a ton of multi-front looks as Orr tries to prevent offenses from properly reading what he is doing and where the pressure is coming from. Having a guy as versatile as Nnamdi Madubuike on the defensive line makes it easier, as well as a fantastic linebacker corps. We should see if the secondary improvements take effect, more blitzing this season as well. Orr is a big fan of creating a lot of pressure on the quarterback. He just couldn’t last year due to the personnel in the defensive backfield.

The overhaul in the secondary has a lot of promise, and that should allow Orr to do a better job of disguising coverage without having a breakdown once the ball is snapped and they try to shift. That was a huge issue last season, and why the Ravens got caught napping on some deeper shots downfield. Swapping out Brandon Stephens for Chidobe Awuzie is a strong upgrade, and rookie safety Malaki Starks should pair up nicely with Kyle Hamilton to keep the middle protected. If this secondary jells the way it’s supposed to, the Ravens defense should be a major target in fantasy.

• Best Fits for the System:  Nnamdi Madubuike, Roquan Smith, Kyle Hamilton
• Worst Fits for the System: David Ojabo, Ar’Darius Washington

Cincinnati Bengals

Bengals Offensive Breakdown

While most traditional West Coast offenses use the run to set up the pass, Zac Taylor, who hails from the Sean McVay coaching tree, prefers the opposite. He continues to use the same short, high-percentage throws to move the ball up and down the field, but his scheme is designed to use the pass to set up the run. This offense is pass-first and even more so now than ever.

Don’t misunderstand – Taylor will still utilize the run going up and down the field, but the preference is to pepper a defense with the short throws first, mix in the run, and use both to set up the bigger chunk plays downfield. But after seven years, defenses have adapted, and it has been up to Taylor to make the necessary adjustments. His answer? Even shorter, higher-percentage throws. 

Just take a look at the average depth of target (aDOT) for No. 1 receiver Ja'Marr Chase in recent seasons. The goal has always been to get the ball into the playmakers’ hands and let them do the work, and that continues as Chase’s aDOT has gone from 9.4 to 8.7 while his yards after catch (YAC) has gone from 5.2 to 6.4 over the last four years. All of this while his targets have dramatically risen over that span. Shorter throws, higher volume, move the chains, and take deeper shots once the defense commits. 

But that doesn’t mean the running backs aren’t worth your time in fantasy. Just the opposite, actually. While the Bengals ranked in the bottom five for rushing attempts and rushing yards, Chase Brown actually ranked 16^th in rushing attempts and 17^th in rushing yards among qualified running backs. We watched this with Joe Mixon over the years, as Taylor prefers to use one lead back. Brown and Zack Moss shared the role to open the season, but Brown surpassed him fairly early on and ran away with the job. Moss suffered an injury and sat most of the season, but Brown had already supplanted him, and Taylor was happy to see him prove he could be a bell cow.

Expect more of the same this year, but be mindful of where you are investing for fantasy. Joe Burrow and Chase are easy picks. So is Brown. If you are stacking Bengals, then Tee Higgins makes sense, but just be wary that his YAC numbers are not nearly as strong as those of Chase. He is still a high-quality fantasy asset, but he will always be the WR2. For the rest of the crew, the work is sporadic as Taylor prefers to focus on his primary assets. Tight end Mike Gesicki only shines in the absence of one of the top two receivers, and the fringe wideouts are just that.  

• Best Fits for the System: Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Chase Brown
• Worst Fits for the System: Tee Higgins, Mike Gesicki

Bengals Defensive Breakdown

• Defensive Front: 4-2-5 with multi-front looks
• Secondary: Man/Zone mix w/ outside press
  • Man Coverage: 26.7% (18^tH)
  • Zone Coverage: 72.8% (12^th)

After last season’s defensive debacle, the Bengals parted ways with longtime defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and replaced him with former Notre Dame DC Al Golden. He’s not foreign to the system Anarumo ran, as he served as his linebackers coach back in 2020 and 2021, but he is going to make some dramatic changes due to the personnel constraints. That was the issue for the Bengals – it wasn’t necessarily the system as much as it was the injuries and personnel decisions made above Anarumo’s pay grade.

Golden will run a four-man front with five defensive backs as his base, but you are going to see a lot of changes both pre- and post-snap. Golden employs what is known as a “viper,” which is basically a jack-of-all-trades player. He can line up with his hand in the dirt to stop the run, he can rush the passer from outside, and, if necessary, could even drop back into coverage. Trey Hendrickson is a strong fit for the role, but with a potential holdout, they may need to turn elsewhere. Rookie Shemar Stewart could be the answer, but the front office is playing hardball with him regarding contract language, and that has turned things into a bit of a mess. We can slap a “to be continued” on this part, but the big takeaway could be to start running backs against the Bengals in fantasy.

As for the secondary, expect to see a lot more man coverage than zone. This is how Golden ran things at Notre Dame, and cornerbacks like Cam Taylor-Britt and DJ Turner have graded out better in man anyway. This is also why Golden prefers the extra defensive back, and considering how bad the Bengals' pass defense was last season, monitoring the secondary is going to be a priority for him.  

• Best Fits for the System: Trey Hendrickson, Demetrius Knight, DJ Turner
• Worst Fits for the System: Dax Hill, PJ Jules

Cleveland Browns

Browns Offensive Breakdown

Out of all the offensive systems to break down, this one just might be the toughest. Not that we don’t know what Kevin Stefanski wants to do, but more about what he actually can do. He is on record saying that he wants to run the ball more and more effectively, going back to what he did when he first took the Browns job back in 2020, but a series of mishaps and poor decisions have really turned things upside down.

Keep in mind, this is Stefanski’s system. New offensive coordinator Tommy Rees is simply here to implement and monitor what his head coach wants. Stefanski also calls the plays. The base of the offense is West Coast in nature, with the run setting up the pass. He wants to lead with the ground attack and use it in conjunction with the short, high-percentage passing to set up play-action and the deeper shots downfield. But this offensive line has become a hot mess lately, likely due to the loss of Bill Callahan. Both their run-blocking and pass-blocking have greatly deteriorated, and there is a glaring need to get that back on track, first and foremost. New offensive line coach Mike Bloomgren is implementing more of a wide-zone blocking system they are hoping will improve things. But it will require a lot more speed and lateral movement.

Of course, none of this really matters without knowing who the personnel actually will be, primarily the quarterback. Right now, there is an open competition between Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and rookies Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. Messy. Really messy. As of writing this, Pickett seems to have the edge, which means a lot of short-passing and check-downs to the running backs. If it’s Flacco, then the deeper shots and plays over the middle should be their bread and butter. If it’s Sanders, then lots of screens with deep sideline routes should work, and if it’s Gabriel, well, yuck. Not great, Bob. Not great.

The Browns also have an issue in their running back room, which could take rookie Quinshon Judkins off the table. A domestic violence arrest here in July could mean that Jerome Ford and rookie Dylan Sampson will share duties in the backfield. Ford would lead, but he’s not a particularly efficient runner, and Sampson is a speedy pass-catcher but will struggle to go between the tackles.

So right now, we have the basic structure, but everything else is up in the air. Jerry Jeudy and David Njoku could be decent fantasy assets if we are looking at Pickett or Flacco. Cedric Tillman might also work if Flacco earns the job. Either way, in typical fashion, the Browns are going to Brown, and it’s going to be another long season in Cleveland. 

• Best Fits for the System: Jerry Jeudy, David Njoku
• Worst Fits for the System: probably everyone else

Browns Defensive Breakdown

• Defensive Front: 4-3 base with some multi-front looks
• Secondary: Man-coverage outside with Cover-1 and Cover-3 on the inside
  • Man Coverage: 41.6% (3^rd)
  • Zone Coverage: 58.4% (29^th)

Veteran defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is in his third year here in Cleveland and is actually looking for some retribution after last season’s defensive issues. He likes to run a four-man front but lines them up in a wide-nine formation where the defensive ends are lined up outside the tackles. This is fine for generating pressure on the outside, and we’ve seen Myles Garrett thrive, but it also leaves them vulnerable to the run up the middle. It would have been fine had the team not lost Mike Hall to a knee injury and Dalvin Tomlinson been five years younger, but alas, that was not the case. The hope is that first-round pick Mason Graham is the answer. Well, that and the return of Hall.

In the secondary, Schwartz has switched from his usual Cover-2 zone to more of a hybrid look. His corners are very talented and thrive in man-coverage, so he will have them work the outside in that fashion. Inside, however, he will utilize a variety of coverage maps, primarily working in both Cover-1 and Cover-3, depending on the opposition and speed of the receivers. Expect the safeties to be moved around and play varying depths throughout the game. Schwartz likes to be aggressive on defense, so expect a lot of ball-hawking as well. Just be mindful that the aggressive nature could lead to giving up bigger plays more regularly.

• Best Fits for the System: Myles Garrett, Mason Graham, Denzel Ward
• Worst Fits for the System: Shelby Harris, Ronnie Hickman

Pittsburgh Steelers

Steelers Offensive Breakdown

This is going to be quite an interesting season for the Steelers, and everyone across the NFL and fantasy football community will be sitting with their tubs of popcorn, hoping to catch as much drama as possible. Head coach Mike Tomlin, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, and new quarterback Aaron Rodgers – seasoned veterans with big egos, typically stuck in their ways, all working together to restore prominence to a historic franchise. On paper, things could work out really well, but just like communism, implementing it into the real world could be a powder keg ready to blow.

We’ll start with Smith’s offense, as Tomlin typically lets his OC run things while he supervises. Smith runs a West Coast offense in which the run and short, high-percentage passes set up play-action and the bigger plays downfield. He promotes efficiency above all else and typically has two options – one short and safe, one deep and aggressive – for every pass play. Everywhere he’s coached, his quarterbacks have had some of the highest completion percentages of their careers. He wants his quarterback to read the defense, make a 3-5 step drop, and get rid of the ball quickly. That aspect is something Rodgers can get on board with. He doesn’t want to take hits and is more than happy to let his pass-catchers do the heavy lifting.

Smith has also incorporated more RPO work over time. Having mobile quarterbacks like Desmond Ridder, Justin Fields, and Russell Wilson has helped usher that aspect into his scheme and while Rodgers is not mobile, he did actually have success with the Jets when they ran RPO last season. Rodgers didn’t run, but he was effective in throwing on the run and had the second-most passing yards in the NFL out of RPO plays. So far, so good, right?

Then there’s the play-action, another area where Rodgers has had enormous success. Getting defenders to bite on a fake and finding the open receiver has long been a part of his game, and he’s been very good at it. He is quick to identify whether the deeper shot is going to work and, if it doesn’t, he’ll hit the receiver on the shorter route and pick up yards after the catch. Still good, right?

And then there’s the ground game. Smith likes a run-heavy approach. He likes a lot of 12-personnel and will also utilize a third tight end, at times, to serve as a fullback at times. Since his time in Atlanta, Smith prefers to use an outside-zone blocking scheme, and his offensive line coach, Pat Meyer, knows he has to make sure his guys can be effective when they move laterally. Rookie Kaleb Johnson ran out of this system at Iowa and should thrive here as well. Jaylen Warren will serve as the primary pass-catching back and handle the third-down work.

All of this sounds great, right? Everyone is pulling in the same direction. But we all know how egos get in the way, and while Rodgers appears to be a company guy here in the offseason, we know that in the game, his preference is to be the hero and throw the ball. He wants complete autonomy at the line and will audible to a pass no matter where he is on the field. Remember, Rodgers leads the NFL in one-yard touchdown passes. 

Then there is also the Rodgers who routinely forces the hand of his GM to trade for a wide receiver he trusts. Davante Adams and Allen Lazard followed Rodgers to the Jets, and the rumors are already swirling around the potential of Lazard to land in Pittsburgh next. Rodgers doesn’t typically throw to his receivers. He throws to a spot on the field where they’re supposed to be. If they don’t read the defense the same way or the receiver doesn’t time it just right, Rodgers gets upset, and the in-fighting starts. DK Metcalf hasn’t always been the perfect route-runner, and his physical style could affect the timing as he routinely tangles with the cornerback. If these two don’t land on the same page, we could be in for a very long season.

So overall, the system can work. On paper, everything here looks good. But watch how things go in training camp before openly committing to drafting any of these players. Grab that bucket of popcorn and watch very closely. 

• Best Fits for the System: Aaron Rodgers, Kaleb Johnson
• Worst Fits for the System: DK Metcalf, Pat Freiermuth

Steelers Defensive Breakdown

• Defensive Front: 3-4
• Secondary: Man and Cover-2 zone mix
  • Man Coverage: 34.8% (8^th)
  • Zone Coverage: 64.6% (22^nd)

While a three-man front is the primary base of this defense, you’ll also see plenty of multi-front looks depending on what the opposition is doing and where DC Teryl Austin wants TJ Watt on the field. But the trio of Derrick Harmon, Keeanu Benton, and Cameron Heyward combine for a formidable front that does a great job of clogging the middle and stopping the run. That gives the Steelers some flexibility with their pass-rushers as well as their coverage. Patrick Queen in the middle of the field also lends to more creativity on the outside. Expect lots of blitzing from this crew.

The secondary is also a major strength for the Steelers' defense, and adding Darius Slay and trading for Jalen Ramsey, albeit at the expense of Minkah Fitzpatrick, should prove positive for them in the long run. You can probably expect a lot more man-coverage on the outside with these corners, which will ultimately allow them to layer in some zone coverage over the middle. The key here will be the performance of the safeties. If they can blanket the middle of the field and plug any potential holes, the corners should do the bulk of the heavy lifting and keep the opposing receivers in check.   

• Best Fits for the System: T.J. Watt, Patrick Queen, Joey Porter
• Worst Fits for the System: Jalen Ramsey (he’ll be working out of the slot primarily)

2025 Fantasy Football: Related Draft Guide Articles