Denver Broncos– Broncos record in 2019-2020 was 7-9 and 3-3 within the division. Key Additions– RB Melvin Gordon, OG Graham Glasgow, CB AJ Bouye and DL Jurrell Casey. Key Losses– CB Chris Harris JR, OL Conner McGovern, S Will Parks and DL Derek Wolfe. Top Draft Picks– WR Jerry Juedy, WR KJ Hamler, CB Michael Ojemudia, OL Lloyd Cushenberry and DL McTelvin Algim. Nothing but upside when it comes to the Broncos. Could they finally have their franchise QB in Drew Lock? Fans seem to think so. The last five games that Lock started he went 4-1 and looked pretty good. So what do you do when you have a young QB? Get him some weapons! Bringing in Melvin Gordon to pair with Phillip Lindsay to enhance the run game is a great thing for young QB. To go with that they draft two receivers in the first two rounds. The offense could be top 10 in the league but you are asking for a lot of production from young players, Gordon and Lindsay are easily a top 5 RB tandem in the league. Defensively they still have Von Miller and Bradley Chubb coming off of injury, they also are trying to replace Chris Harris with AJ Bouye. It very well could be an exciting year in Denver, they had a good end to their season so that is something they can build on. I could see them sneaking into the playoffs this season.
Kansas City Chiefs– Chiefs record in 2019-2020 was 12-4 and 6-0 within the division. Key Additions– OT Mike Remmers, DE Taco Charlton and RB DeAndre Washington. Key Losses– OT Cameron Erving, CB Kendall Fuller and DE Emmanuel Ogbah. Top Draft Picks– RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire LB Willie Gay Jr. and OT Lucas Niang. It only took 50 years but they won their second Superbowl. The good thing is they haven’t lost major production from either side of the ball. Offensively they have arguably the best QB in the league and one of the best offensive minds in the league. Mahomes and Reid are a perfect pair, in just two years since starting they have an AFC Championship appearance and a Superbowl ring. Honestly, I thought Andy Reid was going to retire after their Superbowl, it was the only thing left that he was chasing in his coaching career but maybe he is thinking they can get one more before he rides off. Chris Jones and the Chiefs are no where near a contract extension, he’s their best pass rusher but Mathieu is probably the heartbeat of that defense. As long as they can put up almost 30 ppg, they will always have a really good chance to win any game they are in.
Las Vegas Raiders– Raiders record in 2019-2020 was 7-9 and 3-3 within the division. Key Additions– LB Cory Littleton, LB Nick Kwitkowski, S Jeff Heath and WR Nelson Agholor. Key Losses– LB Tahir Whitehead, CB Daryl Worley and S Karl Joseph. Top Draft Picks– WR Henry Ruggs, CB Damon Arnette, WR Lynn Bowden, WR Bryan Edwards and S Tanner Muse. (Chris Berman voice) The Raiders are trending up in a division with what looks to be some pretty potent offenses. Adding speed has always been at the top of the Raiders list, Ruggs ran the fastest 40 at the combine with a 4.27. It remains to be seen if Carr is their QB for the future, bringing in Mariota doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t trust him but I think it’s a good motivational move to make him step his game up. Josh Jacobs will look to improve after a great rookie year and being snubbed from being the Rookie of the Year award, in my opinion. Defensively they added some solid LB’s in the middle of the field to captain the defense. Maxx Crosby also had a stellar rookie year with 10 sacks, 16 TFL and 4 FF. Having two rookies that were in the conversation for OROY and DROY is the best thing that any team can have. They are building a good young core of player under Gruden and Mayock, with the way that they are going they should be contending for a wildcard spot this season.
Los Angeles Chargers– Chargers record in 2019-2020 was 5-11 and 0-6 within the division. Key Additions– CB Chris Harris Jr., OG Trai Turner, OT Bryan Bulaga and DT Linval Joseph. Key Losses– QB Phillip Rivers, OT Russel Okung, RB Melvin Gordon and LB Thomas Davis. Top Draft Picks– QB Justin Herbert and LB Kenneth Murray. It’s a repeating thing for the Chargers, big expectations that they don’t live up to. Rivers didn’t do the team any favors with 20 int’s and 3 lost fumbles. Now they are in a rebuild, Justin Herbert is their QB of the future but he may not be the day one starter. Tyrod Taylor is a suitable stater, in Buffalo he rarely turned the ball over and brought them back to the playoffs after a long stretch of not making it. Eckler has now taken over as the lead back with Justin Jackson and rookie Joshua Kelley to back him up. Keenan Allen is a guy that gets overlooked as one of the better receivers in the league, the past three seasons he’s had over 1,000 yards receiving and two 100 receptions seasons. Defensively with the the addition of Chris Harris Jr. they have one of the best secondaries in the league. Derwin James should be fully back from his injury that held him out of the first half of last year. Anthony Lynn might be on the hot seat this year, they have the talent but their QB situation might hold them back this year.
The AFC West has been dominated by the Chiefs and Broncos the last ten years, here’s how I think it will go:
- Kansas City
- Las Vegas
- Denver
- Los Angeles
Not much of a change coming into this year, KC has control of this division with their high powered offense. Las Vegas will be in the mix for a wildcard spot and if they can keep hitting in the draft they will improve this year. Denver has a ton of upside offensively but when can they put it all together. LA will need to get their QB situation figured out if they want to have any success this year. It’s clear what the Broncos and Raiders tried to do during the draft, offense is going to be huge in this division for years to come.
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