NFL Preview: AFC West

In the first of our series, we take a look at the AFC West, a division that is sure to be filled with drama. The Chargers could be without one of their brightest stars for the season. The Raiders have so many different personalities, it’s a Hard Knocks dream come true. The Broncos probably won’t be very good and the blame will likely fall on Joe Flacco as it has for most of his career. The Chiefs welcomed back Tyreek Hill with open arms despite the disturbing audio EVERYONE heard.

AFC West

Right now the Chargers are considered a favorite in the division with their balanced attack on offense and defense. Kansas City might have more explosive players, but the Chargers are a more complete team.

Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers are still waiting for Melvin Gordon to report and it looks like he’s not going to. After failing to come to terms on a new deal, Gordon has requested a trade out of Los Angeles. Chargers general manager Tom Telesco has already said he will not grant the request. This holdout could continue into the season sadly.

Quarterback Phillip Rivers returns for his 16th season, ready for another chance at the playoffs. Rivers had a great season last year, but losing Gordon for an undetermined amount of time could seriously hurt Rivers. Rivers has thrown for double digit interceptions for nine straight seasons, will he make it an even ten straight?

Denver Broncos

Many experts predict the Denver Broncos will not be very good once again. In a bizarre move this offseason, John Elway decided to pick up Joe Flacco from Baltimore as they begin the Lamar Jackson era. The team has been looking for their next franchise quarterback since Peyton Manning retired and Flacco is definitely not their future.

Ahead of their game tonight, the team signed running back Theo Riddick who will be behind Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman on the depth chart. Tonight’s Hall of Fame game will also be the first time rookie quarterback Drew Lock will get his first taste of NFL action.

Oakland Raiders

The Raiders probably won’t disappoint in the drama department this season after acquiring Antonio Brown, Vontaze Burfict, and Richie Incognito all in one offseason.

While there certainly will be a lot of personality on this team, the real attention should be focused on quarterback Derek Carr. Carr has been underwhelming since leading the team back to the playoffs. He has a pretty good weapon to help show he was worth the big contract in Antonio Brown.

This team had a lot of holes last season and it’s hard to plus all of them in one offseason. They need to rush the passer better, protect Carr better and make big plays in the secondary.

Kansas City Chiefs

This team has a dark cloud hanging over it as training camp gets underway. While, on the field, the team and fans should be ecstatic that speedy receiver Tyreek Hill did not get suspended, but his actions, not so much. The team also drafted speedy receiver Mecole Hardman in anticipation of Hill getting suspended so this team is full of speed.

Kansas City lost Kareem Hunt during last season for very similar reasons as Hill unfortunately. Hunt was picked up by the Cleveland Browns.

Someone to look forward to is Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes was incredible last season and that’s putting it mildly. He was the star of the league and everyone will be tuning in to see if he can do it again.