The AFC West, home of the reigning Super Bowl champions, has had the same winner for the last seven seasons. Kansas City has dominated the division, but there could be some real competition this season from Los Angeles and Denver. With the arrival of Sean Payton the Russell Wilson era in Denver could flourish. There is plenty of talent and maybe Payton is just the right guy to make magic happen. Justin Herbert and the Chargers have lots of firepower on both sides of the ball, but they’ve been stuck in neutral as evidenced by their embarrassing loss in the playoffs to end their season. The Raiders, well are the Raiders.
Kansas City Chiefs
Starting off with the reigning champs, Kansas City looks in line to compete for another Super Bowl title. There isn’t much opposing defenses can do when you have Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce running the show. Possibly the best duo in the league currently, it’s hard to picture a scenario as long as both stay healthy where Kansas City misses the postseason. The only weakness on Kansas City’s roster is the receiving corps which is a position lacking the star power it once had. Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore will have to step up to help Mahomes continue to spread the ball around the field. Kansas City has won the division the last seven seasons and it seems plausible they will add an eighth this season.
Las Vegas Raiders
Can Jimmy Garoppolo lead Las Vegas to relevancy this season? Maybe, hopefully and more importantly, he can stay healthy all season. Garoppolo is recovering from offseason foot surgery that did not allow him to participate in OTAs. The Raiders must be confident in Garoppolo because they chose not to draft nor sign a backup option. He is surrounded by plenty of offensive talent.
If Garoppolo cannot stay healthy for seventeen games it will be another wasted season for the Raiders. The team looked like they were ready to contend when they traded their first and second-round draft picks to the Packers for wide receiver Davante Adams. Despite the Raiders having a bad season in his first year with the team, Adams had a very productive year so he should have one again no matter who is under center.
However, when they traded tight end Darren Waller to the Giants this offseason it made you wonder if they truly expected to contend this season. Another not-so-promising sign for Las Vegas is running back Josh Jacobs still not signing his franchise tag. After leading the league in rushing the Raiders chose not to offer Jacobs a long-term contract.
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos were arguably the biggest disappointment last season. After acquiring quarterback Russell Wilson, Denver fans seemed to think a Super Bowl title was in the near future. Instead, the team went 5-12 and finished last in the division. Wilson was nowhere near as good as he was in Seattle in his first season in Denver. It could be blamed on Denver trying to turn Wilson into a dropback quarterback rather than play to his strengths of moving the pocket and extending plays, but there’s plenty of blame to go around.
Denver has talent on the roster, but they still ranked 31st in the league on offense. New head coach Sean Payton who they traded a first-round draft for to acquire, will have his work cut out for him. His first move as coach was to upgrade the offensive line which could be the key to success for the Broncos. Denver’s entire season will depend on Wilson and Payton finding a happy medium that will showcase just how talented Wilson is on the field.
Los Angeles Chargers
Maybe the Chargers are best defined by their last postseason game against the Jaguars. A game that Los Angeles led by twenty-seven ended up being a one-point loss that showed just how talented yet ineffective this team is. Asante Samuel Jr. had three interceptions in the first half, but the defense fell asleep in the second half and let Jacksonville outplay them in every way.
Justin Herbert is one of the top young quarterbacks in the league. However, he doesn’t have the hardware like Patrick Mahomes to back it up. Last season he was seriously banged up for most of the season after taking a massive hit during the Chargers-Chiefs game in week two and the team still made the playoffs. He is due for a new contract after this season, so it will be unlikely for the Chargers to keep this same roster beyond this season; a roster that boasts Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, and Austin Ekeler.
Ekeler has already shown interest in looking elsewhere after demanding a trade but found a happy medium with the Chargers after he was given a one-year deal with incentives. If Los Angeles has a mediocre season the team could decide it’s time for a roster overhaul and look to build an entirely new roster around Herbert. Or they could be a Wild Card team. The Chargers are one of the only teams in the league where either outcome is possible.
[…] year’s division winner, the Jags had a really positive season including a playoff win at home that showed this team has true potential. Jacksonville is the only team in the division […]