This is the Chiefs division until someone wrestles it from Patrick Mahomes cold, dead hands. The Chiefs might have won their second Super Bowl in a row if they had had a healthy offensive line. They have five new starters on the line and for good measure they even have some depth. The Chargers are looking to build on Justin Herbert’s fantastic rookie year but they have a rookie head coach and they need better luck on the injury front. The offensive line has been rebuilt (it’s a theme in this division), so that should help Herbert. The Broncos were hoping to get Aaron Rodgers to lead their offense but that isn’t happening now so they will hope Teddy Bridgewater can figure out how to use their weapons on offense. Von Miller returns on defense and they hope that helps. The Raiders are the Raiders. They shuffled their offensive line and their defensive line, the defensive line needed it, the offensive one probably didn’t. Derek Carr is back, I’m not sure if that’s good or bad, depends on who you ask. The defense is bad, no matter who you ask.
Kansas City Chiefs
The offense has been all about Patrick Mahomes for the past several years but last year’s Super Bowl proved even he can be beaten if he doesn’t have any blocking. The offensive line was in shambles due to injury and the Chiefs should have five new starters this year. LT Orlando Brown Jr, LG Joe Thuney, rookie C Creed Humphrey, rookie RG Trey Smith and RT Lucas Niang. They also brought RG Kyle Long out of retirement but now he’s injured and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif returns after spending his Covid opt out working as a doctor, he’s hurt too. C Austin Blythe was also signed as a free agent and he adds interior depth as he can play center or guard. RT Mike Remmers was a turnstile last year at LT when he filled in during the Super Bowl, for now he’s the third OT.
WR Tyreek Hill and TE Travis Kelce give Mahomes two of the best playmaking pass catchers at their respective positions in the league. Those two have to be huge because the depth behind them is unproven. Mecole Hardman and Demarcus Robinson are going to have to step up at WR with veteran Sammy Watkins departing. Watkins wasn’t amazing but he was solid. RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire was fine last season he just wasn’t great. He wasn’t a workhorse like some RBs can be but the Chiefs are a pass first team.
The defense goes into the season with some big question marks. DE Frank Clark is facing some legal issues and he’s their best outside pass rusher. Chris Jones is just as important up front but he might be less effective is Clark is gone, he can play both DT and DE. They did bring in DT Jarran Reed from Seattle and he’s a very solid addition. They don’t have much at the other DE position but they did re-sign Alex Okafor. At LB, Anthony Hitchens holds down the middle flanked by Willie Gay Jr and potentially rookie Nick Bolton. It’s not a stellar group of LBs.
CB L’Jarius Snead was better last year than most realize but he’s far from a sure thing. Charvarius Ward is the other starter but the Chiefs picked up Deandre Baker after he was cut by the Giants due to some legal issues and they are hoping he gets himself back in line and can restart his career. SS Tyrann Mathieu is the talent in the secondary and he runs things on the defense. Juan Thornhill is an athletic guy playing the other safety position with Daniel Sorenson as the consistent veteran who isn’t flashy. The Chiefs defense only has to be good enough, they don’t have to be great.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers drafted their future last year with QB Justin Herbert, now they have to build around him. The first thing they did this off season was remaking the offensive line. They signed C Corey Linsley, RG Matt Feiler, and LG Oday Aboushi in free agency and drafted LT Rashawn Slater. Add those four new starters to holdover RT Bryan Bulaga and the Chargers will be far better up front. Add that to a hopefully healthy Austin Ekeler at RB and the running game should improve too. Ekeler is a talented guy but he only played in 10 games last season. They have good depth but Ekeler is a bigger threat and they need him on the field. This team’s entire focus needs to be, stay healthy.
At WR, Herbert has the ever-reliable Keenan Allen and the hopeful breakout Mike Williams but there isn’t a third guy. Jaylen Guyton played a lot last year but mostly as a decoy, he really didn’t do much. The team is hoping rookie Josh Palmer or perhaps KJ Hill will emerge, Palmer has shown flashes in camp. Hunter Henry left for a big contract in New England so the Chargers signed well-traveled veteran Jared Cook. Cook is always just bad enough that his team wants to replace him but just good enough that they struggle to find someone who can. He’s reliable enough and he played in New Orleans where Chargers new offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi was on staff. Lombardi’s last stint as an offensive coordinator did not go well but it was with the Detroit Lions and I just can’t completely blame him for it.
The number of defensive players who played all 16 games for the Chargers last season is pretty short, they need to stay healthy. They added Linval Joseph at NT and he gives them some real size up front. Jerry Tillery and Justin Jones flank him on the three-man line and they are solid young guys. At edge rusher, Joey Bosa has to stay healthy. When he’s on the field, he’s a game wrecker. He’s an elite pass rusher who plays like an outside linebacker and a defensive end. The team let Melvin Ingram walk in free agency because he was aging and also never healthy. They need Uchenna Nwosu to replace him, he’s also coming off an injury. Kenneth Murray had a pretty good rookie year and the team expects him to only get better. The team hopes Drue Tranquill can come back from an injury last season and play next to Murray.
The secondary is where this team needs improvement as well as health. They were pretty beat up but they also just didn’t play well. Derwin James missed his second straight season after being a star his rookie season. If he’s healthy, he’s a game changer. He’s the ultimate chess piece for new coach Brandon Staley. The team also needs Nasir Adderley to be more effective at FS. He gets beat too often for the last line of defense. At CB, they need Chris Harris to get back to being the effective coverage guy he once was in Denver, he hasn’t been that guy for the Chargers. For now, it looks like Michael Davis at one outside spot, I would bet on rookie Asante Samuel Jr taking the other while Harris mans the slot. Samuel may be the best coverage guy they have at CB by the end of the year.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos offense could be fantastic if they have competent QB play. Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater battled it out in camp and it looked pretty close but Vic Fangio is going with the vet, Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater will be better in Denver because he should have a plethora of talented skill guys around him. However, with the way Lock played in the preseason I wouldn’t expect a long leash if Bridgewater struggles. The offensive line isn’t great but it’s better than the sum of its parts due to offensive line coach Mike Munchak who came in last year and did a fantastic job. He resurrected Garrett Boles career at LT and he should have this unit playing better overall. The running game is still led by Melvin Gordon for now but they lost Phillip Lindsay in free agency. They replaced him with rookie Javonte Williams in the second round of the draft and he should prove to be the future of the position, and that may be sooner than Gordon likes.
The pass catchers are where this team could really become amazing if they get some health overall and some stability at QB. Courtland Sutton could prove to be a true #1 WR if given the chance. He’s coming off a missed season due to injury but he has the ability to be the top guy. Jerry Jeudy is a fantastic player who can move all over and play out of different spots. Tim Patrick and KJ Hamler give them meaningful depth at the position. Noah Fant is an emerging playmaker at TE and Albert Okwuegbunam gives them a solid backup. If Bridgewater can’t succeed with this group of pass catchers around him, there’s little hope for him beyond being a career backup.
Vic Fangio is one of the best defensive minds the NFL has ever had. The defense should be better than they were last season with the return of OLB Von Miller and a revamped secondary. Bradley Chubb was never quite himself last year so the team hopes he rebounds too. If Miller and Chubb can recapture their pass rushing talent, add in Malik Reed, who was a solid find last year, and the pass defense gets a huge boost. Alexander Johnson and Josey Jewell are a solid interior duo who know their jobs and should get a boost in depth if rookie Baron Browning is healthy. The three-man front is unspectacular, however, that’s how they are built. They play tough so Chubb, Miller and Reed can wreak havoc.
At CB, they get a major makeover. Veterans Ronald Darby and Kyle Fuller were signed and Patrick Surtain II was their first-round draft pick. That should leave guys like Bryce Callahan and Michael Ojemudia fighting for playing time. Justin Simmons returns at FS while they will give it a go with 33-year-old Kareem Jackson at SS. The defense needs the offense to hold up their end of the bargain or they are going to break down eventually.
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders offense was top 10 in yards and points last year. That’s the good news. The bad news is they need better production from their WR corps, they put entirely too much pressure on the TE and RB position and they are looking at three new starters on the offensive line. QB Derek Carr isn’t a superstar but he has been a steady hand for years. He may not be fighting for the MVP award but he’s better than what most teams have at QB. TE Darren Waller and RB Josh Jacobs are superstars. Waller is at least the third best TE in the league (behind Travis Kelce and George Kittle when he’s healthy). He’s nearly unstoppable in third-down and red zone plays and Derek Carr knows to rely on him. Jacobs is a maniac. He runs hard and plays like a man possessed. Carr has two fantastic guys to bail him out in tough situations. There isn’t much depth at TE behind Waller but the Raiders did add Kenyon Drake at RB. It seems like an unnecessary expense to pay for an expensive backup RB when you have Jacobs (and it really is), however, when Jacobs came off the field, the offense suffered. Drake won’t let that happen.
Where this offense is going to be vulnerable is on the line and at WR. They return Kolton Miller at LT and they will try to squeeze one more year out of the aging Richie Incognito at LG. They traded away C Rodney Hudson, OG Gabe Jackson and RT Trent Brown. Andre James is the starter at center, it’s a downgrade. Denzelle Good will move to OG full-time and try to replace Jackson, that will hurt their depth. And finally, first-round reach Alex Leatherwood will replace Trent Brown at RT. Brown struggles last year so that might be a wash but Leatherwood hasn’t exactly been lighting it up in the preseason. At WR, Henry Ruggs III needs to turn his speed into production. He played in 13 games last year and only had 26 catches, that’s not good enough for a first round pick. They really like the potential of former third round pick Bryan Edwards but he was even less productive with only 11 catches in 12 games played. The team signed John Brown and Willie Snead to add veteran competition but Brown already asked out because he wasn’t going to play enough. They need the young guys to step up. Slot guy Hunter Renfrow is the one consistent player returning at WR after the team lost Nelson Agholor in free agency. Renfrow is another security blanket Carr relies on, it’s time the playmakers at WR step up so Carr doesn’t have to rely on the security blanket guys so much.
The Raiders defense gave up the third most points per game last season. This off season was a little bit about signing veterans to replace (or potentially replace) the first round misses this team has had in the draft. Up front the team has DE Maxx Crosby, who has been pretty solid but they signed Yannick Ngakoue because former first rounder Clelin Ferrell has been underwhelming. Jonathan Hankins and Quinton Jefferson should hold down the middle but the team is also taking a free agent shot on Solomon Thomas, he was a bust for the 49ers but he still adds versatility up front. The LB corps returns veterans Cory Littleton, Nick Kwiatkowski and Nick Morrow, not exactly an exciting bunch. They were hoping converted safeties Tanner Muse or Divine Deablo could add some playmaking to this group but that hasn’t worked out so they traded for Denzel Perryman, a desperation move if there ever was one.
At CB, the team signed veteran Casey Hayward. If Hayward is healthy, he should replace Damon Arnette, another first-round pick who hasn’t lived up to his billing. Trayvon Mullen is fine at the other spot but this team lacks a true #1 CB. The Raiders brought back former first-round pick Karl Joseph at SS partially because their current SS Jonathan Abram (another first-rounder) is limited in coverage, then they cut Joseph. The FS spot should be won by this year’s second-round pick Tre’von Moehrig, he’s a true playmaker in the secondary and they really need him.
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