We will be looking at the AFC West in our 4th installment of the "State of each Division" series today.
Denver Broncos
2018 Record: 6-10(Missed Playoffs)
Biggest Additions: Joe Flacco, Kareem Jackson, Drew Lock
Biggest Losses: Ja'Wuan James, Matt Paradis
State of the team: Denver is in an interesting spot. Since winning Super Bowl 50 four years ago, they have yet to even contend for a playoff berth. Their quarterback situation was horrendous, and they made several draft errors such as trading up to draft Paxton Lynch in the 2016 Draft. Over the offseason, they managed to trade for former Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco, and drafted Drew Lock in the second round of the draft. Denver still has a rock solid defense, and new head coach Vic Fangio has the opportunity tobe a great coach, but the offense is too inconsistent for Denver to be considered serious playoff threats. One thing to watch will be whether or not running back Phillip Lindsay can recover from his wrist injury.
Most Important People: Fangio, who landed his first head coaching job at age 60, will be tasked with the development of Drew Lock, and must make the tough decisions on who starts for the team. President of Football Operations John Elway might have his job on the line this year, as yet another season with mediocre to bad quarterback play that he decided to pull the trigger would not look good for him at all.
Projected team MVP: Pass rusher Von Miller, who remains one of the league's premier pass rushers and might be the only consistent thing about these Broncos.
Expectations/Goals: For this season to be considered a success, the Broncos must win 8-10 games under Flacco. Ideally, Lock will redshirt his first year like Patrick Mahomes did with the Chiefs. The playoffs are a pretty large stretch, but if Flacco can corral this offense, going .500 is not impossible for the Broncos.
Oakland Raiders
2018 Record: 4-12(Missed Playoffs)
Biggest Additions: Antonio Brown, Trent Brown, Tyrell Williams, Lamarcus Joyner, Josh Jacobs, Clelin Ferrell
Biggest Losses: Jared Cook
State of the team: If you couldn’t tell by the beginning of this section, the Raiders were on of the most active teams during free agency. They landed Antonio Brown for next to nothing, signed offensive lineman Trent Brown to a massive deal, and made other sneaky good signings like Tyrell Williams and Lamarcus Joyner. Oakland also hired NFL.com draft expert Mike Mayock to be their general manager. At the very least, the Raiders will be a fun team to watch, but they have the potential to be much more, especially if QB Derek Carr can go back to his pre-injury 2016 form.
Most Important People: Derek Carr has a lot to prove this year. He looked like one of the most promising young players in the league a few years ago, and inked a huge 5 year, 125 million dollar extension. After two extremely disappointing years, he must get back to his original form to show that he was deserving of that money. Coach Jon Gruden has a lot on the line too. He won’t get fired(Gruden is on a 10 year, 100 million dollar deal), but earned a reputation as a bad coach in his first year back in the league last season. That will have to change this year.
Projected team MVP: Brown, who will remain as one of the best receivers in the league and will be instrumental to the Raiders success.
Expectations/Goals: Much like the Broncos, the Raiders should win at least 8 games in their last season in Oakland. With a strong offense and a decent defense, Oakland has the potential to make the playoffs, but face stiff competition elsewhere in the division. Going .500, and beating some strong opponents will be reasonable for the Raiders.
Kansas City Chiefs
2018 Record: 12-4(Lost in AFC Championship Game)
Biggest Additions: Tyrann Mathieu
Biggest Losses: Mitchell Morse, Kareem Hunt
State of the team: The Chiefs are in one of the best positions in the league. They have the reigning MVP who is still on his rookie deal(Patrick Mahomes), a high flying receiver in Tyreek Hill, the best Tight End in the league(Travis Kelce), and one of the best coaches in the league in Andy Reid. However, they did lose star running back Kareem Hunt half-way through the year last season, and fired defensive coordinator Bob Sutton after a collapse in the AFC Championship Game. Kansas City still has some of the best talent in the league, and will be a force to be reckoned with for the foreseeable future.
Most Important People: Damien Williams, the running back who is set to replace Kareem Hunt, will play a huge part of this team's offense. Andy Reid has loved to deploy pass-catching running backs like Hunt and Jamaal Charles, so Williams is next in line. Mahomes will also be key. He propelled the team last season, and a sophomore slump for him would likely result in disaster for Kansas City.
Projected team MVP: Mahomes, I shouldn’t need to explain this.
Expectations/Goals: Perhaps after last season's unexpected success, the Chiefs have placed too many expectations on themselves. They have to at least make it back to the Championship game for this year to be called "not a fail". Winning one or two more games from there is when their season could be called a success, as Chiefs fans around the world will be expecting a Super Bowl ring.
Los Angeles Chargers
2018 Record: 12-4(Lost in AFC Divisional Round)
Biggest Additions: Jerry Tillery
Biggest Losses: Tyrell Williams
State of the team: The Chargers can be considered a contender. After losing to the Patriots in the Divisional Round of last year's playoffs, they have all the talent to make it further than that. The team is almost exactly the same as last year, and the other AFC contenders did not really improve. Their biggest obstacle remains the Patriots, as LA proved that they are capable of defeating the Chiefs last season. Led by outstanding coach Anthony Lynn, this team could win a Lombardi this season.
Most Important People: Quarterback Phillip Rivers, who remains as one of the best quarterbacks ever to not win a Super Bowl, will need to get one this year to cement himself among the greats of this generation. There is some controversy surrounding Pro Bowl running back Melvin Gordon's contract, as he wants a new extension.
Projected team MVP: This one is a toss up: Either Rivers, who is the only viable quarterback option, or star wideout Keenan Allen, who will be a big reason as to why Rivers will be good.
Expectations/Goals: The Chargers have to make it to the AFC Championship game this season, and much like the Chiefs, a Super Bowl berth might be expected by all 200 of their fans. They certainly have the talent to make it that far, and the Bolts might even win their first Super Bowl title.
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