The AFC West is the Kansas City Chiefs' kingdom, and the other three teams -- the Los Angeles Chargers, the Las Vegas Raiders and the Denver Broncos -- are simply basking in their glory.
The back-to-back Super Bowl champion Chiefs are winners of eight AFC West division crowns in a row, which is the second-longest division title winning streak in NFL history, trailing only the New England Patriots dynasty's record run of 11 division trophies in a row (2009-2019).
Of course, they will naturally have the edge at a number of key positions, but some of the other three teams have improved in critical areas of need. Here is our ranking of each franchise's position and their rank in respective AFC West tiers.
Quarterback
- Chiefs (Patrick Mahomes)
- Chargers (Justin Herbert)
- Broncos (Bo Nix)
- Raiders (Gardner Minshew)
Well duh. Patrick Mahomes is the first player with three championship MVPs in the first seven season's of his career in NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB history. He is the best player in the NFL today, and is on his way to giving some of the all-time greats a run for their money.
Justin Herbert possesses the most completions (1,613) and passing yards (17,223) in NFL history through a player's first four seasons, and his 114 career passing touchdowns are tied for the second most in a player's first four seasons with Mahomes, trailing only Hall of Famer Dan Marino's 142 from 1983 to 1986.
Sure, Denver Broncos rookie Bo Nix has yet to play an NFL regular-season game, but he did shred in the preseason, completing 76.7% of his passes (23-30) for 205 yards and two touchdowns in two games played. That's a stark contrast to Las Vegas Raiders new starting quarterback Gardner Minshew who completed only 48.5% of his passes (16-33), 212 passing yards and one touchdown. He looked lost in his last preseason game against the Cowboys, throwing for 95 yards and completing just 10 of 21 passes. Dallas was exclusively playing their backups in this game by the way.
Running back
- Chiefs (Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire)
- Broncos (Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin)
- Chargers (Gus Edwards and JK Dobbins)
- Raiders (Zamir White, Alexander Mattison)
Isiah Pacheco runs like the Tasmanian Devil with his limbs flying all over the place while rocketing upfield His 1.52 yards before contact per rush, the eighth most in the NFL among 35 running backs with at least 150 carries in 2023, indicate as much with defenses having problems anticipating where on Earth Pacheco is going. Pacheco is the first running back in league history to start and win the Super Bowl in each of his first two NFL seasons, and he will certainly feed into Kansas City's pursuits for a three-peat n 2024.
Javonte Williams entered the NFL with so much promise in 2021 as a second-round pick out of North Carolina, but tearing his ACL in 2022 hindered his development. He returned to action in 2023 with a career high in carries (217) and could see some juice return even farther removed from the knee injury at age 24.
Both Gus Edwards and JK Dobbins served as complementary pieces in the Ravens' ground game over the years with quarterback Lamar Jackson leading the team in rushing yards every since 2019. Dobbins and Edwards have both dealt with the injury bug over the last few years, but they could form a strong tandem if health allows.
Zamir White, a 2022 fourth-round pick, has spent his career as Josh Jacobs' understudy, but with the 2022 rushing champ now on the Green Bay Packers, White has a real shot to prove what he can do.
Wide receiver
- Raiders (Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker)
- Chiefs (Rashee Rice, Marquise "Hollywood" Brown, Xavier Worthy)
- Broncos (Courtland Sutton, Josh Reynolds, Marvin Mims Jr.)
- Chargers (Joshua Palmer, Ladd McConkey, DJ Chark, Quentin Johnston)
The presence of Davante Adams alone gives the Raiders the best wide receiver room. Adams' 95 receiving touchdowns in his first 10 seasons are the fifth most ever, trailing only some of the best receivers ever: Jerry Rice (131), Randy Moss (124), Marvin Harrison (110) and Terrell Owens (101).
Rashee Rice's seven receiving touchdowns led the Super Bowl champs, and he ranked second in both catches (79 to 93) and receiving yards (938 to 984) behind future Hall of Famer Travis Kelce. Kansas City's depth then involves 28th overall pick receiver Xavier Worthy, whose 4.21-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine is a new league record and free agent addition Marquise "Hollywood" Brown, a 2019 first-round pick who has one 1,000-yard receiving season in five years.
Courtland Sutton tied 2023 First Team All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and 2023 Second Team All-Pro tight end Sam LaPorta for the most red zone receiving touchdowns in football with eight. He is surrounded by the steady Josh Reynolds and 2023 second-round pick Marvin Mims Jr., a player the Broncos are waiting to launch as a receiver. He was the 2023 Second Team All-Pro kick returner in 2023.
The Chargers may have the most thin receiving room in the NFL after the departures of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. Los Angeles is praying for breakouts from 2024 second-round pick Ladd McConkey and 2023 first-round pick Quentin Johnston.
Tight end
- Chiefs (Travis Kelce)
- Raiders (Brock Bowers/Michael Mayer)
- Chargers (Will Dissly/ Hayden Hurst)
- Broncos (Adam Trautman/Greg Dulcich)
No tight end in NFL history has more 1,000-yard receiving seasons (seven), 100-yard receiving games (37) or a higher receiving yards per game figure (71.2) than Travis Kelce. His 165 postseason receptions are the most in NFL history, and he is only the third player to lead three Super Bowl champions in receiving yards joining Hall of Famers Michael Irvin and Jerry Rice. This is one of the best tight ends of all time.
The Raiders have invested in 2023 second-rounder Michael Mayer and 2024 13th overall pick Brock Bowers, making their tight end room one of the ones to watch in 2024. Bowers led all of college football's tight ends in catches (175), receiving yards (2,538) and receiving touchdowns (26) the last three seasons. Las Vegas will likely run two-tight end sets as part of their base offense.
Will Dissly was steady but unspectacular as the Seattle Seahawks tight end, never eclipsing 400 receiving yards or five receiving touchdowns. Adam Trautman has never totaled more than 300 receiving yards or four touchdowns in a season.
Offensive line
- Chiefs (Kingsley Suamataia, Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, Jawaan Taylor)
- Chargers (Rashawn Slater, Zion Johnson, Bradley Bozeman, Trey Pipkins III, Joe Alt)
- Raiders (Kolton Miller, Cody Whitehair, Andre James, Dylan Parham, Thayer Munford Jr.)
- Broncos (Garett Bolles, Ben Powers, Luke Wattenberg, Quinn Meinerz, Mike McGlinchey)
The Chiefs' ranking here is lifted up by two-time Pro Bowl center Creed Humphrey, 2023 First Team All-Pro guard Joe Thuney and the steady Trey Smith. They hope for better play from right tackle Jawaan Taylor in 2023 as he struggled mightily. He allowed 44 quarterback pressures, the eighth most in the league, and Taylor was the most penalized player in the NFL last season with 17 accepted penalties against him.
When healthy, Chargers left tackle Rashawn Slater can be one of the best in the NFL as evidenced by his 2021 Second Team All-Pro season in 2021 as a rookie. Los Angeles provided Herbert with another bookend offensive tackle in 2024 by selecting Notre Dame All-American Joe Alt fifth overall. He only allowed one sack on 740 pass-blocking snaps in the past two seasons.
Las Vegas returns plenty of continuity to the offensive line with four returning starters: Kolton Miller, Andre James, Dylan Parham and Thayer Munford Jr. Cody Whitehair is a former Chicago Bear who played for offensive coordinator Luke Getsy in the Windy CIty. This unit was one of the better pass-blocking groups in football a year ago.
The Broncos surrendered a quarterback pressure on 41% of dropbacks, which ranked 28th in the NFL.
Defensive line
- Chiefs (Chris Jones, Derrick Nnadi)
- Raiders (Christian Wilkins, John Jenkins)
- Broncos (D.J. Jones, Malcolm Roach)
- Chargers (Poona Ford, Otito Ogbonnia)
Two-time First Team All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones is a standard bearer at the defensive tackle position, leading all DTs in sacks (35.0), tackles for loss (38) and quarterback pressures the last three seasons, two of which ended in Super Bowls.
No one has more tackles than among NFL defensive linemen since 2019 than Christian Wilkins and his 355. It's the most by a defensive lineman through five seasons since J.J. Watt's 371 from 2011 through 2015. D.J. Jones and Malcolm Roach buttress a Broncos defense with room to grow. Poona Ford is on his third team (Seahawks in 2022, Bills in 2023 and Chargers in 2024) in as many seasons.
Edge rusher
- Chargers (Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa)
- Raiders (Maxx Crosby, Malcolm Koonce)
- Chiefs (George Karlaftis, Michael Danna)
- Broncos (Zach Allen, Jonathon Cooper)
Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack had a resurgence at age 32 with 17 sacks in 2023, the fourth most in the NFL. Bosa is searching for his first fully healthy season since 2021. Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby became the first player with at least 90 tackles and 14.5 sacks in a season since James Harrison in 2008 when he won NFL Defensive Player of the Year. George Karlaftis totaled his first double-digit sack season of his career in Year 2 in 2023 with 10.5. Zach Allen and Jonathon Cooper hope to lead a resurgence for a Broncos pass rush that ranked 20th in quarterback pressure (34.3%).
Linebacker
- Chiefs (Nick Bolton, Drue Tranquill)
- Raiders (Robert Spillane, Divine Deablo)
- Broncos (Alex Singleton, Cody Barton)
- Chargers (Denzel Perryman, Daiyan Henley)
Nick Bolton is best known for his Super Bowl heroics against the Eagles two seasons ago when he returned a Jalen Hurts fumble for a touchdown, and Kansas City valued the former Charger Drue Tranquill's contributions so much to their latest Super Bowl run that the Chiefs re-signed him on a three-year, $19 million deal.
Raiders linebacker Divine Deablo is one of the few Jon Gruden era draft picks still around, and he could earn a nice contract extension with a solid performance in 2024. Alex Singleton and Cody Barton are a couple of steady five-year, veterans. It will be interesting to see how Daiyan Henely and Denzel Perryman perform in Jesse Minter's defense after it dominated college football en route to Michigan winning a national championship in 2023.
Cornerback
- Broncos (Patrick Surtain II, Riley Moss)
- Chargers (Asante Samuel Jr., Kristian Fulton)
- Chiefs (Trent McDuffie, Nazeeh Johnson)
- Raiders (Jack Jones, Jakorian Bennett)
Patrick Surtain II, a two-time Pro Bowler and 2022 First Team All-Pro, is one of the best at the position in the entire NFL. His individual brilliance helps lift the Broncos' duo to the top despite second-year player Riley Moss' inexperience. Asante Samuel Jr.'s 12 pass breakups as the primary defender in coverage were the sixth most in the NFL in 2022. Trent McDuffie earned a 2023 First Team All-Pro nod as a corner in part because of his impact as a pass rusher. McDuffie's 16 quarterback pressures were the third most among defensive backs in 2023.
The Raiders' duo of Jack Jones and Jakorian Bennett need work. Jones got cooked by Cowboys 2024 sixth-round pick receiver Ryan Flournoy on a goal-line fade touchdown pass in the second week of the preseason.
Safety
- Chargers (Derwin James Jr., Alohi Gilman)
- Chiefs (Justin Reid, Bryan Cook)
- Raiders (Tre'von Moehrig, Marcus Epps)
- Broncos (Brandon Jones, P.J. Locke)
When Derwin James is healthy, the three-time Pro Bowler and 2018 First Team All-Pro has a case to be regarded as one of the NFL's elite safeties. Not only is Justin Reid a steady contributor, but he is helping out in the kicking department some on special teams. Raiders 2021 second-round pick safety Tre'von Moehrig is beginning to come into his own with a career-high three interceptions in his third season in 2023. The Broncos imported Brandon Jones over from the Miami Dolphins on a three-year, $20 million deal to help shore up their defensive backfield after a season in which Jones' former team dropped 70 points of them in a game.
Special Teams
- Raiders (Daniel Carlson, A.J. Cole)
- Chiefs (Harrison Butker, Matt Araiza)
- Chargers (Cameron Dicker, JK Scott)
- Broncos (Wil Lutz, Riley Dixon)
The Raiders have the 2022 First Team All-Pro kicker in Daniel Carlson, and the 2023 First Team All-Pro punter A.J. Cole, who led the NFL with a net yards per punt average of 45.1. Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker's 197 career made field goals are the third most in the NFL since he entered the league in 2017, trailing only Ravens kicker Justin Tucker (227) and New York Jets kicker Greg Zuerlein (217). Matt Araiza, the player known as the "Punt God" signed on to be the Chiefs punter this offseason after his legal situation cleared up. Cameron Dicker connected on 31 of his 33 field goal attempted last season, the fifth best in the NFL in 2023 among those with at least 10 field goal attempts. Another former Saint who has joined Sean Payton in Denver, Wil Lutz went 30-34 on field goals in 2023.
Coaches
- Chiefs (Andy Reid)
- Chargers (Jim Harbaugh)
- Broncos (Sean Payton)
- Raiders (Antonio Pierce)
Andy Reid became only the fifth coach in NFL history to have three or more Super Bowl wins in 2023, joining Bill Belichick, Chuck Noll, Joe Gibbs and Bill Walsh. Not bad company at all. Jim Harbaugh returns to the NFL after winning a national title with Michigan, and his 44-19-1 record as the San Francisco 49ers coach from 2011-2014 was the fourth best in the league in that span. He is also the only NFL head coach all time to reach the conference championship game in each of his first three seasons.
It's also wild that Harbaugh has reached a Super Bowl more recently than Sean Payton, someone who has been a coach in the NFL in 16 of the last 17 seasons. Payton kicked Russell Wilson to the curb this offseason, and he is looking to turn Bo Nix into his latest, short-passing king. Raiders coach Antonio Pierce enters his first full season in charge, and he will have to power through a season without his long-term answer at quarterback on the roster.