Crystal Ball Projections: AFC West

The AFC West is turning into one of the best divisions in the NFL. All four teams, when healthy, have a shot to make some serious noise during the regular, and postseason. It’s also home to the the current Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos. Their path to repeating isn’t going to be easy. Peyton Manning has called it a career, Malik Jackson is now in Jacksonville, the heir apparent Brock Osweiler took his money and ran to Houston, and Danny Trevathan now plays for the Bears. Their defense is still magnificent but let’s look into the crystal ball to see how the AFC West will play out.

Best Draft Class: San Diego Chargers. I wasn’t a big fan of the Joey Bosa pick but the Chargers were in desperate need of a sack specialist. Bosa will come in and immediately help a Chargers team that only registered 32 sacks last year, that ranked 24th in the NFL. The team also seemed to get Antonio Gates‘ replacement in Hunter Henry in the second round. Throw in Max Tuerk, a versatile offensive lineman from USC, and Ohio State’s jack-of-trades linebacker Joshua Perry and you have a draft class that can be a true building block for the future.

Best Unit: The Kansas City Chiefs Secondary: This one is splitting hairs because the Broncos secondary is one of the best units in the NFL, too. The Chiefs get the nod because they have the best safety in the NFL in Eric Berry and they are younger. Andy Reid caught a little flak for drafting Marcus Peters do to some off the field issues but the rookie did more than enough to make Reid look smart. The unit ranked second in the NFL with 22 interceptions, third in points allowed at 287, and second in opposing completion percentage at 57.5%. In other words, not only will they shut you down but they’ll take the ball away from you, too.

Best Free Agency Pickup: Bruce Irvin, Oakland Raiders. How do you scare opposing offenses? Adding Bruce Irvin and lining him up with All-Pro Khalil Mack, that’s how. The Raiders ranked 14th last year in sacks but with the addition of Irvin it’s a pretty safe bet to say that they’ll jump into the top ten this year.

Best Player: Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs. Von Miller just won the Super Bowl MVP but Eric Berry is the best player in the AFC West. The Tennessee product ranked as the best safety in the NFL according to PFF. He can do it all and make it look easy.

Breakout Player: Derek Wolfe, Denver Broncos. Denver’s defense has the luxury of employing two pass rushing specialists in Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware. The attention they require alone should give Wolfe a lot of one-on-one opportunities. Wolfe bounced back from a rough, 1.5 sack, season in 2014 with 5.5 sacks in 2015. Entering his prime at the ripe age of 26, I expect Wolfe to put it all together to complete a dominant pass rushing unit.

 

Best Rookie: Karl Joseph, Oakland Raiders. Joseph will try to take over for the future Hall of Famer Charles Woodson. The West Virginia product is a playmaker and will have many opportunities to live up to that name. His versatility is coveted because he can wreak havoc anywhere on the field.

Best Coach: Gary Kubiak, Denver Broncos. Kubiak gets the nod over Reid because of the masterpiece he put together last year. He handled the Broncos’ QB situation perfectly and did what needed to be done to win it all. His coaching chops will really be tested this year as we wait to see how he handles the Mark Sanchez/Paxton Lynch battle.

Interesting Storyline: The Chargers/Raiders Potential Vegas Move. The NFL seems determined to move to Vegas and Oakland or San Diego look to be one of the teams to draw the short straw. Both fanbases are on the edge of their seats while the NFL sorts through this. Raiders owner Mark Davis appears to be leading the charge for the black hole to relocate.

Biggest X-Factor: Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs. Charles is coming off an ACL tear but he’s the engine to Reid’s offense. Last year the team caught lightning in a bottle and won ten in a row but they probably won’t be that fortunate this year if Charles goes down. Travis Kelce emerged as a top tight end last year and Jeremy Maclin is more than capable of holding down the outside so Charles won’t have as much pressure to carry the offense. His return should make the Chief’s offense balanced, and scary.

MVP Candidates: Khalil Mack, Oakland Raiders. Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs. Von Miller, Denver Broncos. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers.

Division Winner: Oakland Raiders. This division is going to go down to the wire. I believe that the Broncos will make it in as a wild card but Oakland is a more balanced team while Denver is going to rely on its defense more times than not. The Raiders have a great mixture of young talent and veteran guidance. Derek Carr has proven he can play QB in this league and Amari Cooper is already carving himself a spot as one of the best receivers in the league.

Is the crystal ball correct or totally off? Let me know @mattgarrett41.

Check out other divisions: AFC South, AFC North, AFC East , NFC South, NFC West, NFC North, NFC East 

As always, thanks for reading.

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