The AFC West has been a one-way street for the better part of a decade. Don’t expect that to change in 2025.
While we saw the division produce three playoff teams last season, the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers were both rudely bounced in the opening round, while the Kansas Chiefs again made it to the Super Bowl, albeit getting trounced once there by the Philadelphia Eagles.
So did anybody do enough to make the Chiefs sweat come September. Or is Kansas City going to roll to a 10th straight division crown? Let’s take a look at where everybody stands.
1. Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs have won the AFC West nine times in a row, and have enjoyed three consecutive AFC titles along with two Super Bowl trophies in that span. While they lost a few pieces this offseason, nothing happened to move them out of the penthouse in this division.
Kansas City watched as safety Justin Reid and defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton left in free agency. They also traded All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears. However, general manager Brett Veach made additions beyond the draft class, signing left tackle Jaylon Moore, safety Mike Edwards, cornerback Kristian Fulton and others, along with re-signing middle linebacker Nick Bolton, defensive end Charles Omenihu and receiver Marquise Brown.
The Chiefs have questions to answer on the left side of the offensive line with Moore and second-year man Kingsley Suamataia (along with first-round pick Josh Simmons potentially stepping in when healthy), but the rest of the roster is loaded up for another championship run.
2. Denver Broncos
Last season, the Broncos shocked almost everybody in the football world by winning 10 games and earning a wild-card berth. While they won't sneak up on anybody in 2025, their roster says they may not need to.
Denver is relying heavily on second-year quarterback Bo Nix, who threw 29 touchdowns as a rookie under the gaze of coach Sean Payton. This offseason, the roster lost nothing and added plenty, highlighted by the additions of tight end Evan Engram, linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga. Factor in the rookie class, and the Broncos have a nice influx of talent to make sure there isn't a regression.
The concern here is health. Denver is banking heavily on Hufanga and Greenlaw to be healthy, something neither has been recently. Greenlaw played two games last year after tearing his Achilles tendon in Super Bowl LVIII, while Hufanga has played just 17 games over the past two seasons.
3. Los Angeles Chargers
It's tough to understand what the game plan was for general manager Joe Horitz.
The Chargers came into the offseason on a high despite losing in their wild-card game against the Houston Texans. They won 11 games last season and the defense was one of the league's best led by star safety Derwin James Jr.
However, the offense needed a ton of help on the interior of the line along with adding some talent on the perimeter for quarterback Justin Herbert. Instead of making moves with ample cap space, the Chargers decided to let receiver Josh Palmer walk while not adding any veterans to the group. In short, rookie second-round pick Tre Harris must come through.
On the line, Mekhi Becton was brought in from the Philadelphia Eagles on a two-year deal, but he was the only signing there. Finally, the secondary lost Asante Samuel Jr. and Kristian Fulton, while adding Donte Jackson.
4. Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders didn't get better in nearly enough areas despite having the second-most cap space in football entering free agency behind the New England Patriots.
While adding quarterback Geno Smith for a third-round pick was a smart move, the Raiders didn't surround him with enough talent to make the acquisition as impactful as it could, and should, be. Las Vegas got better under center but didn't improve on the offensive line, leaving that unit as a huge question mark. The same can be said for the receivers, a group led by Jakobi Meyers but with little else in the way of proven talent. First-round running back Ashton Jeanty will have enormous pressure to be dynamite immediately.
Defensively, the Raiders brought back edge rusher Malcolm Koonce but lost inside linebacker Robert Spillane and corner Nate Hobbs in free agency. The defense was already a middling unit and now might be worse unless some rookies and lesser-known veterans step up to fill in the considerable holes in the back seven.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as 2025 NFL Season: Ranking Every AFC West Roster.