"Go west, young man". Having just given our first division on the NFC side of the conferential divide a onceover, we turn our attention to the AFC West to see what's afoot. First stop: Denver.
Denver Broncos
It was quickly swept under the rug in the immediate aftermath of the AFC Championship Game, but Sean Payton's comments on his quarterback's "preexisting" ankle condition didn't appear to sit real well with Bo Nix. We haven't been given any further reason to believe Nix is dealing with something chronic, but Denver keeping Nix in the trainer's room for almost five months was an overtly cautious approach. No need to downgrade the offense — Payton assures us that his QB1 is good to go — but something to keep an eye on. Nix had a second (planned, allegedly) procedure on the ankle two months ago. ... Already a plenty competitive pecking order before the big splash to land Jaylen Waddle, the Denver pass attack is now all but assured to yield some 'just one football' frustration for one (or more) of its membership — Courtland Sutton is already foreshadowing this very eventuality. Will be interesting to see how OC (and now playcaller) Davis Webb deploys a sneaky deep menagerie of receivers. Even if Webb can get Bo Nix his first 4,000-yard season, one of Denver's three wideouts on rookie contracts is poised to fall out of this offense. ... He generated a decent swell of buzz post-draft, but a church mouse quiet summer means rookie TE Justin Joly won't be rendering Evan Engram an August cap casualty. Back in a contract year, the soon to be 32-year-old Engram might just squeeze one more payday out of an NFL team with a bounce back this fall.
Kansas City Chiefs
Let's get one thing straight: When the Chiefs welcome the aforementioned Broncos to Arrowhead ten Mondays from now, Patrick Mahomes will be under center. Will he be 100 percent, who knows, but Mahomes undergoing reconstructive surgery on his ACL & LCLs the day after tearing them was in service of getting back in time for K.C.'s opener. How ever we approach this offense for 2026, we should approach it with this in mind. ... Radio silence on the status of Rashee Rice and the cleanup procedure on his knee since his latest brush with the legal system. As such, no other No. 1 receiver in the NFL will have anywhere near as much riding on this training camp; as calamitous as his time in the pros has been, he still has a chance to stabilize as the Chiefs' post-Kelce volume dealer. Heading into a contract year, he absolutely must reward the team's patience with good health and availability, starting this month. For what it's worth, he looked to be moving without reservation while running his most recent 'route'. ... In a backfield tracking for wholesale turnover, a quiet free agency addition looks to have the inside track to be the No. 2 back on this depth chart. Emari Demercado — yep, that Emari Demercado — appears to hold the inside track on rookie Emmett Johnson. Languishing on a great many dynasty waiver wires as we speak, Demercado is basically free insurance on the oft-dinged Kenneth Walker. ... Don't look now, but former Belichick draft bust Tyquan Thornton looks to have the Chiefs' starting 'X' job pretty well in hand. Boasting better length and just as much functional speed as Xavier Worthy, he may just be the more natural fit for when the Chiefs want to attack vertically on conventional routes. Not fatal to Worthy's cause, but assuming Rice is healthy and not incarcerated then this could narrow his fantasy ceiling, as well as likely costing him snaps any time the Chiefs want to get two tight ends on the field.
Las Vegas Raiders
The 'bridge quarterback' approach is in full swing in Vegas, and the (perpetual) new-look Raiders are leaning into it hard. Some are treating Mendoza's in-season takeover as inevitable, but that might be unwise; Kubiak's staff seem genuinely committed to the rookie's development. Mendoza is still learning how to run point under center; I'd be willing to bet the under on Mendoza's 2026 games started line. ... Vanishingly little to be said about Ashton Jeanty nor Brock Bowers: Both very good, both will be heavily, heavily utilized. Signed to the richest contract for an interior lineman in league history, Tyler Linderbaum's arrival combined with a return to health by franchise LT Kolton Miller is a good bet to yield a big-time turnaround for this unit. Over the last two years Kubiak presided over massive OL improvements in New Orleans and Seattle. ... Rounding the final turn into training camp with the most undermanned receiver group in the league, probably no team will be dot-connected to available wide receivers as much as Las Vegas. While another receiver joining the fray is extremely plausible, incumbent No. 1 Tre Tucker and surprise free agency priority Jalen Nailor are currently in line to play heavy snaps in September. ... It's precisely the kind of hype that evaporates faster than a water droplet in the Nevada desert, but rookie speedster Malik Benson has been turning the proverbial heads in early team sessions. He's more likely to factor in the return game than on offense, but the sixth rounder is 6'/190 with 4.37 speed and only has the very iffy Dont'e Thornton meaningfully impeding at least a part-time role this year. Add him to the mental rolodex.
Los Angeles Chargers
In the transition from Gregg Roman to new OC Mike McDaniel, the 2026 Chargers are very likely to present us with one of the largest year-over-year schematic shifts in the league. In his final season in Miami, McDaniel's offense led the league in pre-snap motion; the Chargers ranked 19th last year. To that end, prepare for a let of jet motion for Quentin Johnston and rookie turf burner Brenen Thompson, whom McDaniel pounded the table for in L.A.'s April war room, in your future. ... Pairing McDaniel's arrival with some stellar rookie season moments, Oronde Gadsden is going to head into next month's redraft crescendo with 'sleeper' status. But the Chargers opting to pay real money to not one, but two veteran tight ends with superior in-line ability portends poorly for Gadsden's playing time, at least to start the year. McDaniel also lured his favorite fullback to Los Angeles with him. Caught in one of the most crowded offenses in the league, Gadsden's looking at a lot of week-to-week inconsistency until further notice. ... Another of Mike McDaniel's bounty signings, Keaton Mitchell has been loosely comped to De'Von Achane at times... when healthy. Unlikely that he meaningfully encroaches on the starter, but also unlikely we don't see him take one to the house from the other side of the 50 at least once in September for the perpetually fast-starting Harbaugh Chargers.
—Luke Wilson
