With the Position Breakdown series in full swing, the next division under the microscope is the AFC West. Here’s an offensive position-by-position breakdown of the AFC West, with “the best” at each position followed by “the rest” in descending order.
Be sure to check out our AFC West defensive breakdown by clicking here.
AFC West Breakdown By Position: the Offense
Quarterback
The Best: Den The Rest: SD, OAK, KC
This was an easy choice, but that should not take away from the fact that the AFC West has a decent set of quarterbacks overall. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Peyton Manning is at the top. His “poor performance” in 2014 was still a good year for any other quarterback, and regardless of last year, Philip Rivers, who is a very respectable second, hasn’t done enough to overtake him yet.
In third and fourth positions are Derek Carr and Alex Smith. Carr is a very solid young talent who is developing well, on a team that is steadily putting together what could, one day soon, be a winning combination. Alex Smith in fourth is no slouch. My most significant criticism of Alex Smith is that he didn’t throw a touchdown to a wide receiver in 2014. Carr and Smith were almost equal in terms of yards last year, but Carr threw more touchdowns in interceptions.
Running Back
The Best: KC The Rest: SD, DEN, OAK
Jamaal Charles is easily the best in the division when it comes to running backs. He isn’t particularly large, but brings immense athletic ability to the table. 2014 was not his best year, but 1,324 all-purpose yards along with 14 total touchdowns is a phenomenal performance. As a backup, Knile Davis is solid and should continue to play a significant role in the Chiefs offense.
It was a tough decision to put San Diego ahead of Denver here, but there is some method behind the madness. The Broncos have three capable running backs in their stable with C.J. Anderson, Ronnie Hillman, and Montee Ball. Anderson started only about half of the team’s games last year, but ended up just shy of 900 yards with ten all-purpose touchdowns. Hillman and Ball are both decent, but ultimately unremarkable.
The Chargers however, have a far more complete stable which currently sits at four options in the backfield. Their current number one is Branden Oliver, who looked decent in his rookie year but is making improvements. They also drafted one of the top two running backs in the draft, Melvin Gordon. Gordon is one of those prospects from whom nearly everyone expects good play. Danny Woodhead will provide a good change of pace and relief, as he has a good mix of awesome speed and good hands. Fourth in line (should they keep a fourth) is Donald Brown, not a man you want taking 20 hand-offs per game, but a decent option and above average that far down the depth chart.
The Raiders picked up Trent Richardson in the offseason and we wish them all the best in their running endeavors this year.
Wide Receiver
The Best: DEN The Rest: SD, KC, OAK
The Broncos have, in Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas, one of the finest sets of starting wide receivers in football. The duo caught for 122 passes for over 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2014. With Wes Welker no longer in the picture the Broncos will be looking for more production out of second year receiver Cody Latimer.
San Diego has some very respectable depth but no real superstars. Aging deep threat Malcolm Floyd is always someone to keep an eye on, while Keenan Allen will look to build upon a fairly successful 2014 season, in which he caught 77 passes for just under 800 yards and four scores. Jacoby Jones was picked up during the offseason and is a solid return man, but a career backup at wide receiver. Stevie Johnson was signed back in March and despite a significant drop in productivity over the last two years, working with a solid quarterback like Philip Rivers could help his numbers.
Kansas City and Oakland are pretty much tied at third and fourth here. Neither team has a bad group of receivers, nor do they have a stable of amazing stars. The Chiefs picked up Jeremy Maclin earlier in the offseason who should work well in their scheme. With regard to the Raiders, they picked up Michael Crabtree and drafted Amari Cooper. Crabtree is past his prime but not a waste of a uniform, and Amari Cooper looks solid so far and already seems to be working well with Derek Carr.
Tight End
The Best: SD The Rest: KC, DEN, OAK
While Antonio Gates is suspended for the first four games of the season, he is still the best in the division and remains one of the best tight ends in the game. At 35 years old however, one cannot tell how much longer he will be able to hold up in the league.
Although Travis Kelce of the Chiefs lost his first NFL season to a knee injury, he bounced back in 2014 with 67 receptions for 862 yards and five touchdowns. He is considered one of the best young players at the position in the league.
The Denver Broncos had a great set of tight ends last year in Julius Thomas and backup Jacob Tamme. Unfortunately, Thomas signed with the Jaguars and Tamme with the Falcons, and the team was left with Virgil Green. The Broncos picked up 32-year-old, two time Pro Bowl selection Owen Daniels. Green and Daniels will likely split time, and make up an okay pair of tight ends.
Oakland’s starter will likely be Mychal Rivera, who looked decent in 2014, catching 58 passes for over 500 yards and four touchdowns. His two backups are Lee Smith and rookie out of Miami Clive Walford.
Offensive Line
The Best: SD The Rest: DEN, OAK, KC
For offensive lines, we’ll start from the bottom and go up. Kansas City’s offensive line is just that: offensive. Okay, that’s not fair, they are nowhere near worst in the league, but they gave up 49 sacks in 2014, one of the league’s highest numbers. If they do have a saving grace it is that they are solid in run blocking, but keep in mind that Jamaal Charles creates his own holes sometimes as he is one of the quickest and most talented backs in the league. A challenge that presents itself this year is the fact that the Chiefs lost their center Rodney Hudson, who signed with Oakland.
Oakland isn’t much better but they are quickly building themselves into a contender. They grabbed Hudson from the Chiefs and are paying him well, as they see some potential in the former Seminole. In terms of their effectiveness, they kept Derek Carr upright but failed to establish the run more often than not.
The Denver Broncos picked up Evan Mathis during the offseason, and for those not familiar, he has been among the league’s top five guards for years now. He missed nearly half of 2014, but still brings experience and skill to the Broncos offense. They also replaced Ryan Clady at tackle with Ryan Harris, which is not an improvement. Denver and Oakland were close in this ranking.
San Diego has the best offensive line in the division. The additions of Joe Barksdale and Orlando Franklin will both help the team, which wasn’t particularly shabby in terms of the offensive line to begin with.
Be sure to check out our AFC West defensive breakdown by clicking here.
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