Now the NFL Draft is over and training camp is only a couple of weeks away, I will give my predictions for every team of every division. I will provide reasoning and some logic to my thoughts on the predictions. The first division will be the reigning Super Bowl champs and the rest of the AFC West.
Kansas City Chiefs
The reigning Super Bowl champs on paper seem to have the best possibility of repeating the same outcome this year. This Off-season the Chiefs did lose some pieces but did a decent job of finding replacements for their departures. In Free Agency the Chiefs lost pro bowler Orlando Brown Jr, but instantly found his replacement in Jawaam Taylor. Kansas City was the host of the NFL Draft this year but did not pull any punches in their selections. Seemed like the motto of the draft was “Youth Movement”. With all that being said, the schedule can be rough or mild for the Chiefs this year. Of course, they play their rivals in the West two times a year, but will also play the NFC North & AFC East. Depends on the health and if the other teams’ moves will help bring down the champs.
Predictions: AFC West Champions 12-5
Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Chargers went all in last year to increase their odds to make it to the Super Bowl, in which they did make the playoffs to lose to the Jacksonville Jaguars. My concern is did that push last year, hurt their chances this year? The defense is getting older and didn’t address much in the offseason. One thing I can say is, the Chargers gave Justin Herbert younger weapons to help the offense succeed. One question on my mind though is what will happen with Austin Ekeler? Will he be extended, traded, or cut? In my opinion, that could be a big blow to the offense. Looking at the schedule, Los Angeles has the same battle the Chiefs do but instead of first-place teams being played, it will be the second-place teams. The Chargers have a long road ahead of them, especially playing Kansas City twice a year. Will they win the division this year? Probably not but they did win the schedule release!
Predictions: 2nd Place 9-8 (Misses the playoffs)
Las Vegas Raiders
Man, the Las Vegas Raiders. . . On the verge of being a playoff contender to a complete disaster. With the addition of Davante Adams last, many of us thought the Raiders would be a contender, but in my opinion, hiring coach Josh McDaniels caused that move to fail. To begin the offseason, what do the Raiders do? They released their disgruntled franchise quarterback Derek Carr and replaced him with Jimmy Garoppolo. Other free agency moves were decent but nothing to brag about. Their draft, on the other hand, was subpar in my eyes. Just all over the place, not really addressing many needs for them. The scheduling aspect doesn’t help them either. I believe the other division teams are superior and the Raiders don’t have a chance against the AFC East and NFC North.
Predictions: 4th Place 4-13
Denver Broncos
Last year, the Denver Broncos traded for quarterback Russell Wilson, the QB the Broncos have needed for a while. The only bad thing, Wilson’s game did not match the hype of his name, nor the money Denver gave Wilson to extend. How will the Broncos redeem themselves this offseason? Well, that’s surrendering draft picks to the New Orleans Saints for the rights to head coach Sean Payton. The Broncos’ defense finished top 15 last year and was damaged by Wilson and the offense. Bringing Payton helps to fix that. Payton has some experience dealing with shorter quarterbacks like Drew Brees, hopefully, he can hit the lotto twice. Broncos didn’t make a lot of splashes in free agency but did hit some gems in the draft. Even though Denver did try to salvage this team, their schedule does affect them tremendously. Even though the Broncos are playing fourth-place teams, the other two divisions are way better and the Chargers & Chiefs are just too good.
Predictions: 3rd Place 6-11
Comment below with any comments of this article and be on the lookout for my next prediction article of the AFC South!
