Colin Cowherd predicts Broncos will win AFC West over Chiefs

Colin Cowherd believes that the Broncos will top the Chiefs in the AFC West in 2020.

Wait, just a minute. Isn’t this supposed to be the Los Angeles Chargers? Have they been supplanted? Around these parts, we’re used to the Kansas City Chiefs somehow being ignored as the assumed favorites to win the division. And we understand since, after all, what’s four straight AFC West titles good for anyway?

However, Colin Cowherd, the great analytic hero known and loved by so many, recently put out his pick for winning the AFC West in 2020 with the following:

"“You know in the NFL, somebody’s gonna win a division and we’re gonna be shocked. Don’t be shocked if Denver beats Kansas City. Not saying Kansas City is plummeting. A little Super Bowl winning hangover. They go back to 11 wins. Denver wins 12. It’s not crazy.”"

https://twitter.com/ColinCowherd/status/1270540605848825856

The entire segment is primarily about Drew Lock and how he expects him to “pop” like other recent second-year quarterbacks (e.g. Carson Wentz, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson). Given his firm belief in Lock’s growth under center, he also says the Broncos are going to top the Chiefs for the West title.

Again, we’re used to prognosticators picking teams other than the Chiefs to win the West—for reasons unknown. It’s just that every year, that team that’s supposed to shock and surprise is the Chargers. For years, the Bolts did well to maintain pace with the Chiefs and provide a real contender for the West, but every year, the Chiefs would beat them and injuries would beset them. Then they completely fell apart.

Enter the Broncos, it seems. The Broncos defense has what most defenses would love to have in the pass-rushing tandem of Von Miller and Bradley Chubb. They also have plenty of other playmakers in key places (e.g. Justin Simmons, Kareem Jackson, A.J. Bouye). For Cowherd, it’s the offense that could really turn the corner with Lock’s improvement surrounded by Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, K.J. Hamler, and Noah Fant among pass catchers and a backfield of Melvin Gordon and Phillip Lindsay.

Chiefs fans would be wise to give the Broncos at least some credit for remaking their offense to look so strong on paper. If Lock is the franchise face that John Elway has been painfully searching for, it’s a formidable unit that should put up a lot of points. It’s also easy to forget that Denver’s defense was good enough to win a Super Bowl only five years ago. They could be a very tough out for the Chiefs.

Then again, Lock looked the part until he took on Kansas City, and the Broncos overall scored a total of 9 points in two games against the Chiefs in 2019. In fact, the Chiefs have absolutely dominated Denver for years now under Andy Reid‘s leadership and last season’s contests revealed a greater rift in talent between the teams than ever before. It seems silly to think that a single offseason will allow a team so thoroughly smothered last year to suddenly make a leap over the defending champs.

Then again, that’s what the offseason is for and this is what Cowherd does best. It’s likely best if we just tune him out.