Power ranking the AFC West by position groups
Wide Receivers
4) Las Vegas Raiders
Perhaps the biggest question mark in the entire division is the receiving corps of the Las Vegas Raiders. After Hunter Renfrow, the team has essentially no proven commodities. You could convince us that we should count veteran Nelson Algohlor as one, but that’s splitting unnecessary hairs. The fate of the Raider receiving corps rests on the development and ability of rookies Henry Ruggs III and Bryan Edwards – both have loads of potential, but we have no idea what they actually have, yet.
3) Denver Broncos
Like the Raiders, the Denver Broncos have substantial amounts of talent at the wide receiver position, but we essentially know nothing about them. Courtland Sutton certainly (and finally) looked the part in the second half of 2019, and if that chemistry with Lock is the real deal, he’ll be a Pro Bowler in 2020. But behind him, the team is relying on rookies Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler to carry the load – we’ll see what happens.
2) Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers boast one of the top wide receivers in football in veteran Keenan Allen. He’d be the WR1 on all but a small handful of teams in the league, and he can hardly be blamed for health issues and poor offensive line play, the two biggest plagues of his career thus far. The team also boasts a great complimentary piece in veteran Mike Willams, and we should expect to see rookie KJ Hill make some noise for LA this season out of the slot. The Chargers do not boast a top ten receiving group in the league, but it is the second strongest in the West, for now.
1) Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs have one of the top five receivers in football, a four deep corps as good as any in the league, and no rookies on the depth chart (likely) – it is not difficult to see why they’re the top ranked receiving group in the AFC West. Tyreek Hill could legitimately be the top receiver in the NFL by the end of the season – he’s fast, of course, but he’s gotten so good at running routes, and fights for the ball in the air better than anyone else in the league. Sammy Watkins has WR1 potential and would be the top wideout for half the teams in the NFL right now. While he’s oft-injured and often does not flash his immense talent, he’s still a very good receiver. DeMarcus Robinson is a starter on most other teams in the NFL and Mecole Hardman could be the WR2 by season’s end. This is a deep and talented group that stands atop the West.