Quote:
Originally Posted by JPH83
Think it's fine to say you expect it to still be between KC and LA, but the upgrades for the others are significant. The Broncos don't have a ton of holes in their defence that i can see, and given everyone was saying "come back when you've got a QB" well, now they have. That was the major hole and difference.
There's a long way to go but there's a crazy amount of homers pretending like nothing has changed. This is now comfortably the toughest division and every game is going to be a slog. At this point every team has imprroved more than KC. It's going to be interesting to see who now comes in.
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Improving more is relative. I expect the other teams in the division, who have been worse and have much more cap flexibility, to improve "more." The real question is whether or not you feel like they improved so much they will unseat KC.
The Chiefs have been to the AFC title game 4 straight years and no team has been significantly close in the division to matching them straight-up sans the Chargers last season. Sure, the Chiefs have laid an egg a couple of times and still came out on top, but you never got the feeling they were simply outmatched overall.
Do I think the division got a lot tougher? Absolutely. That doesn't mean I'm going to throw in the towel. The Chiefs can still do things in free agency (they haven't even touched restructuring Mahomes yet if they find a guy they really want). The Chiefs have 4 picks before day 3 comes. They can get more talent.
The Chargers, for me, are the team that added the most significant pieces. They were a pain in the Chiefs' ass and just got two big-time pieces on that defense in Mack and Jackson. Those are heavy hitters for an already really good defense. At this point, they are basically looking at just losing Kyzir White, across the board, and still have a full draft.
The Broncos are probably number two for me. I think they leap the Raiders at this point but they aren't on the same level with KC and LA yet, even with a QB (at least IMO). They lost a ton of depth in the secondary at this point. I don't think you can overlook losing Bryce Callahan at the nickel and Kareem Jackson at SS if they don't re-sign (which they might). I'm keeping my eye on what they do with the rest of free agency with keen eyes though.
The Raiders improved the ability to rush the passer on their DLine, but I feel like Nichols is a lateral move to Quinton Jefferson and they still lost a ton of depth. Obviously, getting Chandler Jones is a huge boost if he continues to produce at the level we're used to seeing. Adams undoubtedly helps that offense. We're still talking about a team that couldn't stay within 30 points of KC last year though, so we'll see.
So the big question I have right now isn't what the division did but what can KC best do to counter these moves?
It may just mean getting much better at RT. All three teams have dual threats on the edge now, and so too do most of the contenders in the AFC.
I'd still sign Texans' free agent Geron Christian, who is adequate as a swing starter. I'd also look a little harder at improving earlier in the draft at RT. There are some okay options on day 2 and I don't know if I'd rule out Raimann at 30, especially if Veach goes and gets a guy like Za'Darius Smith on the edge yet in free agency.
Alot of time remains for the puzzle to come together yet, so I'll hold some judgement until we see what the pieces are.