As the NFL world waits for Commissioner Roger Goodell to step to the podium at Radio City Music Hall in New York on May 8 to finally announce that the Houston Texans are on the clock, let's take one final look at where each AFC West team stands before they make their draft selections.
The AFC West was very competitive in 2013 as the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, and the San Diego Chargers qualified for the playoffs. The Oakland Raiders brought up the rear as they continued their rebuilding under general manager Reggie McKenzie and head coach Dennis Allen.
2014 looks like it will be just as competitive in the division. All three playoff teams return with their key pieces intact along with their costless agent and draft acquisitions sprinkled in. The Raiders had approximately $60 million in salary cap space to use on costless agency and the draft to hurry their improvement. If the Raiders made wise choices they just may be in the thick of things in 2014.
| AFC West (2013) | W | L | PCT |
| *-Denver Broncos | 13 | 3 | .813 |
| y-Kansas City Chiefs | 11 | 5 | .688 |
| y-San Diego Chargers | 9 | 7 | .563 |
| Oakland Raiders | 4 | 12 | .250 |
*- Clinched Division and Homefield Advantage
y- Clinched Wild Card
Denver Broncos:
2013 Review:
The Denver Broncos rode the arm and mind of their league MVP quarterback Peyton Manning to a division title, home-field advantage, AFC Championship, and Super Bowl XLVIII appearance. Despite possessing a record breaking offense, the season didn't end how they wanted as the lost the Super Bowl in a 43-8 wipeout by the Seattle Seahawks.
2014 Costless Agency:
Signings
C Will Montgomery (from Washington Redskins)
WR Emmanuel Sanders (from Pittsburgh Steelers)
CB Aqib Talib (from New England Patriots)
S TJ Ward (from Cleveland Browns)
DE DeMarcus Ware (from Dallas Cowboys)
Losses
DE Robert Ayers (signed by New York Giants)
CB Champ Bailey (signed by New Orleans Saints)
OG Zane Beadles (signed by Jacksonville Jaguars)
CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (signed by New York Giants)
WR Eric Decker (signed by New York Jets)
OG Chris Kuper (retired)
DE Jeremy Mincey (signed by Dallas Cowboys)
RB Knowshon Moreno (signed by Miami Dolphins)
DE Shaun Phillips (signed by Tennessee Titans)
OLB Wesley Woodyard (signed by Tennessee Titans)
2014 Draft:
Draft Picks: 1st round, #31; 2nd round, #63; 3rd round, #95; 4th round, #131; 5th round, #171; 6th round, #207; 7th round, #246.
Needs
Middle Linebacker
Offensive Guard
Cornerback
Latest Rumor: GM John Elway said that he is willing to trade up in the draft. Most likely targets could be linebackers C.J. Mosley and Ryan Shazier or cornerbacks Justin Gilbert and Darqueze Dennard.
Kansas City Chiefs
2013 Review:
The Kansas City Chiefs were the surprise team of 2013 as they went from 2-14 and the first overall pick in 2012 to 11-5 and a wildcard in 2013. The Chiefs under first year head coach Andy Reid won their first nine games of the 2013 regular season with a dominating defense and a offense featuring running back Jamaal Charles. In the wild card game at Indianapolis the Chiefs ran up a 28 point lead before Andrew Luck and the Colts rebounded to win 45-44.
2014 Costless Agency:
Signings
OG Jeff Linkenbach (from Indianapolis Colts)
CB Chris Owens (from Miami Dolphins)
ILB Joe Mays (from Houston Texans)
DT Vance Walker (from Oakland Raiders)
Losses
OT Branden Albert (signed by Miami Dolphins)
OG Jon Asamoah (signed by Atlanta Falcons)
S Quintin Demps (signed by New York Giants)
DE Tyson Jackson (signed by Atlanta Falcons)
ILB Akeem Jordan (signed by Washington Redskins)
S Kendrick Lewis (signed by Houston Texans)
WR Dexter McCluster (signed by Tennessee Titans)
CB Dunta Robinson (costless agent)
OG Geoff Schwartz (signed by New York Giants)
2014 Draft:
Draft Picks
1st round, #23; 3rd round, #87; 4th round, #124; 5th round, #163; 6th round, #193 and #200.
Needs
Wide Receiver
Defensive Back
Offensive Line
Latest Rumor: Word out of Kansas City is that contract extension negotiations with quarterback Alex Smith are not going well. This has caused the Chiefs' front office to switch focus to a quarterback with their #23 pick in the first round. Is this shift in focus a sound draft strategy, panic in the front office, or a tactic to put pressure on Smith?
Oakland Raiders
2013 Season Review:
2013 was the second year of General Manager Reggie McKenzie's rebuilding of a once proud franchise that had hit rock bottom. Bad costless agent signings, draft picks, and trades had sunk the Raiders into NFL oblivion. The Raiders finished the season as expected, in last place at 4-12. Costless of the bad contracts that strangled their salary cap number the Raiders had $60 million to spend as they headed into 2014.
2014 Costless Agency:
Signings
OG Kevin Boothe (from New York Giants)
RB Maurice Jones-Drew (from Jacksonville Jaguars)
CB Tarell Brown (from San Francisco 49ers)
OT Austin Howard (from New York Jets)
WR James Jones (from Green Bay Packers)
OT Donald Penn (from Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
CB Carlos Rogers (from San Francisco 49ers)
QB Matt Schaub (from Houston Texans)
DE Antonio Smith (from Houston Texans)
DE Justin Tuck (from New York Giants)
DE C.J. Wilson (from Green Bay Packers)
OLB LaMarr Woodley (from Pittsburgh Steelers)
Losses
CB Phillip Adams (signed by Seattle Seahawks)
OG Mike Brisiel (Costless Agent)
WR Jacoby Ford (signed by New York Jets)
DE Lamarr Houston (signed by Chicago Bears)
CB Mike Jenkins (signed by Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
RB Rashad Jennings (signed by New York Giants)
CB Tracy Porter (signed by Washington Redskins)
OT Jared Veldheer (signed by Arizona Cardinals)
DT Vance Walker (signed by Kansas City Chiefs)
2014 Draft:
Draft Picks
1st round, #5; 2nd round, #36; 3rd round, #67; 4th round, #107; 7th round, #219; 6th round, #235.
Needs
Quarterback
Defensive Back
Defensive End
Running Back
Latest Rumor: How much like Al Davis is his son Mark Davis? Word from Oakland is that Mark wants Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr even though the Raiders just signed Matt Schaub from the Houston Texans. GM Reggie McKenzie has his eye on linebacker Khalil Mack so the tug of war is set between owner and general manager. Will Mark run the Raiders' war room with an iron hand?
San Diego Chargers
2013 Review:
The San Diego Chargers saw their quarterback Phillip Rivers rebound under new head coach Mike McCoy to have one of his better seasons and win Comeback Player of the Year. The Chargers went 9-7 in 2013 and secured a wild card. They pulled off an upset of the Cincinnati Bengals, 27-10, in their wild card game before losing 24-17 to the Denver Broncos in the divisional round.
2014 Costless Agency:
Signings
RB Donald Brown (from Indianapolis Colts)
QB Kellen Clemens (from St. Louis Rams)
ILB Kavell Conner (from Indianapolis Colts)
CB Brandon Ghee (from Cincinnati Bengals)
TE David Johnson (from Pittsburgh Steelers)
Losses
CB Derek Cox (signed by Minnesota Vikings)
DT Vaughn Martin (signed by Detroit Lions)
FB Le'Ron McClain (costless agent)
CB Johnny Patrick (signed by New York Jets)
NT Cam Thomas (signed by Pittsburgh Steelers)
QB Charlie Whitehurst (signed by Tennessee Titans)
2014 Draft:
Draft Picks
1st round, #25; 2nd round, #57; 3rd round, #89; 4th round, #125; 5th round, #165; 6th round, #201; 7th round, #240.
Needs
Cornerback
Nose Tackle
Outside Linebacker
Latest Rumor: Not much coming out of San Diego as draft day approaches. Names still being associated with the Chargers are DE Zach Moore from Concordia (Minnesota) and WR Martavis Bryant from Clemson.