The AFC West has been a one-horse race for the past eight seasons, with the Kansas City Chiefs dominating the division. However, with the Chargers, Broncos, and Raiders looking to make waves in 2024, could the Chiefs' reign finally be coming to an end?
With the 2024 NFL regular season just around the corner, every team in the league is set to make some tough decisions, cutting down the roster to get 53 men who will start the year with Super Bowl aspirations. However, with only so many playoff spots to secure, every team will be fighting to come out of their division as winners, or at least earn a wild card spot.
FOX Sports' Colin Cowherd gave his predictions for how each division will shake out before training camp began. Using those rankings, here is a breakdown of each team in each division, continuing with the AFC West.
AFC West Breakdown: A Look at the Division's Teams Ahead of the 2024 NFL Season
Colin says: "Kansas City until further notice. They’ve won the division eight straight times. Best coach in football, best quarterback. They get it."
The Chiefs are in a different weight class in the division, and they keep punching down on their rivals after winning the division for the eighth straight season last year on their way to back-to-back Super Bowls.
AFC West Breakdown: A Look at the Division's Teams Ahead of the 2024 NFL Season
Everyone will be talking about whether this team can become the first in league history to win three straight Lombardi Trophies, not necessarily if they will win the division because they have been that good.
First things first, though, will be nine straight titles to make another playoff run.
AFC West Breakdown: A Look at the Division's Teams Ahead of the 2024 NFL Season
**KEY ADDITION:** WRs XAVIER WORTHY & HOLLYWOOD BROWN
The Chiefs won the Super Bowl, yes, but there was a time during the regular season in 2023 when Patrick Mahomes' receiving weapons were highly questioned, especially at wide receiver.
AFC West Breakdown: A Look at the Division's Teams Ahead of the 2024 NFL Season
Rashee Rice came on late in the regular season in his rookie year, but players like Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney and Justin Watson just were not getting the job done. The Chiefs still found ways to win games, but there was a lot of head-scratching from head coach Andy Reid, Mahomes and Chiefs fans alike when dropped passes and mis-ran routes hurt them in-game.
Enter the speedy rookie Worthy and a dynamic receiver in Brown to hopefully give Mahomes better options this time around.
AFC West Breakdown: A Look at the Division's Teams Ahead of the 2024 NFL Season
**BIGGEST QUESTION:** THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM?
Like we said, it is a matter of the Super Bowl, not the division.
AFC West Breakdown: A Look at the Division's Teams Ahead of the 2024 NFL Season
If the Chiefs miss the playoffs, it would be the NFL's biggest shock, because they are better roster-wise than they were last season on their way to winning it all.
Mahomes has been rewriting history since he entered the league in Kansas City, and that is all they have their sights on this year with the third straight Super Bowl in mind.
**WEEK 1:** VS. BALTIMORE RAVENS (SEPT. 5 at 8:15 P.M.)
Colin says: "I think the Chargers have limitations on the perimeter…they might make a move, in my opinion. I’ll take them second."
Now, because Cowherd made these predictions before the start of the regular season, he believed the Chargers would make a push for San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk amid their contract dispute. With that solved, perhaps Los Angeles will look elsewhere for receivers before the trade deadline.
However, Jim Harbaugh's return to the NFL is one of the biggest storylines of the year, as he looks to turn the tides for the Chargers after a putrid 5-12 season in 2023.
It is a new look everywhere for the Chargers, but with beatable teams in the division outside the Chiefs, they have a chance to sneak into the playoffs if all goes well.
**KEY ADDITION:** WR LADD McCONKEY
Harbaugh is the big addition for sure, but when looking at the roster, perhaps no player is more important than Ladd McConkey, the team's second-round pick, in the receiving game.
With Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, Justin Herbert's top two options in past seasons on the perimeter, gone, someone will need to step up at receiver. The Chargers had Joshua Palmer on the roster, and D.J. Chark came in via free agency, but McConkey is someone who has been turning some heads at training camp.
The crops route runner had a great career in Georgia, and now he could become Herbert's safety blanket in this new offense under OC Greg Roman.
**BIGGEST QUESTION:** IS HARBAUGH THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB?
He is coming off an undefeated, national championship-winning season with the Michigan Wolverines and joins a roster with questions at multiple positions. However, some believe he has enough to make a run in the AFC Wild Card race.
First, Herbert is one of the most talented quarterbacks in the NFL. Then, the addition of Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins fits well for a run-heavy team Harbaugh usually likes. On defense, players like Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack
