It's tough sledding in the AFC West. Despite all the changes that the Raiders underwent this offseason, they're still widely considered the third- or fourth-best team in the division. That's life in the Patrick Mahomes era.
RELATED: Tom Brady details what his day-to-day role with Raiders looks like
So while they probably won't make a run at dethroning the Chiefs this season, Raiders fans can take a little joy in looking around the division and realizing that, actually, there probably isn't a good reason they can't finish 2nd. Baby steps, etc. And it gets better: The Athletic just dropped a big listicle of reasons why every NFL team should be concerned about one part of their roster, which only helps emphasize the fact that some of these AFC West rivals aren't that much farther ahead of Las Vegas.
Chargers' offensive line situation is stilll a big amusing mess
"Who starts at left guard and center? One of the Chargers’ biggest weaknesses last season was the interior of their offensive line, particularly in pass protection. They took a step toward improving that area in free agency when they signed Mekhi Becton, who will start at right guard. At left guard and center, the Chargers could be starting two holdovers in Bradley Bozeman and Zion Johnson. Bozeman started at center in 2024. Johnson started at left guard. The Chargers, through spring practices, have been experimenting with Johnson at center and Bozeman at left guard. Johnson has never played center in the NFL. Will swapping those two actually lead to improvement?
I'm sure that Justin Herbert – who's been notoriously healthy throughout his NFL career so far – will probably survive 18 games without any real substantive plan on [checks notes] the entire left side of the offensive line. Left tackle is the perfect spot to try the committee/plug-and-play routine; I'm sure never playing center in the NFL isn't that big of a deal either. Sounds like the Chargers have it all figured out. Who's got it better than them?