AFC West preseason power rankings: Can anyone challenge the Chiefs?

As far as NFL Power Rankings go, the AFC West's a pretty easy prediction. The division features both the the best team in football and (arguably) the worst, which means that, ultimately, figuring out the order just comes down to how much you believe in Jim Harbaugh.

And while there's been the occasional sign over the past couple years that the division may not be quite as anemic as it's been for most of the Patrick Mahomes era, we can be realistic with ourselves: the Chiefs are going to win the division. Barring any serious injury curveballs, the real intrigue in the AFC West will be for that second place, Wild Card-clinching spot. The battle for nine wins has never sounded more exciting.

So here's how the AFC West looks, at least right now. Don't sweat this too much, Raiders fans. At least you're not the Broncos!

2024 NFL Preseason AFC West Power Rankings

4. Denver Broncos

I guess we'll see how good of a coach Sean Payton really is. The Broncos benefited from some unsustainably-lucky turnover success last year, which was a big reason why their record looked better than their performances. Payton's seat is probably already getting a little warm, which makes the Bo Nix pick – 12th overall in this year's draft – all the more interesting. It sounds like Nix is starting to separate himself from Zach Wilson and Jarrett Stidham, which is both good news and also not nearly the flex that Broncos Twitter insists it is. I hope everyone in Denver is ready to hear "developmental year" 10,000 times from Payton over the next six months.

3. Las Vegas Raiders

This comes down to one single talking point: the Raiders don't have Justin Herbert. It's not like the rest of LV's roster is notably worse than the Chargers, but one team is pairing their franchise QB with one of the best coaches in football while the other is deciding whether they want to start Gardner Minshew or Aidan O'Connell. The Raiders' defense will keep them in games, and they've shown in recent seasons that they're always good for one or two in-division upsets, but their ceiling just isn't nearly as high as the two teams above them. As long as they keep Davante Adams from going to the Jets, the season's a success. (This is less of a joke than you think.)

2. Los Angeles Chargers

In classic Chargers fashion, a year that started with huge amounts of optimism is already being marred by injuries. Herbert's plantar fascia injury will reportedly have him in a walking boot for multiple weeks, and even if he's ready for Week 1, anyone who's dealt with that injury will tell you that it doesn't just disappear the moment the boot comes off. The Herbert-Harbaugh combo was one of the more interesting NFL storylines heading into this season, but this time is simply incapable of having nice things. Because time is a flat circle, I will sing the Chargers' praises in August and regret every moment of it by October. But maybe *this* is the yea–[gets booed off stage.]

1. Kansas City Chiefs

I'll be honest, I don't feel a huge need to justify this decision. Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, etc. The gang's all still there, which means the gang's all still going to the AFC Championship game. Their defense is only getting better, Xavier Worthy may be a first ballot Training Camp Twitter Clip Hall of Famer, and no one in the AFC West (or the NFL, really) has a good idea on how to stop them. You didn't come here to read about how good the Chiefs are, so I'll just leave it at that. They're good.