The Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders have had a very busy offseason. While the Broncos look to improve their already impressive roster, the Raiders look to get back on track and have a better season in 2014. Here’s a look at some of the top acquisitions by AFC West teams thus far.
The Broncos improved their pass rush by adding Demarcus Ware, and also signed cornerback Aqib Talib, safety T.J. Ward, and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.
Ware is one of the biggest names in the game, and is known to be an impact player with the ability to get after the quarterback. Ware had only six sacks with the Dallas Cowboys last season, but he battled through an elbow injury throughout the season. With a healthy Ware and Von Miller, the Broncos pass rush is a dangerous one.
Ward will add a fiery attitude to the Denver secondary and contribute to an already intimidating defense. Like Ward, Talib is a very physical player capable of shutting down opponents. Ward had two interceptions last year, and Talib had four.
With Eric Decker gone, Sanders will take his spot on the offense. The wide receiver had six touchdowns for with the Pittsburgh Steelers last year and is expected to impress with the Broncos next season. Sanders has great speed and will be a productive force on this offense for Peyton Manning.
The defending AFC Champion Broncos continue to build on monster roster full of intimidating names as they look to win it all this upcoming season.
The Oakland Raiders have the most salary cap space this offseason with nearly $65 million to spend. The first day of free agency was a slow one for the Raiders, but since then Reggie McKenzie and Mark Davis have been making a ton of moves to improve this team.
The Raiders have added defensive end Justin Tuck, wide receiver James Jones, offensive tackle Donald Penn, lineman Kevin Boothe, tackle Austin Howard, defensive end Antonio Smith, and cornerback Tarell Brown. The silver and black will also welcome back Charles Woodson, Darren McFadden, Khalif Barnes, and Usama Young.
Oakland’s pass rush has been a concern, but with the additions of Tuck and Smith, they have a veteran presence with winning experience to make an impact. Tuck had 11 sacks last year with the New York Giants and immediately makes the Oakland defense more intimidating.
The offensive line was simply horrible last season, and the loss of Jared Veldheer was concerning, but McKenzie has addressed the situation thus far this offseason and added some guys to protect Oakland’s future quarterback, whoever that may be.
Many didn’t expect McFadden to be wearing a Raiders jersey next season, but McKenzie was able to sign number 20 to a low cost very high reward contract; which will hopefully go in the Raiders favor.
McKenzie is also addressing the troublesome receiving core this offseason as he added Jones to the roster. The Bay Area native had three touchdowns last year with the Green Bay Packers, but had a career best 14 touchdowns in 2012. The veteran will add some experience to the young Raiders offense.
The Raiders are in need of pretty much everything, but this is the offseason they have been waiting for as they now have money to spend. The offseason has just begun and the silver and black have already improved with the many additions and veteran players eager to continue that Commitment to Excellence.
The two teams that have made the biggest splash in the AFC West this offseason are the Raiders and Broncos. Both have been very active in the free agent market as they improve their rosters.
Editor's Note: Raiders also acquired Matt Schaub from the Houston Texans for a sixth-round pick in the 2014 NFL draft.