After a disappointing 2-14 season for the Kansas City Chiefs, they’ve gone out and made some moves that will significantly help them improve this upcoming season. The AFC West is a division going through a lot of change. The San Diego Chargers welcome a new head coach, the Oakland Raiders are in severe rebuilding mode, the Chiefs welcome a lot of new players and a new head coach; but then there’s the Denver Broncos, who just seem to have it all figured out.
The defending AFC West Champion Broncos are definitely the team to beat not only in the division, but in the AFC in general. They have a great offense and defense that they continue to add to and improve. They are led by a true professional in quarterback Peyton Manning who overcame a difficult injury, joined a new team, and played like he never missed a season. This offseason they signed one of the biggest, if not the biggest, free agent in wide receiver Wes Welker, who has had an amazing career in New England with the Patriots. He leaves a great quarterback in Tom Brady to join another in Manning. No reason to doubt that he’ll have a great year with the Broncos this season, only adding to their offensive threat.
The Broncos have also added some depth and improvements on the defensive side of the ball. They signed cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, guard Louis Vasquez, defensive tackle Terrance Knighton, and linebacker Stewart Bradley.
Although the Broncos have made improvements to their already solid, playoff caliber team, the Kansas City Chiefs may be their biggest competition within the division as they too have made some moves this offseason.
The Chiefs decided it was time to move on from quarterback Matt Cassel as they acquired Alex Smith from the San Francisco 49ers via trade. Smith has had tremendous success with the Niners the past few seasons and the Chiefs are hoping he can bring that success to Kansas City and get them back to their winning ways. Smith can improve their offense that lacked execution last season if he is able to play the way he did in San Francisco with Jim Harbaugh as his head coach.
The Chiefs have also made defensive improvements by signing the top cornerback in the free-agent market, Sean Smith. They also signed defensive end Mike DeVito, quarterback Chase Daniel, defensive back Dunta Robinson, wide receiver Donnie Avery, tight end Anthony Fasano, offensive tackle Geoff Schwartz, tightend Thomas Gafford, fullback Ryan D’Imperio, and linebacker Chad Kilgore.
The Chiefs went out and significantly improved their team to be able to compete within the difficult AFC. Can the Chiefs upset the Broncos and take the division this season? Highly unlikely. While they’ve signed some good players the organization is going through change as well, as they will have a new head coach in Andy Reid. The Broncos are one of the best teams in the AFC and have only gotten better through free agency. They have an offense that can strike fast and move down the field efficiently. The Broncos are the favorite in the AFC and will be hard to overtake.