Ask any fan of an AFC West team that isn’t the Kansas City Chiefs about the state of the division, and they would say that the division’s state is in shambles. The Chiefs have a total chokehold on the division, and it will be tough for the rest of the teams to even try and dethrone them from their spot in 2024.
The hegemony in the division may be changed depending on what the rest of the division will do in the offseason. However, they understand more than anyone that it takes more than building ultra-competitive rosters to dethrone the Chiefs now that they’ve established their dynasty.
As the 2024 offseason goes into full swing, it must be asked if the Chiefs can be dethroned by the division once football season returns.
What is the current state of the AFC West?
Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star wrote about the current state of the AFC West, pointing to the draft and their most recent moves as a clear indicator of how well the teams have performed over the past year:
The rest of the AFC West division will pick fifth, 12th and 13th in the 2024 NFL Draft. All three teams have gone through head coaching changes since a 2022 offseason that was supposed to make the AFC West the toughest division in football. You’d think they’d ask themselves how they got here.
The Russell Wilson experiment for the Denver Broncos didn’t work, with the team already looking for a replacement backup to take over Wilson’s spot.
The Los Angeles Chargers snagged Jim Harbaugh from Michigan to maximize Justin Herbert’s talents, and the signings and draft picks they’ll make will largely determine whether they’ll be competitive in 2024.
The Las Vegas Raiders also have a new head coach in Antonio Pierce and are looking for a replacement to Jimmy Garoppolo after he was suspended for PEDs.
With the way the teams have been built at the moment, it may be tough for them to overthrow the Kansas City Chiefs from their throne any time soon.
Why are the Kansas City Chiefs so dominant in the AFC West?
The biggest reason for the Chiefs’ successes over the past couple of years is Patrick Mahomes. The 28-year-old threw for a solid 4183 yards and 27 touchdowns in 2023, and the fact that these numbers can be considered as a down year for him is insane.
However, McDowell also pointed to the fact that the way the Chiefs front office built the team around Mahomes also have a major say on their success:
There’s a reason the NFL had never seen a quarterback with a salary cap charge greater than 13% win a Super Bowl until Mahomes came along. It’s really hard to build a supporting cast with limited resources. Mahomes is better than most, if not all, sure. But the Chiefs have done it better than most, if not all, in the same situation.
They have been big-picture thinkers, a recognition that avoiding bad contracts is just as key as securing good ones. The rivals seem to have overlooked that part. It’s why I scoff at the suggestion that the Chiefs should shove all-in for the chance at becoming the NFL’s first three-peat in history.
With the way the Chiefs have set up Mahomes contract, they can just keep on drafting, trading, and signing capable players to allow Mahomes to do what he does best under center. As long as the team doesn’t veer from that formula, it’s almost impossible to imagine any team in the AFC West taking them off the top spot.
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