It still seems surreal that the Denver Broncos were able to trade for Russell Wilson to solve their longstanding quarterback conundrum. There’s little doubt Nathaniel Hackett’s offense should be a massive improvement over what we saw from Pat Shurmur the last two seasons.
What remains in question is how much the acquisition helped their chances in the AFC West, where every rival seemed to take aim at the Kansas City Chiefs. Denver was busy signing D.J. Jones and Randy Gregory as the Los Angeles Chargers loaded up for bear with Khalil Mack, J.C. Jackson, and Sebastian Joseph-Day. Not to be outdone, the Las Vegas Raiders added Davante Adams and Chandler Jones to a roster that had the Bengals on the hopes in last year’s playoffs.
While the West waged a bidding war for various free agents the rest of the AFC also found ways to improve. on Miller left the Super Bowl champion Rams to sign with the Buffalo Bills in the East. Jacksonville handed out historic contracts in an effort to compete in the South. Deshaun Watson made waves around the league when he chose the Cleveland Browns over suitors in the NFC. Meanwhile the Pittsburgh Steelers found a way to upgrade on Ben Roethlisberger as the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals added help to their offensive line.
One week into the NFL’s free agency period, I thought it a good time to overreact. The West already looks like the best division I’ve ever seen during my time covering the league. It’s also pretty obvious why Tom Brady returned to the Tampa Bay Buccaneeers now: from top to bottom the AFC is simply miles ahead of the lesser conference. I also wanted to see where the rest of Mile High Report landed on the last week, so I decided to ask.
Who do you currently have as playoff teams out of the AFC?
West: Chargers
North: Ravens
East: Bills
South: Titans
5th seed: Chiefs
6th seed: Broncos
7th seed: Browns
- Joe Rowles
West: Broncos
North: Bengals
East: Bills
South: Titans
5th seed: Chiefs
6th seed: Chargers
7th seed: Ravens
- Jeff Essary
West: Chiefs
North: Ravens
East: Bills
South: Colts
5th seed: Broncos
6th seed: Chargers
7th seed: Bengals
- Scotty Payne
West: Chiefs
North: Ravens
East: Bills
South: Colts
5th seed: Broncos
6th seed: Raiders
7th seed: Bengals
- Tim Lynch
West: Chiefs
North: Ravens
East: Bills
South: Colts
5th seed: Broncos
6th seed: Bengals
7th seed: Chargers
- Ian St. Clair
West: Chiefs
North: Bengals
East: Bills
South: Titans
5th seed: Broncos
6th seed: Ravens
7th seed: Chargers
- Adam Malnati
What do you think Mile High Report? Let us know in the comments.
Loading comments...