On the surface, the Denver Broncos may not have made up any ground in the AFC West with their 2025 NFL Draft class. Let's rank the division.
The rest of the AFC West certainly added a ton of talent during the 2025 NFL Draft, but did the Denver Broncos do enough to close the gap with the Chiefs or even keep the Chargers and Raiders far enough behind them?
Only time will tell if they did. Let's power rank the division after the 2025 NFL Draft.
AFC West Power Rankings: Chargers and Raiders breathing down the Broncos necks now
4. Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders drafted multiple quarterbacks and defensive linemen during the 2025 NFL Draft. They also drafted two wide receivers and were able to come away with Ashton Jeanty, which definitely hurt. Being that this team is under a new regime and have the worst QB in the division, they will still have to prove their worth and are still last, but this team definitely added enough talent to make games quite interesting, and not in the good way.
3. Los Angeles Chargers
Another team that added juice to their offense, the Los Angeles Chargers added RB Omarion Hampton, WR Tre Harris, and TE Oronde Gadsden of note in the 2025 NFL Draft. It's a Chargers offense that did need this type of talent, and with them already having a top defense in the NFL, LA could end up being slightly better than the Denver Broncos in 2025.
2. Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos did add a ton of defensive talent this offseason, including Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga, and used a first-round pick on Jahdae Barron, the CB from Texas. Denver also added to DL piece in Sai'vion Jones and Que Robinson, so the Broncos built on a strength big-time.
The team absolutely has the best defense on paper in the division, and they did add to their offense with Evan Engram, Pat Bryant, and RJ Harvey. Denver should be able to hang around in the AFC West race for the 2025 NFL Season.
1. Kansas City Chiefs
Players of note that the Chiefs added in the 2025 NFL Draft include OT Josh Simmons, WR Jalen Royals, and RB Brashard Smith. Kansas City did seem to finally grab a legitimate LT prospect in Simmons, and stabilizing that position could truly make life a lot easier for Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs should obviously be ranked first in the AFC West until a team can prove that they aren't the best, but KC didn't exactly slam the door shut on them being the runaway favorites for the division in 2025.
The Broncos did beat them once in 2024 and really should have beat them twice. I would say that Denver did make some strides to close the gap, so we'll see if the Broncos can end this AFC West title drought in 2025.