AFC West power rankings before Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season

The 2024 NFL Preseason officially is in the books and teams have trimmed down their rosters following their three tune-up games. For the Denver Broncos, the team prioritized youth, speed, and athleticism over carrying 30-and-over veterans on expiring deals.

Across the NFL, rosters were trimmed down, and the AFC West was no exception. Let's take a look at how AFC West power rankings shake up following over 1,000 players being cut last week.

1) Kansas City Chiefs

The reigning, defending, undisputed Super Bowl champions of the world... the Kansas City Chiefs. Andy Reid's team enters 2024 as, once again, the team to beat in the NFL. While pundits and talking heads might be trying to hype up other teams in the AFC, make no mistake: the Chiefs are still top dogs.

After a season clouded by questions about their receiving group, Chiefs brass gifted all-world QB Patrick Mahomes with a new weapon: Hollywood Brown. Brown, who will be joined by JuJu Smith-Schuster (who had a huge year in KC just a few years ago), will set up on the line with Travis Kelce, who seems to be beating father time (for now). Although, the Chiefs will have to wait to see Brown due to an injury suffered in the preseason opener. Until someone proves otherwise, the Chiefs remain not only atop the AFC West, or the AFC, but the NFL as a whole.

2) Denver Broncos

After the Chiefs, this list gets a bit interesting. The Broncos finished in a tie for second place in the AFC West last year, and as of right now, have a better roster than the Las Vegas Raiders. One of the biggest reasons why the Broncos land above the Raiders on this list is the upward mobility of quarterback play.

In Las Vegas, quarterback Aiden O'Connell is taking a back-seat to proven veteran Gardner Minshew, who was more than fine for the Colts last year, but came up short of the playoffs and lacked clutch quarterbacking. In Denver, the sky is the limit for Bo Nix. The rookie starter will have a good deal of runway and opportunity to improve as the season goes on, and will very likely take full advantage of that. The Broncos' defense figures to be strong again, but their wide receiver room seems to have a ton of variables.

3) Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders, once again, seem primed for a seven or eight-win season. Instead of seriously addressing the quarterback position, they signed Gardner Minshew, following a decent but not great season. The team neglects to continue to work on young Aiden O'Connell or is quietly admitting that he is not the heir to Derek Carr's throne.

If they had a good quarterback, it is fair to think that the Raiders might be a playoff team. However, they don't. And aren't. Receiver Davante Adams figures to again be in the midst of trade rumors, as his dislike of Las Vegas becomes more and more public. Pass rusher Maxx Crosby threw his hat in the ring for new head coach Antonio Pierce, but did so in a way that made it clear any other coach would be met with a Crosby trade request. In the end, things are seemingly happy in Las Vegas... but things are happy the same way that masking tape can hold something together: barely and you better get ahead of this before it falls apart (again).

4) Los Angeles Chargers

If there is one way to sum up what will be of the Chargers' 2024 campaign, members of the team got stuck in an elevator and new coach Jim Harbaugh found it to be a chance to praise the leadership of some of his players. The 2024 Chargers could end up feeling like a group of dudes stuck in an elevator. They have a great quarterback, a strong coach, and some other decent parts. The fact of the matter is that Harbaugh has been brought in to clean up what has been an all-around mess for the Chargers, peaking with a historic playoff collapse against the Jaguars.

He will likely need a few years to get that accomplished. It might be a rough year for LA, and they might linger in the final spot of the AFC West power rankings.