The Denver Broncos made the biggest trade of the 2026 offseason so far in bringing in Jaylen Waddle, cementing themselves as a true Super Bowl contender. They were one before the move, but talking heads were working overtime to try to discount this team. Bo Nix has the best weapons of his career and will have a great chance to put them on display next fall.
The Broncos playmaker group is now one of the best in the entire league, and it's worth taking a look at the rest of the division. Denver has the two best wide receivers in the division, making their number two better than the number ones of every team. The AFC West will have great QBs trying to get work done with significantly less.
The rest of the AFC West's skill players are better than the receiving groups, but that creates some weird dynamics. The Raiders have the best tight end in football, and the Chiefs have a reigning Super Bowl MVP at running back, but questions arise over the rest of their groups. Let's take a look at the playmakers in the AFC West and how these groups stack up against each other.
Ranking the top playmaker groups in the AFC West heading into 2026
4. Los Angeles Chargers
It is time someone says the quiet part out loud about the Chargers: their playmakers are not that good. Ladd McConkey took a major step back in 2025, Keenen Allen is a free agent, and Quentin Johnston is far from a finished product. They don't exactly have a proven running back, and Oronde Gadsden II is a nice piece at tight end. Justin Herbert is strapped for options, and they haven't exactly done anything so far to help him.
3. Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders are going to have the draft positioning available to them to change this, but even with Brock Bowers at tight end, the group is not one of the two best in the AFC West. Ashtony Jeanty struggled mightily behind a horrid offensive line, but the Raiders have worked to try to fix that group. Their receiver core is one of the worst in football after trading away Jakobi Myers, but expect them to find a new weapon or two for Fernando Mendoza in the draft next month.
2. Kansas City Chiefs
So long as Kansas City has Travis Kelce, who recently extended with the Chiefs, it's hard to totally discount their group. In just eight games, Rashee Rice was averaging over 70 yards per game, which would put him around the 1,200-yard mark for a full season. They signed reigning Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker to a free agent contract, and could find themselves in a position to draft another weapon, perhaps at wide receiver, in April's draft. The Chiefs loading up on the running game in Patrick Mahomes' absence could save their 2026 season, but the trio of Rice-Walker-Kelce is pretty good.
1. Denver Broncos
The Broncos are going to trot out Jaylen Waddle and Courtland Sutton as their top two receivers in 2026, making Troy Franklin, who is fresh off 700 yards in his sophomore season, their third option. 20 NFL receivers crossed the 1,000-yard mark last season, and Sutton was one of them, and is the second option for the Broncos. Their backfield figures to be solid again, and Evan Engram is in for a larger role in a Davis Webb offense. This Broncos group is far and away the best in the West, and arguably one of the three best in the conference.