Rounding out the offenses in the AFC West is the quarterbacks. Where there’s the top quarterback…and then everyone else.
1. Chiefs
Starter: Patrick Mahomes
Yeah, duh. Two years ago he was the league MVP, last year he led the Chiefs to a Super Bowl championship. He’s the best quarterback in the NFL right now and that’s not really even up for debate, so let’s move on.
2. Raiders
Starter: Derek Carr
Carr has surpassed 4,000 yards each of the past two seasons since Jon Gruden took over as head coach. Though the scoring has not come with those yards. He has thrown just 40 touchdowns over the past two seasons. By comparison, Mahomes threw 50 touchdowns in 2018 alone and has thrown 76 over the past two seasons. The result was the Chiefs going 24-7 and hoisting the Lombardi while the Raiders were averaging less than 19 points per game with an 11-21 record.
The receiving corps in Oakland has not been great of late and figures to be improved this season, so we’ll see if Carr can turn those yards into points and wins. Without marked improvement, we could see Marcus Mariota, who the team signed this offseason, take over.
3. Broncos
Starter: Drew Lock
Lock got out to a hot start to his career. As a rookie second round pick, he took over as the starter in Week 13 and led the Broncos to a 4-1 record to finish out the season, including beating Derek Carr and the Raiders in the season finale. He didn’t set the world on fire in those starter, but he did throw seven touchdowns to three interceptions, which would equal out to about 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions over 16 games, which is almost identical numbers to Derek Carr (21/8).
4. Chargers
Starter: Justin Herbert/Tyrod Taylor
Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn said he was set with Tyrod Taylor this season. Then the team used the sixth-overall pick on Justin Herbert. That would figure to make him the favorite to start, but if he’s not ready right away, Taylor could be the placeholder until that happens.
Even if Herbert is ready now, he will be a rookie and typically rookies struggle out the gate. Remember when Carr went 0-10 to start his career? And who knows what the Broncos would’ve gotten from Lock had they thrown him in there right away instead of letting him sit and learn behind Joe Flacco and Brandon Allen. Either way, I don’t expect to see great QB play for the Chargers in the early going.
Also see AFC West rankings for RB I WR I TE I OT I OG I C
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