AFC West
Denver Broncos: A new bookend for Courtland Sutton
Since Peyton Manning’s retirement, John Elway has struck out several times when trying to acquire the Broncos’ next franchise quarterback. 2019 rookie Drew Lock may be the answer Elway has long sought — he certainly had some credible moments last season — but Lock will need more help from his receiver corps. Last season, Courtland Sutton was pretty much the only answer at the position, catching 72 passes on 114 targets for 1,112 yards and six touchdowns. After that? Emmanuel Sanders with 30 catches on 44 targets for 367 yards and two touchdowns before he was traded to the 49ers in late October. Sutton also saw a disproportionate percentage of Denver’s deep targets last season — 24 to the 16 for every other receiver, running back, or tight end on the roster — and that’s just not acceptable when you have a quarterback with the vertical potential Lock possesses. Whether in the draft or in free agency — or using both — the Broncos must improve their prospects at the position to bring the most out of Lock.
Kansas City Chiefs: A fluid linebacker to complete their defense
Last season, as new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo got his schemes aligned with his players and super-safety Tyrann Mathieu started playing at a Defensive Player of the Year pace, the Chiefs’ defense turned from a liability to a relative strength. That played into their Super Bowl win, and this defense could be even better with a few more parts. Cornerback depth would be nice, but the primary component for a defense that doesn’t blitz very often (last season, Kansas City brought three or four defenders to pressure the quarterback on 70% of their snaps) would be a linebacker or two who can jump into coverage with consistency. There’s no doubting Reggie Ragland as a leader — that came up over and over when talking to Chiefs players and coaches during Super Bowl week — but that’s not really Ragland’s game. And when you also consider that Spagnuolo had six or more defensive backs on the field 33% of the time last season (the sixth-highest percentage in the NFL), imagine what a true 360-degree, run-and-chase, coverage ‘backer could add to what the defending champs already have.
Las Vegas Raiders: A new back seven
If you want to know how bad the Raiders’ linebacker situation was last season… well, here’s Josh Dubow of the Associated Press on the recently released Tahir Whitehead:
Tahir Whitehead's 941 defensive snaps last season for #Raiders were the most in NFL for any LB who failed to record a sack, INT, fumble recovery or forced fumble
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) March 9, 2020
Relying on Vontaze Burfict? Not a great idea. Will Compton and Nicholas Morrow weren’t much better on the field. At safety, Karl Joseph, Curtis Riley, and Erik Harris were all vulnerable in coverage, and the cornerback position was just as fraught outside of second-round rookie Trayvon Mullen. First-round safety Johnathan Abram will be a major addition when he returns from the torn rotator cuff that cost him most of his rookie season, but Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock have a ton of work to do here. The Raiders’ brain trust had a sneaky great draft in 2019, but they’ll need to do it again both in the draft and free agency if they’re to challenge the Chiefs for the AFC West.
Los Angeles Chargers: A quarterback for the future
The Chargers recently announced their intention to move on from Philip Rivers, which means that for the first time since Rivers and Drew Brees were fighting it out for the starting job in the mid-2000s, there is uncertainty at the most important position for this franchise. One could say that there was a lot of uncertainty at the position last season when Rivers threw 20 interceptions last season, including a league-leading six with less than 2:00 minutes left in the fourth quarter of games. That said, Rivers had been the franchise cornerstone since he made Brees redundant in 2006, and that’s a lot to replace. Right now, the Chargers’ quarterback depth chart has Tyrod Taylor and Easton Stick, which will be interesting in the preseason. For the Chargers to improve on a highly disappointing 5-11 season, they’ll need some surety there, and with a quickness.