By: Jake Rajala

The wild AFC West has been on fire this offseason and it doesn’t appear the AFC West general managers will hop off the bull anytime soon. The AFC West has welcomed the arrival of Russell Wilson, Khalil Mack, J.C. Jackson, Chandler Jones, Davante Adams, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and it really appears the AFC’s top division could feature four playoff squads next season.

The AFC West is utterly competitive, but there is a strong probability that a team not named Kansas City (also known as the six-time reigning AFC West champions) will be crowned the AFC West winner next season. Matter, in fact, I believe the favorite to win the gutsy AFC West division in 2022 is the team residing in Denver. With that said, here are a few reasons why I firmly believe the Denver Broncos are the AFC West favorites in 2022.

• Broncos WR trio

I don’t only love Russell Wilson’s mobility combined with Javonte Williams in the backfield, but I like Wilson’s outlook as a pocket passer with Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, and Tim Patrick. The Broncos carry three wideouts that have the potential to unveil 1,000+ receiving yards in a season. After the Kansas City Chiefs shipped out Tyreek Hill, the Broncos have the best WR group in the division.

Wilson may finish fourth in passing yards in his division, but I believe his WR trio will help him be efficient, throw 30+ passing touchdowns, and be clutch in 2-minute situations. Justin Herbert could be a stat machine for the second year in a row, but he clearly needs to work on turning having fewer turnovers (15 interceptions last season). I expect Derek Carr to improve with Davante Adams in his arsenal, but I am more fascinated by the Broncos WR unit with Wilson.

• Demise of the Chiefs

The Chiefs have made horrid personal decisions in the past few years. I didn’t like the draft selection of Clyde Edwards-Helaire (after they asked Mahomes for his opinion) and then they recently traded away Tyreek Hill. Furthermore, the Chiefs appear to be losing their second-best defender in the Honey Badger this offseason.

The Chiefs lost a lot of their mojo this offseason and it will be incredibly hard for them to bully the AFC West for another season. In particular, the Broncos were swept by the Chiefs in 2021. I expect the Broncos to likely flip that script in 2022.

• The rise of Randy Gregory

The Denver Broncos clearly had an elite defense in the second half of 2021. Although, they were missing one premier player at a key position: edge rusher. The Broncos were missing Von Miller after he was shipped out of town. They did a tremendous job this offseason by signing Randy Gregory.

The former speed rusher for the Cowboys had six sacks, 17 QB hits, in 12 games last season. The Broncos made a wise choice to bring a talented pass rusher coming off a career season versus outbidding other teams for the likes of the soon-to-be 33-year-old Von Miller and 32-year-old Chandler Jones. Gregory can likely have a more career production with the Broncos and Wilson on a cheaper contract than Miller or Jones in my opinion.

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