The AFC West is stacked.
From the quarterbacks, to the pass rushers, to the secondary, to the receivers, the AFC West isn’t short of talent at nearly any position.
In fact, the AFC Pro Bowl roster might as well just be taken from the division out west due to how many talented players reside in it.
There’s a reason why it’s already being included in conversations about the best division of all time.
With that being said, outside of the quarterbacks, who is the one player on the Chiefs, Chargers or Raiders that would make the best addition to the Broncos?
The DNVR Broncos Crew breaks it down.
Who is the one player in the division you would add to the Broncos?
Zac: J.C. Jackson — Imagine a true shutdown corner on one side of the field paired with a play-making cornerback on the other side of the field… For at least the next five years.
That’s exactly what the Broncos would have by pairing Pat Surtain with the Chargers’ new cornerback.
Don’t get me wrong, Surtain can certainly be a playmaker — his pick-six against the Chargers last year proved that — but quarterbacks will start simply not throwing his way very soon because he’s so good.
That will force teams to throw to the other side of the field. There’s no better corner to capitalize on that than Jackson, who has 17 interceptions the past two years and had a league-high 23 pass breakups in 2021.
What makes this even more tantalizing and important is the AFC West is a pass-heavy division. This duo would significantly help slow down Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert and Derek Carr.
RK: Chris Jones — One of the biggest question marks for the Denver Broncos heading into training camp and beyond is: who is going to be their third interior defensive lineman in base packages?
Now, imagine if instead of answering that question with an unknown like Eyioma Uwazurike or McTelvin Agim, you could answer that question with a superstar interior pass rusher.
Jones has averages over 10 sacks per season over the last four seasons and would provide incredible opportunities for guys like Dre’Mont Jones, Bradley Chubb, Randy Gregory and so on.
Dominant interior pass rush is probably the No. 1 thing the Denver Broncos defense has missed the most over the six seasons since Super Bowl 50. Well, that and playing with a lead. Jones would come in and transform the defense overnight.
Henry: Travis Kelce — Russ can carry the Broncos’ offense from the bottom half of the league in points and yards into the top 10… but can he lead them into the top 5?
With Travis Kelce on the roster, the answer is an easy yes.
Kelce has produced over 1,000 yards through the air in each of his past six seasons and he’s surpassed 1,200 in half of those. Despite entering his age 33 season, he’s still one of the league’s premier receiving threats from the tight end position and he would serve as a consistent option in a group of highly-talented but unproven offensive weapons.
An upgrade at tackle would be equally beneficial but the candidates in the AFC West are lackluster. Plus, letting right tackle Billy Turner work with Kelce instead of Albert Okwuegbunam or Greg Dulcich would be a significant upgrade in the Broncos’ wide zone running scheme.
