The AFC West is shaping up to be the best division in football. Let's power rank it as the 2025 NFL Offseason progresses. Three teams won double-digit games and made the playoffs in 2024, and the fourth team, the Las Vegas Raiders, did seem to improve themselves.
It is possible for all four teams in a division to make the postseason since the NFL now brings seven clubs into the playoffs. It might be a stretch for the 2025 AFC West to see all four make the playoffs, but if all goes well, they could all finish with a winning record.
Let's power rank the AFC West.
AFC West Power Rankings: A loaded division for 2025
4. Las Vegas Raiders
There is no argument here; the Las Vegas Raiders added Pete Carroll, Geno Smith, and Ashton Jeanty of note into the mix this offseason, but they are still, by far, the worst team in the division. If Carroll and Smith could not cut it in the NFC during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, how is it possible that they make any headway in 2025 and beyond?
This might be an eight-win team if all goes well, but the roster is bad and the QB is average at best. Vegas comes in last in our AFC West power rankings.
3. Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers got blown out in the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs in 2024 and have gotten embarrassed in their two playoff games during the Justin Herbert era. It is worth wondering if we have seen Herbert at his 'best' at this point. He's played five seasons in the NFL and has been a 'B+' quarterback his entire career.
LA may have a distinct ceiling with Herbert under center, and I am not sure they added enough talent this offseason to make notable progress in the AFC West, especially given what the Denver Broncos did and their potential ceiling...
2. Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos nearly swept the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2024 NFL Season and were definitely a bit better than their 10-7 record indicated. They lost six regular season games by just one score and had nine of their 10 wins by at least nine points.
The Broncos also found a way to improve their already-elite defense and also added talent on offense to help Bo Nix make a year two leap. It is reasonable to rank Denver above LA here, as you can bank on Nix taking another leap and perhaps pushing this Broncos team to another level.
If they can do that, they'll compete for the AFC West crown in 2025.
1. Kansas City Chiefs
It feels like if there was any year for the Kansas City Chiefs to take a step back, it would be this year. They won all of their one score games in 2024 and just were not a dominant team. Their slim margins expired when they got to the Super Bowl, as their weaknesses were magnified, but they did truly fill them in the offseason?
We obviously can't rank the Chiefs lower than this since they have won the division every year since 2016 and since they have won the AFC three years in a row, but there is a chink in their armor ahead of the 2025 NFL Season.