The AFC West has the potential to be the best overall division in football in the 2025 season after three teams finished with 10 or more wins last year and the Raiders got a lot better this offseason.
With this division on the rise and the margins thin, each team is going to need young players to step up in a big way to create separation or close the gap with the Chiefs, at the very least.
The 2024 NFL Draft was great for many teams around the NFL, but there are players all around the AFC West who have a chance to really respond to some pressure in 2025. Which second-year players are under the most pressure in this loaded division, and how can we expect them to perform?
AFC West players under the most pressure for the 2025 season
Kansas City Chiefs: Kingsley Suamataia, LG
It's not often you see an interior offensive linemen under this type of pressure, but that's certainly the case for Kansas City Chiefs second-year player Kingsley Suamataia. Suamataia was considered a major steal for the Chiefs last year in the second round of the draft, but it became abundantly clear when he got on the field why he might have fallen a bit further than expected.
While Suamataia was a productive starter at BYU and had all the makings of an NFL left tackle, he struggled when the Chiefs needed him, and he now finds himself in the position of having to replace the best offensive lineman on the team as Joe Thuney was traded to the Chicago Bears earlier this offseason.
Suamataia isn't guaranteed a starting gig but he's going to be given every opportunity to earn it. This is a huge training camp for him.
Los Angeles Chargers: Junior Colson, LB
The Los Angeles Chargers had the #1 scoring defense in the NFL last season, and they're obviously going to be looking to defend that title in 2025. The Los Angeles defense is taking on quite a bit of change this season, including losing some key players on the defensive front.
One guy who is going to be counted on to step up in a big way is second-year linebacker Junior Colson, whose modest production as a rookie was surprising for a couple of reasons. First of all, Colson played his college ball at Michigan and basically just followed Jim Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter to the Chargers.
Second, Colson is an elite athlete and tackling machine. He had 257 total tackles in his three seasons with Michigan, so when he only started one game (11 games total) last season, it was a bit of a letdown. But in year two, he'll be expected to be a lynchpin in the middle of Jesse Minter's defense and produce at a high level.
Denver Broncos: Troy Franklin, WR
By virtue of playing the quarterback position, Bo Nix is obviously going to be under the microscope for the Denver Broncos this coming season. But for Broncos Country, the player under the most pressure in that offense is not Nix, but second-year receiver Troy Franklin.
Franklin was just a fourth-round pick last year, but he was college teammates with Nix and was one of his favorite targets at Oregon. The chemistry between those two in 2024 was very confusingly off, and it'll be expected that Franklin takes a big step forward in 2025.
The Broncos had nothing but positive reports of Franklin's 2025 offseason work, so perhaps the speedy receiver will be ready to take that next step and help the Denver offense.
Las Vegas Raiders: DJ Glaze, RT
If the Las Vegas Raiders are going to have any measure of success this coming season, it's going to be because of their offense. They need the defense to simply not bottom out, but the offense is going to have to carry this team.
The Raiders made a significant upgrade at the quarterback position by trading for Geno Smith this offseason, and unlike the group he had in Seattle, Smith is going to need the offensive line in Las Vegas to keep him upright. A huge part of that will be the performance of a couple of second-year players including center Jackson Powers-Johnson and right tackle DJ Glaze.
Glaze was a third-round pick in last year's draft and looks like he's going to be a mainstay for the Raiders, but this year might prove it once and for all.