2. Kansas City Chiefs
This is going to seem like a controversial take, or a diss, or bias, or whatever. The fact of the matter is, the Chiefs have had general wear and tear on their roster that happens when you're as successful as they have been for as long as they've been successful.
If this were a list of the AFC West rosters with the most proven and accomplished top-end talent, the Chiefs would be #1. But it's not. The Chiefs have a lot of issues on their current roster that they're expecting the best players to sort of be the tide to raise all boats in the harbor.
And they've got the coaching to maximize the players on the field, regardless of who's out there. The Chiefs are still one of the most complete and well-rounded teams in the league, but the quality of the roster is not the best it's been in their insane run.
1. Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos were considered to have arguably the worst roster in the NFL a year ago at this time, and they've proven almost everybody wrong. General manager George Paton and head coach Sean Payton deserve a ton of credit for digging this team out of such an ugly hole, especially as fast as they did it.
Even with nearly $90 million in dead cap last year thanks to the Russell Wilson disaster, the Broncos managed to win 10 games, have a top-10 scoring offense, and the league's 3rd-best scoring defense. They led the NFL in sacks. And this offseason, they got even better.
The Broncos added players like tight end Evan Engram, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, safety Talanoa Hufanga, and running back JK Dobbins. Not to mention, their incoming rookie class with cornerback Jahdae Barron, running back RJ Harvey, and wide receiver Pat Bryant.
On paper, the Broncos have the best roster in the AFC West right now, especially after the emergence of quarterback Bo Nix last season. That doesn't mean they're going to take the AFC West from the Chiefs, but it's possible the Chiefs might have their strongest competition in the Patrick Mahomes era.