The AFC West could end up being a very competitive division in 2026, but it's clear which team is the best. On Tuesday, the Denver Broncos made a major move to trade for Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.
Waddle's skillset was precisely what this offense was missing, and he'll now join a room with Courtland Sutton, Troy Franklin, and Marvin Mims Jr. The offense in Denver is going to take a huge step forward in 2026.
And this is only going to put more strain on the rest of the AFC West. The other three teams are having to play catchup with how much more talented the Broncos are. Let's power rank the division here.
Ranking the AFC West following Denver Broncos major Jaylen Waddle trade
4. Las Vegas Raiders
If nothing else, the Las Vegas Raiders have spent a ton of money in free agency and have added a good bit of talent to the roster. The Maxx Crosby trade may actually come back to benefit them. The Raiders had sent him to the Baltimore Ravens, but the Ravens seemed to get cold feet, as they backed out of the deal.
All of a sudden, Crosby rejoins a defense that has seen guys like Quay Walker, Nakobe Dean, and Kwity Paye added to it. With Fernando Mendoza likely coming thanks to the 2026 NFL Draft, the Raiders might finally be building toward something.
However, there is still a good bit of unknown - there's been a lot of change, and change can sometimes blow up in a team's face. Vegas will still be the no. 4 team in our rankings until the team can prove otherwise.
3. Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs roster has gotten worse this offseason. Sure, the Kenneth Walker III signing was great, but the Chiefs have lost all of Jaylen Watson, Trent McDuffie, Bryan Cook, and Leo Chenal on the defensive side of the ball alone.
The offense still needs major help at wide receiver and tight end, and the defense, which wasn't that talented to begin with, is now even less talented. If you bunch all of that together with Patrick Mahomes' knee injury, the Chiefs have an uphill battle in 2026.
There is simply no guarantee as to when Mahomes will be 100 percent healthy. Sure, he might end up being ready for Week 1, but it could take him weeks to get fully comfortable. Kansas City is going to struggle to finish with a winning record this season.
2. Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers have a metric ton of cap space, and the thought was that they were going to spend a lot of it along the offensive line, but oddly enough, that hasn't been the case. LA's offensive line is still a massive question mark, and that's if Rashawn Slater is back and healthy. The Chargers have had a disappointing offseason thus far.
The roster hasn't gotten much better, and they lost stud defensive coordinator Jesse Minter to the Ravens' head coaching job. Two-straight 11-6 seasons in 2024 and 2025 are what the Chargers have done in the Jim Harbaugh era thus far, but a slight regression could come in 2026. They don't have a big margin for error at all with this current group.
1. Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos not only had the best roster in the division before free agency began, but they did put it over the top with a massive trade for Jaylen Waddle. The 'rich got richer' with this move, as the Broncos just came off a 14-3 season and a trip to the AFC title game. With the offense finding the missing piece, and much of the defense set to return, this team could again capture the AFC West title.
And you would have to think that the Broncos could have extra motivation to get back to the title game seeing as how the 2025 season ended. This team is every bit of a Super Bowl contender right now and have distanced themselves from their AFC West rivals, coming in at no. 1 in our power rankings.