Los Angeles Chargers: 11-6
Yes, shockingly I think we could have three AFC West teams in the 2025 season winning more than 10 games. The Los Angeles Chargers were extremely impressive last year in the first year of the Jim Harbaugh era, and you can't help but feel like they're going to get even better in year two.
There has been plenty of roster shuffling going on from head coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortitz, but the Chargers look reloaded and tough on both sides of the ball.
I love the aggression to upgrade the offensive weaponry around Justin Harbert this offseason by signing Najee Harris and then drafting Omarion Hampton and Tre Harris early on. The Chargers do have some major question marks right now on the defensive front, but Jesse Minter's scheme last year was tough for teams to move the ball against.
Until we got to the playoffs, anyway.
Las Vegas Raiders: 8-9
I badly wanted to project every team in the AFC West to have a winning record this coming season. I have a lot of faith in Pete Carroll and Geno Smith to quickly turn things around for the Raiders and get this team back to a truly competitive status very quickly.
With that said, there are a lot of things that will have to go right for the Raiders defensively this season, and the work is just simply not done.
Pete Carroll is going to get the most out of his guys, and the offense with Geno Smith, Brock Bowers, and Ashton Jeanty is going to give teams fits. But this Raiders team is one or two injuries away from being a team that simply keeps games close for three quarters on a week-to-week basis. I think this team is going to be one of those that wins some games they shouldn't and then gains a bunch of confidence from people, only to have a letdown against an inferior opponent.
There have been so many nice additions to this roster in 2025 but the Raiders still are a step behind their AFC West peers.