Peyton Manning to Denver Broncos: Power Ranking the AFC West Teams

The dynamic of the AFC West has changed with Peyton Manning soon to be in a Denver Broncos uniform.

The fate of the division crown cannot truly be predicted until NFL Free Agency and the NFL Draft have been concluded. Kansas City, Oakland, San Diego: make your move.

As it stands today, though, here is how the AFC West shakes out with No. 18 in Mile High.

4. Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders went all-in on Carson Palmer to take their shot at the AFC West crown. Unfortunately, their defense looks to be the bigger question mark heading into next season. 

New head coach Dennis Allen will have his hands full switching to a 3-4 defense.

With the rest of the AFC West teams making offensive improvements, the Raiders need to act fast before they’re being blown out even worse than their final five games of 2011.

They went 1-5 and gave up an average of 32 points over that span. That put the finishing touches on the second-worst points allowed in the AFC, only one point less than the Buffalo Bills.

The Raiders’ holes on defense have gotten even bigger since the free agency period started. They currently have no nose tackle or pass rushers that are paramount for success with a 3-4.

In addition, there is no indication that the pass defense will improve after last year’s starters, Stanford Routt and Chris Johnson, were released.

With Michael Bush exploring his options In the free-agent market, the Raiders running game will rest on the legs of Darren McFadden.

Those legs have not exactly been able to hold up these past few seasons. The Raiders foundation the last few seasons, the running game and a bend-don't-break defense, looks to be at an end.

Whether Carson Palmer is the answer at quarterback or not, it may not make a difference. The Raiders organization hasn’t provided him much help in this offseason period.

Oakland will be back in the division cellar if they continue to stand pat.

3. Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs will be an exciting team to follow next season with new blood coming in through free agency and key players returning from injury.

This team was able to beat two playoff teams at the end of the season, one being the undefeated Green Bay Packers, with no Jamaal Charles and a backup quarterback. Charles and starting QB Matt Cassel should be fully healed for Week 1.

Also, the Chiefs have managed to have a productive free agency period, addressing the majority of their needs, most notably on the offensive line and defensive backfield.

The additions of right tackle Eric Winston and Cleveland power back Peyton Hillis will be a huge lift for an offense learning a new scheme under new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.

At cornerback, the Chiefs were able to salvage the loss of Brandon Carr by signing the Raiders' Stanford Routt.

Stealing Routt from their division rival is a main reason why Kansas City is ranked ahead of Oakland on this list. Kansas City can defend (ranked 12th in PA), while Oakland (29th) has done nothing comparable to improve their defense under a new coach.

Uncertainty on offense, though, will keep this team from leapfrogging both Denver and San Diego in these rankings.

While they could have the best one-two punch at running back in the league, a team’s success depends on the quarterback. Matt Cassel has yet to assert that he is the long-term answer for Kansas City. Injuries plagued him last year, now his competition might doom him this year. 

The Chiefs will ride their strengths behind their defense and running game, but Philip Rivers and Peyton Manning have the ability to will their teams to playoff success that Matt Cassel has yet to do.

The pieces around him have been put in place. The Chiefs will stay in the bottom half of the AFC West, though, unless Cassel can show improvement and stay healthy.

2. San Diego Chargers

When predicting team success from year to year, the term ‘regression to the mean’ often gets used when one player or team posts outlandish numbers the previous season.

Philip Rivers will throw fewer interceptions next year, and the San Diego Chargers will be more competitive for it.

San Diego recovered nicely from losing Vincent Jackson, signing two receivers that rely more on speed than size in Eddie Royal and Robert Meachem. These two will be a key to a Rivers turnaround in 2012.

He did not have much YAC potential in his receiving corps last season. Both Royal and Meachem possess the big-play ability that will allow Rivers to throw more balls other than the sideline heave.

As a group, this may be the most speed Rivers and Norv Turner have had in San Diego together.  Add a speedy back in the mold of Darren Sproles (perhaps LaMichael James in the draft) and that’s a lot of quickness for defenses to account for.

This San Diego team won’t be division champions with this current personnel, though, if they don’t undergo a defensive overhaul.

Their pass rush was nonexistent for the entirety of 2011, finished in the bottom 10 in sacks. In addition, their secondary was unable to make a big play when their offense stalled.

Defensive talent that was supposed to carry this unit, mainly Shaun Phillips, Quentin Jammer and Larry English, have either lost a step or failed to live up to expectations.

If they don’t address their defensive weaknesses (almost every position) in free agency, the Chargers will need an infusion of youth from the draft. I would not be surprised if they went defense with every selection; it has gotten that bad on that side of the ball. 

The Chargers are sitting at No. 2 in the rankings  because Philip Rivers and Norv Turner should be able to right the ship on offense. However, that does not mean the playoffs are in sight yet.

1. Denver Broncos

The AFC West champions surprised the league last season.

Now with Peyton Manning in the fold, they won’t sneak up on anyone. 

The passing game can only get better now that Manning will be directing traffic in this relatively young offensive group.

Wide receivers Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker both enjoyed breakout seasons playing with Tim Tebow. Now they’ll be seeing footballs be thrown in tight windows they never thought possible.

The running game should benefit from a balanced offensive game plan, not to mention the decrease in reps from last year’s makeshift run-heavy scheme. Defense will be expecting pass plays, which will open up running lanes for Willis McGahee and Knowshon Moreno. 

The defense kept the Broncos in games throughout last season. Now they’ll actually get to play with some leads in 2012.

That will only benefit their explosive pass rush, led by Defensive Rookie of the Year Von Miller and Pro Bowler Elvis Dumervil. They may be a little seasoned in the defensive backfield, led by Brian Dawkins and Champ Bailey, but those two are some of the best players to play their respective positions.

The addition of Manning should help the Broncos in upgrading their needs. They can look to Manning’s former teammates in Dallas Clark and Jacob Tamme to upgrade at tight end.

Jeff Saturday is there for the taking at center, which would make Manning more comfortable in his transition to Denver. Current center J.D. Walton may be expendable, especially if the Broncos could get a mid-level draft selection for the fourth-year pro.

Defensively, they’ll look to add some youth to the second level behind Bailey and Dawkins. If they can find a defensive tackle who can get into the backfield routinely, that would be an enormous boost to their run defense as well.

All together, the Denver Broncos have become the most complete team in the AFC West. They have the Super Bowl-caliber quarterback and a defense that can pressure these AFC West signal callers into mistakes.