AFC WEST DIVISION WINNER ODDS
- Kansas City Chiefs +155
- Los Angeles Chargers +230
- Denver Broncos +260
- Las Vegas Raiders +650
OVER/UNDER WIN TOTALS
- Kansas City Chiefs 10.5
- Los Angeles Chargers 10.5
- Denver Broncos 10.5
- Las Vegas Raiders 8.5
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
2021 SEASON
- 2021 record: 12-5
- 1st in AFC West
- Playoffs: Yes
LOSSES
- WR Tyreek Hill
- S Tyrann Mathieu
- S Daniel Sorensen
- RB Darrell Williams
- WR Demarcus Robinson
- CB Chavarious Ward
- LB Melvin Ingram
- WR Byron Pringle
- G Austin Blythe
- G Kyle Long
- DT Jarran Reed
ADDED
- WR Marquez Valdez Scantling
- S Justin Reid
- WR JuJu Smith-Shuster
- RB Ronald Jones
- RB Jerrick Mckinnon
- S Deon Bush
NOTABLE DRAFT PICKS
- Round 1 CB Trent McDuffie (Washington)
- Round 1 EDGE George Karlaftis (Purdue)
- Round 2 WR Skyy Moore (Western Michigan)
- Round 2 S Bryan Cook (Cincinnati)
All last year I did not have faith in this team as a Super Bowl team and I bet against them a lot during the regular season. More often than not I was right to do so as they had a losing record against the spread going 8-9. There was definitely something off about the team that I just didn’t feel was right. They started the season with a losing record at 3-4 with quarterback Patrick Mahomes struggling the most he has in his career during this stretch of games. Now after an offseason with some major turnover on the roster I feel even worse about their chances. Despite losing major pieces in the receiving core such as their top WR Tyreek Hill as well as some pieces along the offensive line, which is the reason they lost the Super Bowl against the Bucs, they are still the favorites to win the division. They are still favored for one major reason and that is they have the best quarterback in the NFL as well they still do have one of the best coaches in the league and one of the best tight ends. But I believe he will have his struggles this season as he did last season due to the lack of receivers. They have the 5th toughest schedule I the league with their first-place schedule. They have a rough start to the season which I think will result in a slow start to the season once again. Though they are the favorites they have a plus (+) number which the oddsmakers realize how tough this division but even though I don’t have them as my division winner I would put a small wager for them to win it because I think this is good value. But I don’t feel they will have the same success during the regular season as they have had since Mahomes has been the starter but that doesn’t mean they will be terrible as they will still make the playoffs just as a wild card team.
2022 FUTURES BET
- Win Total: Under 10.5
- 2nd in AFC West (Small bet to win division)
- Playoffs: Yes
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
2021 SEASON
- 2021 record: 9-8
- 3rd in AFC West
- Playoffs: No
LOSSES
- LB Uchenna Nwosu
- LB Kyzir White
- C Scott Quessenberry
- DT Justin Jones
ADDED
- CB J.C. Jackson
- TE Gerald Everret
- LB Kyle Van Noy
- CB Bryce Callahan
- DE Morgan Fox
NOTABLE DRAFT PICKS
- Round 1 G Zion Johnson (Boston College)
- Round 2 S JT Woods (Baylor)
- Round 4 RB Isiah Spiller (Texas A&M)
The Los Angeles Chargers are coming off a hugely disappointing loss in what was one of the best regular season finales in history in the 35-32 overtime loss to the rival Raiders where the winner punched their ticket to playoffs and the other would go home. As a gambler myself I do respect head coach Brandon Staley’s gambler mentality to the game of football but I definitely think it catches up with him as they lost 3 out of their last 4 games 2 of which were in overtime which is why they missed the playoffs. But I think the weakest part of the team is their defense as they were 29th in scoring defense and 30th in run defense. Though they did add some nice pieces such as J.C. Jackson to the mix I don’t think that helps in the run defense especially when they lost their top tackler in Kyzir White. I feel they are going in the right direction by adding another first-round offensive lineman to go along with Reshawn Slater to protect Justin Herbert who is a top-ten quarterback in the league. But I do think some of the losses come from the risks he takes with the ball which resulted in him throwing 15 picks last season. The Chargers are not a bad team but I do feel the over/under win total is just a bit too high and it is not for the lack of talent on the team it is just the nature of the division. This is the best division in the league and someone has to be 1st and someone has to be last and I just don’t think the Chargers are where the other teams in the division are.
2022 FUTURES BET
- Win Total: Under 10.5
- 4th in AFC West (no bet to win division)
- Playoffs: No
DENVER BRONCOS
2021 SEASON
- 2021 record: 7-10
- 4th in AFC West
- Playoffs: No
LOSSES
- QB Teddy Bridgewater
- CB Kyle Fuller
- CB Bryce Callahan
- DE Stephen Weatherly
- LB Kenny Young
ADDED
- QB Russell Wilson
- EDGE Randy Gregory
- DT DJ Jones
- CB Kwaun Williams
- G Tom Compton
- LB Alex Singleton
- G Billy Turner
NOTABLE DRAFT PICKS
- Round 2 LB Nik Bonitto (Oklahoma)
- Round 3 TE Greg Dulcich (UCLA)
- Round 4 CB Demarri Mathis
In one of the biggest and most significant moves of the offseason the Denver Broncos traded for Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson who had a ton of success with the Seahawks before last year when he sustained an injury and their season went downhill which led to this trade going into motion. I think one move changed the tide for not just the division but for the entire conference as I think a lot of Wilson’s talent and ability to win games. I feel it puts them right up there with the Bills as the class of the AFC. After finishing at the bottom of the division they receive a last-place schedule that is 15th strongest in the league which is the easiest in the division the rest of the teams are in the top 10. Their early schedule is pretty as well and should pick up some easy wins with new head coach Nathaniel Hackett who had success as an OC with the Packers and with the Jaguars when they reached the AFC championship game. I think he will be able to construct an offensive that will be built around what Russell Wilson does best which I do think he had under Pete Carroll and the Seahawks. He will have a plethora of weapons that include Cortland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Tim Patrick, and K.J. Hamler. All this team needed was a quarterback, especially with a very good defense that ranked 3rd in scoring and 8th in total defense. Their major problem was scoring points as they went on two different 4-game losing streaks and in both, they scored 20 points just one time. The addition of Wilson solves that problem which is why I have them winning this division and winning a lot of games this year.
2022 FUTURES BET
- Win Total: Over 10.5
- 1st in AFC West Division (Mid Bet to win division)
- Playoffs: Yes
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS
2021 SEASON
- 2021 record: 10-7
- 2nd in AFC West
- Playoffs: Yes
LOSSES
- WR Zay Jones
- QB Marcus Mariota
- CB Casey Hayward
- DT Quiton Jefferson
- CB Brandon Facyson
- LB Marquel Lee
- DE Solomon Thomas
ADDED
- LB Chandler Jones
- WR Devante Adams
- DE Bilal Nichols
- S Duron Harmon
- WR Demarcus Robinson
- LB Jayon Brown
- DT Vernon Butler
NOTABLE DRAFT PICKS
- Round 3 G Dylan Parham (Memphis)
- Round 4 RB Zamir White (Georgia)
- Round 4 DT Neil Farrell (LSU)
Amongst the chaos and turmoil that came from the controversy of WR Henry Ruggs and the firing of head coach Jon Gruden the Las Vegas Raiders still managed to win 10 games get to the playoffs and nearly beat the eventual AFC Champion Bengals in the Wild Card round with an interim head coach. Within an offseason that has been labeled as the craziest offseason in the history of the league, one of the major trades that was made was Devante Adams wanting out of Green Bay and landing in Las Vegas to team up with his former college quarterback Derek Carr. I think this will be a major boost to the offense as he is one of the best receivers in the league also because it is very much needed as they under 20 points 10 times last season. Another boost to the offense will be newly hired head coach Josh McDaniels coming from New England. He has worked with Tom Brady as well as has head coaching experience with the Denver Broncos. I think he has learned from his time in Denver and this time around will be a much better experience with a lot of talented weapons on offense to utilize such as Josh Jacobs, Darren Waller, and Hunter Renfrow. With all the challenges that they had last season, they still managed to win 10 games and I can’t see why without having to deal with all that with I think an improved team that they would at least get back to that mark and hit the over. The division is extremely tough but I do like the +650 value enough to put a little money on to win the division.
2022 FUTURES BET
- Win Total: Over 8.5
- 3rd in AFC West
- Playoffs: No
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