Derek Carr A Lowkey MVP Candidate, Will Nathaniel Hackett Let Russ Cook, The Chargers Swing For The Fences, And The Depleted Chiefs - Catching Up On A Wild AFC West Off-Season

John Locher. Shutterstock Images.

With the NFL kicking off this week, I'm putting together quick recaps of what happened in the off-season and some storylines for each team so when you're at the bar or a buddy's place watching the games, you can pick up on the some general themes and not be totally out of the loop for not reading Adam Schefter's tweets for the last 7-8 months. With the Rams vs. the Bills getting things started on Thursday, we gotta get in gear. I've been pumping them out, so here is the NFC West, NFC East, NFC South, and NFC North. Here is the AFC West:

*All odds via the Barstool Sportsbook

Denver Broncos: 10 win total line, +270 to win the Division

Storylines to Watch

- Will new Broncos Head Coach Nathaniel Hackett finally 'Let Russ Cook'? The storyline in Seattle has been that Pete Carroll was always holding Russell Wilson back. This is the only team in the league with both a new Quarterback and new staff. 

- Can the Broncos Receiving Corps emerge as elite? Tim Patrick was hurt in the pre-season and will miss the year, but Courtland Sutton is a former Pro Bowler, Jerry Jeudy was a promising former 1st Round Pick, KJ Hamler has speed to burn, TE Albert O is one of the fastest Tight Ends in football.

- Will the Defense be great? They've got stars at almost every level with EDGE Bradley Chubb, CB Patrick Surtain II, S Justin Simmons. In what figures to be a shootout friendly AFC West, can the Defense help them rise above?

Roster Moves

- The huge trade that brought Russell Wilson in obviously is the leader here. It was a trade that involved a few Broncos players such as QB Drew Lock, DT Shelby Harris, and TE Noah Fant in addition to Draft Capital.

- Nathaniel Hackett is hired as Head Coach after the team parted ways with Vic Fangio.

Kansas City Chiefs: 10.5 win total line, +170 to win the Division

Storylines to Watch

- Can Patrick Mahomes continue to be an elite QB without arguably the best WR in football (Tyreek Hill)?

- How will this new Receiving Corps made up of Juju Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdez-Scantling, and the only holdover at WR Mecole Hardman do enough to keep all the attention off of Travis Kelce?

- Who will take over as the lead dog in the backfield? We've got Clyde Edwards-Helaire who has been a disappointment his first two years as a 1st Round Pick, the newly signed Ronald Jones, Jerick McKinnon who is a nice change of pace back, and 7th round rookie RB Isiah Pecheco who is wearing Tyreek Hill's #10.

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Roster Moves

- They've lost a lot of guys, none more significant than WR Tyreek Hill via a trade with Miami. But they also lost WR Byron Pringle to the Bears in Free Agency. They did sign Juju Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdez-Scantling (who much to my surprise is getting $10M/year!) as replacements.

- Their Secondary took a hit with Tyrann Mathieu, the Honey Badger leaving along with top CB Charvarius Ward. They brought in S Justin Reid as a replacement for Matheiu.

Las Vegas Raiders: 8.5 win total line, +650 to win the Division

Storylines to Watch

- Davante Adams reunites with his old college QB Derek Carr after a big trade swung him back west from Green Bay.

- Josh McDaniels second chance as a Head Coach comes again in the AFC West. McDaniels started with Denver in 2009 and got off to a blazing 6-0 start with Kyle Orton at QB. But they finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs. Can McDaniels be better the second time around?

- The Defense is reloaded with the addition of Chandler Jones, but are he and Maxx Crosby even the best duo in the division?

Roster Moves

- EDGE Chandler Jones is in while Yannick Ngakoue and Carl Nassib are gone

- As mentioned, Davante Adams is back out west. He's arguably the best Receiver in football today.

Los Angeles Chargers: 9.5 win total line, +220 to win the Division

Storylines to Watch

- Can Justin Herbert take the next step and become the best Quarterback in the NFL? He's got all the tools and can do crazy stuff like this:

- The EDGE rushing combo of the newly acquired Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa has all-time potential. This is a FIERCE combo and they should be heating up Quarterbacks regularly.

Roster Moves

- EDGE Khalil Mack was brought in an all-in move, gotta love that if you're rooting for them.

- They also brought in star CB JC Jackson from the New England Patriots to shore up their Secondary in a pass happy division.

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- To help keep Justin Herbert upright they took Guard Zion Johnson out of Boston College in the 1st Round of the NFL Draft