AFC West Fantasy Football Grades

By Guest Writer EJ McKinley:

The AFC West boasts one of the better offenses in the NFL. While the Raiders have one of the worst. It’s a forgone conclusion the Broncos will win the division. It’s also a forgone conclusion they will have the top fantasy performers as well.

Denver Broncos:  A-

Analysis: The Broncos have one of the top quarterbacks in Peyton Manning. You can count on Manning to be a top performer in fantasy. Catching the ball from Manning is Demaryius Thomas who is a top 10 fantasy receiver. Also catching balls are Wes Welker and Eric Decker. Decker is a top 20 guy and Welker is a top 10. The defense can’t cover all three of these guys and they will get their points.

Tight end Jacob Tamme has a great rapport with Manning and Joel Dressen the starter does too. Running the ball will probably be Montee Ball. Ronnie Hillman and Knowshon Moreno will be fighting for snaps at the running back position as well.

Kansas City Chiefs:  B

Analysis: Alex Smith is coming from San Francisco and is perfect for the offense. He will have a great running game with Jamaal Charles pounding the rock. Receiver Dwayne Bowe will be the highlight of the passing game. Jon Baldwin has risen up the depth chart and will be catching a lot of passes this year. Anthony Fasano is an improvement at tight end and if Tony Moeaki can stay healthy he can catch a lot of balls. This offense could be great or sub-par.

Oakland Raiders:  D

Analysis: There are a lot of question at the quarterback position. Matt Flynn could start but nobody knows quite what he is capable of. We may see Terrelle Pryor at quarterback as well. The tight end position is extremely poor. Every time a Raiders tight end had a good season he left the year after. This has occurred the past couple of seasons. Denarius Moore could be a solid player but he is highly inconsistent. Darren McFadden is an amazing talent but absolutely cannot stay healthy what so ever. Marcel Reece is a dying breed at fullback but is very special.    

San Diego Chargers:  C

Analysis: The San Diego offense runs totally on chance. It can function great or totally tank. Quarterback Philip Rivers has shown great ability in the past but has been bad the last few seasons. Ryan Mathews is a solid running back but has been injured almost his whole career. Antonio Gates was once the best tight end in the league but has been slowing down more and more as the seasons have gone by. The receiver position has some excellent pass catchers. Malcolm Floyd is a mixed bag of tricks. Vincent Brown has showed promise and Robert Meachem was once a feature receiver in New Orleans. Eddie Royal can be a playmaker while rookie Keenan Allen could be a star.