Ranking the AFC West: Wide Receivers
The AFC West has always been one of the most competitive divisions on a year-to-year basis since the AFL-NFL merger, and 2020 figures to continue the tradition.
Home of the reigning Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs, a pair of teams dripping with potential in the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders, and a team with one of the most well-rounded defensive units in the Los Angeles Chargers, the AFC West might push a pair of teams into the playoffs this year.
The Chiefs are the easy front runner for the AFC West crown seeing as they've won the division for five consecutive years and are returning 19-of-22 starters from a championship roster.
But the Broncos and Raiders have tried to mimic the blueprint the Chiefs laid out in 2019, bringing in a ton of explosive play-makers to try to keep up with one of the most dynamic offenses the league has ever seen. The Chargers still have a ways to go in order to light up the scoreboard, but the upgrades they've made to an already stellar defense could keep them competitive in these heated rivalries.
Every year, we at Mile High Huddle dive deep to break down the Broncos' division rivals. This time around, we're going to rank each team by position group in order to determine who has the best roster in the division.
This year we're going to rank each team by position group in order to determine who has the best roster in the division. These rankings will include not only the projected starters for each AFC West team, but also the depth of the unit as a whole.
Day three of the series takes a look at the wide receiver position.
4: Los Angeles Chargers | Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, KJ Hill, Jr., Darius Jennings
Despite having Allen and Williams as proven options on the roster, the Chargers receiver corps is incredibly weak. Aside from seventh-round rookie Hill, there's no clear-cut depth player that I could project to make the roster.
Jennings, an ex-Titan, signed in free agency earlier this year to bring some depth at receiver and offer an option as a returner, but his offensive impact to date has been minimal. I have him here for that reason.
Allen is truly spectacular though. A very technical route runner that understands leverage and uses his bigger frame to his advantage, he is a top-10 player at the receiver position despite injury concerns from earlier in his career.
Williams is a massive creature as a deep threat and has a catch radius comparable to an elephant. His ability to high point the football and win those 50-50 situations is the primary reason he was drafted so highly a few years ago. Though he is still developing as a route runner, Williams offers a nice compliment to Allen.
Much like the running back position, depth concerns drops a group with a high level talent to the bottom of the division.
3: Denver Broncos | Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler, Tim Patrick, DaeSean Hamilton
I struggled with this ranking primarily because of the relative youth in the Broncos receiver room. Sutton is emerging as a legitimate No. 1 receiver and could potentially surpass Allen as the better player.
But aside from Sutton, there's little proven and effective play from Denver's depth.
Patrick could get the starting position opposite of Sutton to start the season, but he's not exactly what you want from a No. 2. More proven as a special teams player, Patrick has some large shoes to fill especially after his failure to break out down the stretch in 2019.
Hamilton showed a nice rapport when Drew Lock took over at QB in Week 13, but prior to that he had struggled to carve out much of a niche as a receiver in Denver's offense over the course of his first two seasons.
That brings us to Jeudy and Hamler; a pair of highly drafted rookie play-makers. Jeudy should see a major role in the offense lined up in multiple areas. His route running ability and skills with the ball after the catch should translate to the pro game immediately, but he is still a rookie.
Hamler may catch the short end of the stick due to Patrick's presence in the starting lineup, but his speed is undeniable and should be on the field as often as possible.
All in all this is a solid group that is dripping with potential, but potential doesn't win football games. Production does. Until we see Jeudy, Hamler and the rest of the Broncos receivers produce on the field they have to fall below the Raiders and Chiefs.
2: Las Vegas Raiders | Tyrell Williams, Nelson Agholor, Zay Jones, Hunter Renfrow, Henry Ruggs, Bryan Edwards
The Raiders have an extremely deep and talented receiver corps that's full of experience and diversity. It's well rounded, versatile and has extremely explosive potential.
While they don't have a true No. 1 receiver like the Chargers, Chiefs and Broncos do, the Raiders have a trio of proven veterans to spread the ball to. Williams is a dynamic deep threat miscast as an X receiver, but is still effective in the intermediate zones.
Agholor has struggles with drops, but as a No. 2 is a solid option. Jones flamed out last season, but is a proven depth piece and offers enough versatility to play on the boundary or in the slot.
Renfrow was arguably the best receiver for the Raiders in 2019, working admirably out of the slot. A route running technician, Renfrow creates a lot of separation over the middle of the field.
This brings us to Ruggs and Edwards. Ruggs brings elite deep threat speed to the table, but is also highly effective on slants and crossing routes. Get him the ball quickly and in space and he might hit his head on the goal posts before he stops running. Edwards is a Sutton clone and should take over for Agholor on the outside later in the season.
Neither of these two rookies have to contribute immediately because of the top guys on the roster, but both offer enough talent to do so if asked to.
Depth, experience, youth and potential. This is a very well rounded unit that should help accentuate what QB Derek Carr does best and might be the best receiver corps the Raiders have had in the past decade.
1: Kansas City Chiefs | Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, DeMarcus Robinson, Mecole Hardman
When you have this much speed at the receiver position, it's hard to find a way to stop every option. These four guys work so well vertically and horizontally to open up space for not only each other, but for TE Travis Kelce as well.
Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy do such a tremendous job incorporating crossing and rub routes to accentuate the speed their receivers possess. They spread the secondary thin, opening up huge gaps of space for their guys to win against any coverage scheme. From there, it's a track meet. Who can keep up?
Hill is the fastest and one of the most dynamic players in the league. He can win in short areas, deep, or even as a ball carrier out of the backfield.
Hill's second and third gear are arguably the most impressive traits of any player. He's also becoming an elite route runner because of his ability to change direction without dropping much speed in the process.
Watkins is a great Robin to Hill's Batman, working as a dynamic player moving laterally over the middle of the field. He also has the speed to take the top off of the defense and can play in the slot or on the boundary.
Robinson might be the third option, but is great as a deep threat as well. Hardman is usually the odd man out offensively, but when he does hit the field it usually results in an explosive play from anywhere on the field.
It truly doesn't matter if you play off or press coverage, somebody is going to be open.
The Chiefs returned their entire receiving corps from their Super Bowl squad. This is the most explosive unit across the league, and hands down the best in the West.
Don't miss the previous installments of Mile High Huddle's AFC West positional rankings: Quarterbacks | Running Backs
Follow Lance on Twitter @SandersonMHH and @MileHighHuddle.
