Landscape of the AFC West After the First Round

The long-awaited first round of the NFL draft is over, and while there were minimal trades, that doesn't mean there weren't plenty of surprises. After each team in the AFC West has made its first-round picks, do their incoming rookies shake up the standings, or will the AFC West remain the same?

One of the biggest winners in the draft was the Las Vegas Raiders, the reason being that there was no drama and no problems with who they drafted. The Raiders had long been predicted to draft Ashton Jeanty in a multitude of mock drafts. When Jeanty was announced to be taken sixth overall, it shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone.

Pete Carroll and John Spytek should be overjoyed with their selection, as they drafted a generational running back who will be a dynamic playmaker for their offense, and single-handedly solves their issues in the run game. Will this be enough to propel the Raiders into the playoffs?

The next team to draft in their division was the Denver Broncos, and they selected Jahdae Barron. This pick was a bit unorthodox for the Broncos, as Patrick Surtain II just won DPOY, and they had more needs on the offensive side of the ball than the defensive side.

In terms of the AFC West as a whole, while Barron is a good player for them, he will not stop Jeanty from running through the entire division. I believe this pick slides the Broncos down just a bit, and it may result in them being the last team in the AFC West.

The Los Angeles Chargers made their selection shortly after, and they selected the only other running back in the first round, Omarion Hampton. Hampton versus Jeanty will be a very exciting duel to see which running back will have the bigger game, but ultimately, I believe Jeanty will prevail.

The Chargers may be better equipped to run their offense through a heavy run scheme, but with the addition of Jeanty, paired with Carroll, the Raiders should be able to match them blow for blow in the run department.

Finally, the Kansas City Chiefs traded back one pick to select 32nd overall despite losing the Super Bowl. They chose Josh Simmons, who's a good player to address their problems along the offensive line, but he's an injury risk and will take time to develop into the player he could be, and won't be productive right out the gate.

Looking at the AFC West as a whole, I believe the Raiders are indisputably the biggest winners. I believe they had the best first round out of any team in their division, and if they continue to have a good draft, they won't be the worst team a second year in a row.

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