The AFC West is shaping up to be the most challenging division in football in 2022.
After the recent blockbuster trades involving Russell Wilson (to Denver), Davante Adams (to Las Vegas) and Khalil Mack (to LAC), there’s no question that the Kansas City Chiefs have a tougher road than usual on paper.
That was the general thought process behind an ESPN segment where analyst Marcus Spears joined “Get Up” to discuss the topic.
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Spears Sounds off: ‘This Has Gotten Way Harder’ for KC
The talking point was whether or not the AFC West has “caught up to the Chiefs?”
Spears began by replying, “on paper, for sure.” He went on to explain that in the past, the quarterback play widened the gap between KC and the competition, but that may not be the case anymore. He stated:
Nobody ever had a quarterback to compete with [Patrick] Mahomes and we all gave the creedance to that. [The] Kansas City Chiefs weren’t world-beaters on defense last year. So there’s going to be something that separates these teams this year in the division. I know Tyrann Mathieu is exiting from Kansas City and everybody around the league can think that’s small — I don’t. I don’t believe that’s small at all. When you look at these defensive lines, as they’re currently constructed. You look at what the Chargers have with [Joey] Bosa and Khalil Mack, you look at what the Raiders have with Maxx Crosby and now bringing in Chandler Jones, and then [Bradley] Chubb and Randy Gregory in Denver. This has gotten way harder for the Kansas City Chiefs to just walk through this division, and might I add, last year when we watched this team in the playoffs — and I think the Chiefs are going to be a top team before I make this statement and everybody [goes] crazy — but I did see them in the second half against the [Cincinnati] Bengals, not be able to put any points on the board. So I’m not just going to throw it out there because Mahomes and Andy Reid been doing what they’ve been doing. I believe they will continue to have a high-powered prolific offense, but you’ve gotta bring more to the table in the AFC West now than the Chiefs previously had to.
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Has the West Finally Done Enough?
Obviously, Spears has a point. This division will be a gauntlet in 2022 but did the competition do enough to surpass the Chiefs? — Who also added talent in JuJu Smith-Schuster and Justin Reid among others.
One of the analyst’s two key points was that the rival quarterbacks are finally on a level that is close enough to Mahomes to stay in games. We saw that jump last season with Justin Herbert, who went toe-to-toe with the Chiefs gunslinger in both outings.
Wilson may no longer be in his prime, but he still provides a similar sort of moxie for the Broncos, who some believe were a quarterback away the past couple of seasons. Is that enough to make Denver a Super Bowl contender once again?
.@ByKimberleyA isn’t sold the Broncos will be Super Bowl contenders with Russell Wilson 👀
“A successful season is getting to the playoffs, but they went all in [on Russell Wilson] to win a Super Bowl. But can they? I don’t know.”
Finally, you have the Raiders with two former New England Patriots brains now leading the charge. Josh McDaniels wasted no time bringing in a true number one weapon for Derek Carr, who has played at an MVP level at times throughout his up-and-down career.
Adams and McDaniels both add creativity and intelligence to the Vegas offense.
How Much Will Losing Mathieu Hurt KC?
The other portion of Spears’ argument was based on a massive departure — although it has not officially happened yet. The ‘Honey Badger’ is expected to move on to the next chapter of his career, which could be his final one.
General manager Brett Veach seemed committed to getting younger at the position, replacing Mathieu with the comparable skillset of Reid.
The new Chiefs safety reacted to the immediate comparisons, voicing: “A copy is never worth as much as the original. There will never, ever, ever be another Tyrann Mathieu [that] comes through Kansas City. But I can bring the best Justin Reid possible to Kansas City. I want to play to my strengths. I want to play to who I am.”
This could end up being a good swap long-term but will the loss of leadership affect the reliability of this Chiefs defense in 2022? With western free-agent signings like J.C. Jackson (Chargers), D.J. Jones (Broncos) and the aforementioned Chandler Jones (Raiders), this arms race is just getting started.
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NFL Analyst: Chiefs Playoff Concerns Stem From Huge Departure, Rival QBs