Peter King’s Power Rankings are high on AFC West, but oddly not Broncos

Anyone, anywhere can do their own NFL Power Rankings, but some are more interesting than others.

And when a media legend like Peter King publishes his rankings right before teams are about to start OTAs in late May, they’re worth a look.

It was surprising, though, to see where King ranked the Denver Broncos, particularly in the context of where he slotted in the other three AFC West teams. King has the Broncos at No. 14. That might seem a bit low, but it’s not an outrageous placement for a team with a new QB and head coach.

However, when you consider where here put the Chargers, Chiefs and Raiders, it looks a little more odd. Kings has the Chargers as the No. 2 team in the entire NFL. He’s got Kansas City ranked at No. 3 and Las Vegas checking in at No. 13. Here’s a bit of his logic for each:

No. 2 L.A. Chargers – The Chargers, I thought, needed to do significant surgery coming off a playoff-less season. And GM Tom Telesco did. I thought he won this offseason. He needed to, particularly on defense.

No. 3 Kansas City Chiefs – It’ll be up to (Patrick) Mahomes to win some games with his golden arm to prove this is not a gap year. I think he can do it, even in the toughest division in football, even if the Chargers, for one year, pass them in the standings.

No. 13 Las Vegas Raiders – Nice quiet offseason for the Raiders. New GM, new coach, new offensive superstar, new pass-rush superstar. Dave Ziegler, Josh McDaniels, Davante Adams, Chandler Jones: The spotlight is on all of you, right now.

No. 14 Denver Broncos – Can (Russell) Wilson hit the ground running? Let’s look at new Denver head coach Nathaniel Hackett’s hands-on history (along with Matt LaFleur) in Green Bay. In 2019, LaFleur/Hackett’s first year in Green Bay, Rodgers took 2.92 seconds from snap to throw (a lot) and averaged 7.2 yards per attempt.

You should obviously read King’s full breakdown of the entire league and each of the four AFC West teams, but to me, these rankings are puzzling. There’s no way the Chargers are the second best team in the NFL. Justin Herbert is a rising star at QB, but to have them ahead of the Rams, Packers and Buccaneers is silly.

Kansas City also took a major step back on offense by trading Tyreek Hill and replacing him with an aging Ju Ju Smith-Schuster and an unproven Marquez Valdes-Scantling. The Raiders hired Josh McDaniels (gross) and Derek Carr is by far the worst QB in the division — they have no business being ranked above Denver.

And yes, Hackett and Wilson are new, but both had an awful lot of success at their previous spots. Throw in the fact the Broncos should have a top-5 defense, and I’m not buying there are 13 better teams in the NFL, including all three in the AFC West.

I get it, we won’t know how right (or wrong) these rankings are for another six to eight months, but there’s a lot to disagree with as we sit here in May.

The Broncos can’t do anything about it, but for now, at least one respected national media member thinks they’re the worst team in their division. I have a hunch they’ll prove that notion laughably wrong.
***