Clayton: The Broncos have the best offensive line in the AFC West

The $16.7 million drop in the salary cap has turned the AFC West into the wild, wild west along the offensive line. There are going to be more changes along the offensive lines in the division than any other in the NFL.

The Las Vegas Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers could go under a major rebuilding process for blockers. That has to cause worries for Patrick Mahomes, Derek Carr and Justin Herbert.

The shocking news out of Kansas City on Thursday stunned everyone around the league. The Chiefs are cutting starting tackles Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz to save $18 million of cap room. Everyone watched the Tampa Bay Buccaneers pound Mahomes in the Super Bowl with an understaffed offensive line. Today, the offensive line looks worse.

To replace Fisher, who tore an Achilles in the AFC Championship Game, Andy Reid had to move Schwartz’s replacement, Mike Remmers, from right tackle to left tackle. Remmers is a free agent, so the Chiefs are down three tackles.

To make matters worse, center Austin Reiter is also a free agent. So are guard Kelechi Osemele and center Daniel Kilgore. That pretty much leaves Kansas City with guard Andrew Wylie and guard Nick Allegretti.

The Chiefs are hoping to get Laurent Tardif-Duvernay back from his opt-out year. Tardif-Duvenay spent the season in Canada as a doctor taking care of people during the pandemic. There is no word if he is coming back yet.

The Raiders have started a 60-percent change along the offensive line to get under the cap. They cut guard Richie Incognito, told guard Gabe Jackson he will be released and traded right tackle Trenton Brown to New England.

The Chargers may be revamping their offensive line. They are shopping guard Trai Turner for cap reasons and could cut him. Center Mike Pouncey is retiring. Guard Dan Freeney is a free agent. His backup, Forrest Lamp, is a free agent. Left tackle Sam Tevi is a free agent. The only certain remaining starter is right tackle Bryan Bulaga.

Right now, other teams in the AFC West don’t know who will be playing along their offensive lines when the 2021 season starts. The Broncos, however, already have it mapped out.

Garett Bolles, Dalton Risner, Lloyd Cushenberry, Graham Glasgow and Ja’Wuan James are most likely Denver’s starters in Week 1. That gives them a leg up in the AFC West.