The LA Chargers had a massive offseason to build off of a promising 2021 season but the only problem is that other teams in the AFC West improved as well. It is safe to say that the AFC West is going to be the most competitive and entertaining division in football and the Chargers very well could be at the top of that class.
It makes you wonder what the Chargers' season would be like if they were in a different division, though. If the Chargers end up winning the AFC West then you could make the case for them winning every single division in football. However, winning the AFC West is not a guarantee.
Out of the seven other divisions in football, there are three where the Chargers would undoubtedly be the best team by a mile and would beat around the other teams in said divisions.
The LA Chargers would dominate the NFC East
The NFC East has been the laughing stock of NFL divisions in recent years and while it does seem to be improving, the Chargers would still undoubtedly be the best team in the division and would likely have a 5-1 record at worst in those divisional games.
The Dallas Cowboys do have talent, especially on the defensive end, and the Philadelphia Eagles are getting better. However, the Cowboys have a horrible head coach while the Eagles have a pretty below-average quarterback.
The New York Giants are a mess and nobody is scared of Carson Wentz up in the Nation's Capital. Granted, if the Chargers joined the division then one of these teams would have to get the boot but it would not really matter much who gets the boot. The Chargers would pound on each of these teams during the 2022 season and would comfortably win the division.
Last year the Chargers went 3-1 against the NFC East with the only loss being to the Dallas Cowboys and the referees in Week 2.
The LA Chargers would dominate the AFC South
The AFC South is the AFC's version of the NFC East. Despite having the top-seeded team in last year's playoffs, the AFC South is undeniably the worst division in the conference and is going to struggle to keep up with what is an otherwise loaded Super Bowl picture on the AFC side of things.
Of course, one of the AFC South teams has to make the playoffs and there is always the chance of a team getting hot and beating teams that they should not have beaten. That is exactly what the Cincinnati Bengals did in the playoffs last year. However, it would be shocking if any of these teams made it out of the Divisional Round.
The Tennessee Titans are bound for regression with Derrick Henry breaking the running back injury seal and Ryan Tannehill proving that he is probably more like that guy we saw in Miami. He lost one of the best receivers in the league in A.J. Brown and the offensive line got worse.
The Indianapolis Colts don't have much receiver talent and they switched Carson Wentz for Matt Ryan. Ryan might be a former MVP winner but are we really sure that he is any better than Carson Wentz at this point in his career? Jonathan Taylor will carry this team and as we know, running backs can only take a team so far.
The Jacksonville Jaguars can't get any worse than they were last season, especially with Urban Meyer out of the building but they still aren't very good. And while I am a believer in Davis Mills and think he is better than Mac Jones, the Houston Texans are not much of a threat.
Luckily, the Chargers play the AFC South this season and can prove that they would have dominated the division if they were in the AFC South. Making matters even sweeter for the Chargers is that they play both Henry and Taylor late in the season when their mileage will be picking up and when the run defense in LA will have more reps together.
The LA Chargers would dominate the NFC North
Move over, Aaron Rodgers. Justin Herbert is here to take your place in the group of elite quarterbacks. Despite winning back-to-back MVPs, Rodgers is likely going to regress in the 2022 season. Not only is he a year older after falling short in the playoffs once again but Rodgers' weapons in Green Bay are a legitimate issue.
This has to be the worst receiving corps that Rodgers has ever played with and the talent of the roster as a whole is lacking. If Rodgers was not the quarterback of the Packers then they would probably be a three or four-win team, that is how bad it is getting in Green Bay.
But because one of the greatest to ever do it is still under center they will probably win 10 games and win an otherwise unimpressive division. People can talk all they want about the Vikings potentially winning 16 games, the rest of the NFC North is weak.
Minnesota is the next best team and they are a team that did beat the Chargers last season. That being said, Kirk Cousins is limited in the same way that Dak Prescott is and I am still not sold in the slightest in Minnesota's defense. Minnesota will probably be a playoff team in the super-thin NFC but they are much worse than the AFC crop of playoff teams.
Chicago and Detroit are both dumpster fires as well. Detroit is actually building towards something promising, so they deserve credit there. But they are still a year away from competing for a .500 record, especially with Jared Goff under center.
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The Bears, on the other hand, have the promising young quarterback but have done everything in their power to make his life as hard as humanely possible. I am a huge Justin Fields believer but it is hard to see the Bears not having a top-five pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.