Chargers should be considered AFC West favorites after Tyreek Hill trade
By Jason Reed
Editor's update: According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Chiefs have agreed to trade Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins for a 2022 first-round pick, 2022 second-round pick, 2022 fourth-round pick, 2023 fourth-round pick and 2023 sixth-round pick.
The LA Chargers have gotten much better this offseason with several key additions that have filled some holes on the roster. The Las Vegas Raiders also got better with the additions of Davante Adams and Chandler Jones while the Denver Broncos brought in Russell Wilson to solve their quarterback problem.
Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs have not done much this offseason and are arguably now getting worse. Extension talks stalled between the Chiefs and star receiver Tyreek Hill and a trade is imminent. At the time of writing this, Hill is choosing between the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, with two deals reportedly in place.
This is all great news for the LA Chargers as the Kansas City Chiefs have dominated the AFC West for six years now. While the division is undoubtedly competitive the Bolts are the team that should be favored once this trade is made official.
Why the LA Chargers are the favorites in the AFC West after a Tyreek Hill trade:
First, let's start with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs would be losing Patrick Mahomes's number one target on top of other losses this offseason. Kansas City's secondary is going to get depleted and even if they free up cap space by trading Hill, they are going to lose big names on defense.
Unless Kansas City pulls off some serious magic, we could see the worst secondary that has been on the team since Patrick Mahomes took over.
Offensively, Mahomes is no longer going to have the luxury of having a top-3 wide receiver and arguably the greatest tight end of all time. Hill is gone and as we saw last season, Travis Kelce is starting to regress. He is still a very talented tight end, but he was not the same guy in 2021 and won't be in 2022.
Some Chiefs fans will argue that the team will select a wide receiver in the 2022 NFL Draft and that it will be fine. While there are some talented receivers in this class, it is much easier said than done to replace an elite wide receiver with a mid-to-late first-round pick.
Could the Chiefs strike gold and get a Justin Jefferson? Sure. Could they also end up getting another Jalen Reagor? Absolutely.
As far as the Chargers are concerned, they should be considered the most well-rounded team in the division. The Bolts were a top-five offensive team in the league last season and that is only going to get better in Justin Herbert's second year of this offense.
Defensively, the Chargers addressed the biggest hole of the defense — the run defense — by adding Sebastian Joseph-Day, Austin Johnson and Khalil Mack. They also added a true blue-chipper in J.C. Jackson.
People forget that Brandon Staley coached the no. 1 defense in the NFL two years ago and then took over a defense that could not have been farther from what he needed to execute his defensive vision. Now, the Chargers have more of the necessary pieces to run Staley's defense and see a massive improvement on that side of the ball.
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There is absolutely a possibility that the Chargers are a top-three offensive team in the NFL while being a top-10 defensive team. If that happens then how aren't they the bonafide favorites to win the AFC West?