Kansas City Chiefs: AFC West Outlook For 2016

Oakland Raiders

The biggest story this offseason in the division is how much the Oakland Raiders have improved through free agency. Not only have they done well with their cap space, but the team has found their franchise quarterback in Derek Carr and their future franchise wide receiver in Amari Cooper.

With an improved defense and an offense that has seemingly gotten better each year, the Oakland Raiders could be contending for higher than third place in the division.

While Chiefs Kingdom probably isn’t thrilled about this, the Raiders very well could be the team to watch out for in 2016. They’ve signed some great players and have a lot of attention surrounding them.

The problem with the Raiders contending is that they haven’t been to the playoffs since the 2002 season. Hell, they haven’t had a winning record since that same season.

It’s tough to say that a team is going to be a contender when they haven’t posted a winning record in over a decade, but Oakland has the hype this offseason.

With an improved defense and an offense that has seemingly gotten better each year, the Oakland Raiders could be contending for higher than third place in the division.

The main thing to watch out for in Oakland is injuries. If Carr or another key player suffers an injury, the Raiders simply don’t have the depth to make up for it.

Next: Chargers