KC Chiefs: Best pick from each AFC West team during 2019 NFL Draft
By Chris Clark
The KC Chiefs have now won the last three AFC West titles and racked up an impressive 16-2 record in the division. If the Chiefs want to continue that dominance, they must keep an eye on who their division foes draft each year.
At this point, the Kansas City Chiefs are the big dog to beat in the AFC West. While the Broncos, Chargers, and Raiders are looking to take them down, the Chiefs will certainly be keeping an eye on who those teams are bringing in.
Here’s a look at this year’s best pick from all three division rivals.
DENVER BRONCOS
The Denver Broncos have struggled since the 2015 season, which ended with a Super Bowl victory. The retirement of future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, multiple head coaching changes, and general manager John Elway‘s inability to draft a serviceable quarterback have all been contributing factors.
In their attempt to regain some respect in the league, the Broncos didn’t have a bad 2019 draft.
Elway played the draft patiently and seems to have selected players that are talented and that fit real needs on their roster. It would not have been a surprise to see Denver select a quarterback with the number ten overall pick, but they instead played it smart.
Giving up their number ten pick to Pittsburgh, Denver moved down to the number 20 spot and chose a talented tight end in Iowa’s Noah Fant. They continued to be patient and even selected offensive lineman Dalton Risner from Kansas State with the 41st overall pick.
A sense of urgency must have set in because they immediately moved up to the 42nd pick and selected a quarterback. Three picks into the draft and John Elway finally picked up one of the bigger needs to compete in the AFC West.
Missouri’s Drew Lock had the potential to be a first-round pick in this year’s draft. Somewhat surprisingly, he fell into the second round where Denver was able to get a strong-armed quarterback with decent size. Since he will compete for the backup role behind Joe Flacco, this may give him time to work on the inaccuracy issues that he has struggled with.
If Lock can spend the next few seasons developing, Elway will have already put a few key pieces in front of him in Fant and Risner. Kansas City likely won’t have much of a threat from the Broncos this season or next, but that third season could present some challenges.
Because of Elway’s uncharacteristic patience in waiting to get a franchise quarterback, this may be the biggest reason why it was their best pick.