Ranking the Chiefs' 5 Biggest AFC Rivals After Stefon Diggs Trade

5. Los Angeles Chargers

Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are no longer on the roster, though the Chargers have the No. 5 overall pick in the draft and now have a proven head coach in Jim Harbaugh. They'll likely add Malik Nabors or Rome Odunze in the draft to take over as the top receiving option, and Justin Herbert is one of the most talented QBs in the league.

Brandon Staley held this roster back. They'd be a better team purely due to addition by subtraction without Staley, but Harbaugh has been to a Super Bowl, found success at every stop in his coaching career and just won a national championship at Michigan. The Chargers are coming and will be a threat down the line, though I don't think this is the year they can truly compete with the Chiefs.

Throws like this will keep analysts picking the Chargers to dethrone the Chiefs. Herbert needs to be more aggressive in games and I expect we'll see his best work yet under Harbaugh, a proven QB guru.

I think the Los Angeles is still a year away from true competitiveness given the relatively poor state of the aging roster, though they should be much better than last place in the AFC West.

Getting into the playoffs as a wild card team this year feels realistic, then they can take a step forward to truly compete for the AFC crown in 2025-26. Would it stun me if Harbaugh turns this ship around quicker?

No, but I wouldn't bet on it either. The Chiefs are the clear class of the AFC and everyone else is playing for second place.

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