We wrap up our preseason divisional breakdowns with the West. These divisions have brought us the last 3 super bowl champions and the division winner of both leagues has been in the conference championship the last 3 years as well. Will the streak continue? You will see in my playoff predictions soon. But for now, here is the breakdown starting with the AFC.

AFC West

1st Place: How about them Chieeeefs!

The Chiefs have been dominant going to 6 straight AFC championship games, 4 super bowls and winning 3 championships. But the dominance of the AFC West started sooner as we were winning this thing with Alex Smith. Even the last time someone else won the division (the broncos in 2015) the Chiefs had the same record and just lost out on a tie breaker. Since then they have rattled off 8 straight AFC West titles. On paper they got significantly better on offense over last year. Which isn’t hard. We got slightly worse on defense after losing Sneed and a few role players. This should equal a more enjoyable regular season with the same old end result. Oh and to make us even more annoying it will be year two of Taylor Swift being at all our games. I guess that this is just a new Eras of football. See what I did there.

Reason the Chiefs will win the division: Mahomes is inevitable.

Reason the Chiefs won’t win the division: Mahomes gets hurt…but even then I think we win the division with Wentz backing him up. We just wouldn’t win it all. Plus, even when Mahomes gets hurt he heals insanely quickly.

Fantasy Players to draft: I think Pat is going to bounce back and have an amazing year statistically. I am not saying he is going to throw for 5,000 yards but he might throw for 5,000 yards. He and Andy are the grumpiest people ever who just won a super bowl. They are not going to settle for that crap show display of offense we put out there last year. It’s hard to pass up Travis Kelce who last year was the number 2 tight end in fantasy during an off year. I love drafting Rashee Rice now that he won’t get suspended until the 2025 season. He was a top 10 fantasy receiver last year from week 12 on. Pacheco will be solid for you and both Worthy and Hollywood should be drafted. Not sure how they will do but they will certainly have big weeks from time to time.

Predicted record: 14-3

2nd Place: Denver Broncos

I mean someone has to come in second. I know everyone is high on the Chargers because of Jim Harbaugh but he won’t be able to steal signs in the NFL as easily. Plus why do we believe in Harbaugh and not Sean Payton? I think they are both a little overrated but Payton did win a super bowl. I think he has his guy in Bo Nix. Bo is smart and will follow the offense and get rid of the ball quickly. That’s what you need in a Sean Payton offense. These are all things that Russ was not. I think their skill guys are healthier than last year and their defense is decent. Plus, my wife and her family are happier if I say nice things about their team.

Reason they will win the division: Patrick Mahomes gets hurt and they play slightly better than the other two teams.

Reason they won’t win the division: Pat is inevitable.

Fantasy players to draft: I mean Sutton will probably catch a lot of passes. The person I am most excited about drafting is Javonte Williams especially where you can get him. If he stays healthy I think he is in for a big year. Everyone else, I am playing wait and see and am more likely to pick up on waivers if they perform well.

Predicted Record: 9-8

3rd place: San Diego…I mean Los Angeles Chargers

It’s always great playing the Chargers because you get another home game when you go there. Jim Harbaugh is there to save the day. What they really needed the last couple of years was to stay healthy and have competent coaching. They now have one of those things. Herbert is already hurt. Everyone who was good on the team offensively is gone. I think they have some young talent and Herbert is certainly very talented but he has never won anything of significance. So I am holding out the verdict but I think it will take a year for Harbaugh to get the pieces the way he wants them so he can finish second instead of third next year.

Reason they will win the division: Mahomes gets hurt and they play slightly better than the other two teams.

Reason they won’t win the division: Pat is inevitable.

Fantasy Players to draft: ugh, I mean Herbert if you want, I guess. Someone is going to run the ball and someone is going to catch the ball. I just don’t have a real good idea of who that is. Gus Edwards and Josh Palmer are safer bets with lower ceilings. Vidal, Johnson and McConkey have higher upside with very low floors. Take your pick.

Predicted Record: 7-10

4th Place: Los Angeles…I mean…Oakland…I mean Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders think they have their coach and I guess are waiting to get their quarterback. They have been talking a lot of smack since beating the Chiefs on Christmas Day. Since then, the Chiefs didn’t lose again and celebrated a Super Bowl Championship in their stadium. I don’t know that their coach is the answer or perhaps he is just drastically better than the worst head football coach ever, Josh McDaniels. Either way, I think they will be relatively competitive because they have a few elite players. But I think they downgraded at running back and Gardner Minshew is pretty good but not good enough to have a winning record. But hey he is entertaining. The Raiders finished second last year which doesn’t do them any favors scheduling wise. I think this will be yet another up and down season with more downs than ups.

Reason they will win the division: Mahomes gets hurt and they play slightly better than the other two teams.

Reason they won’t win the division: Pat is inevitable.

Fantasy Players to draft: Davante Adams apparently is good in fantasy even if I am throwing to him. Other than that, Jacobi Myers is a solid back up for you. Zamir White is taking Josh Jacobs place so I guess you can draft him if you want. He should get the ball a lot. And Brock Bowers is a rookie tight end that because they don’t have much depth at receiver should get a lot of looks.

Predicted record: 6-11

NFC West

1st Place: Los Angeles Rams

This is one of my bolder predictions but I like the Rams to win their division. It seems like this is sort of the consistent trend of the Rams. Be pretty good for a year, be real good for a year and make the super bowl, fall off dramatically and win 6 games…repeat. Well we are in the be real good for a year stage. Stafford is very solid at QB. They have great weapons across the board including a finally healthy Cooper Kupp. They drafted well. I’m a little worried about them defensively with Aaron Donald retiring. But hey if they make a run, you never know, he might show up. And bottom line is Sean McVay is the NFC coach I trust the most. I think they take care of business and win the West.

Reason they will win the division: Stafford plays elite and Kupp stays healthy and the D is solid enough.

Reason they won’t win the division: Defense is worse than I think it will be, Kupp gets hurt and the 49ers stay healthy.

Fantasy players to draft: Kyren Williams, Puka and Kupp are all first 3 round picks. After that, Blake Corum is a good handcuff in case Kyren gets hurt or they have more of a split backfield than expected. Demarcus Robinson was actually very good last year even with Puka and Kupp playing. Parkinson is their new tight end that should get some targets since Tyler Higbee is on IR. I am not drafting Parkinson or Robinson but I will be keeping my eye on them early on in the season.

Predicted Record: 12-5

2nd Place: Seattle Seahawks

What is Jeff doing??? How could he have the 49ers at 3. I’ll explain my 49ers pick in a bit but I like this Seahawks team. They have some new life with a new head coach and a new offensive play book. Their skill guys are stacked. Their defense is young but competitive. What’s not to like? Geno Smith isn’t awesome but he is solid and if he can thrive in this new offense lookout. I don’t have a ton of logical confidence in this pick but I just got a gut feeling and my gut is usually right when it comes to picking football stuff…except when it is not.

Reason they will win the division: Everything comes together offensively and their defense continues to improve.

Reason they won’t win the division: the Rams and 49ers are better.

Fantasy Players to draft: DK Metcalf is always a safe bet as he is a top 30 and sometimes top 20 receiver. Kenneth Walker is being really hyped up by the coaching staff. People are high on Jaxon Smith-Njigba to make the next step this year. Tyler Lockett isn’t getting as much love but the dude is consistent. Zach Charbonnet got some carries last year and at a minimum he is worth drafting in case Walker gets hurt. If you are desperate for a tight end, Noah Fant will be there to draft or pick up on the waiver wire.

Predicted record: 10-7

3rd Place: San Francisco 49ers

Look, the 9ers are very good. They have the best roster in football, blah, blah, blah. But something just doesn’t feel right here. There is a lot of bad mojo going on. The offseason was full of contract disputes. They keep extending everyone but they also keep getting older. Purdy hasn’t looked great. The injury bug has already gotten McCaffrey once in the preseason. Aiyuk and Trent Williams have barely practiced. Their O-line is already banged up and a guy just got shot for goodness sakes. Often the loser of the super bowl has a bit of a hang over effect. It just feels like something isn’t right or a lot of things aren’t going right heading into the new season. Plus the 49ers were oddly healthy last season and the odds of that happening for them, one of the most injury prone teams in the league, two seasons in a row doesn’t seem likely.

Reason they will win the division: I am wrong, everything is fine and they stay healthy.

Reason they won’t win the division: Players get hurt and Purdy plays bad.

Fantasy Players to draft: Even though they get hurt a lot, you have to draft these guys when available and then cross your fingers and hope they stay healthy. McCaffrey is the pretty obvious number 1 pick and the certainly obvious top 4 or 5 pick. Aiyuk signed his new deal so you got to draft him. Deebo and Kittle usually get hurt at some point most years but you got to draft them because they are great when they are healthy. Purdy was a top 10 fantasy QB last year because he gets to throw to all these guys.

Predicted record: 9-8

4th place: Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals have kind of a fun little team. They have a bunch of young skill guys plus James Conner. Kyler Murray is fun to watch even if he can’t see over the line and plays too many video games instead of studying his playbook. Their coach seems well liked by the players who play hard for him even though they suck. If they played in say the NFC South they might have better luck. I just don’t trust Murray and Conner to stay healthy and even if they did, I’m not sure they could beat these other 3 teams. But unlike the other last place teams, at least the Cardinals are fun to watch.

Reason they win the division: They stay healthy and dramatically over achieve.

Reason they won’t win the division: They don’t stay healthy and they are the Cardinals and they don’t win stuff.

Fantasy Players to draft: Marvin Harrison Jr. is apparently going to be the next Jerry Rice so you should draft him. I like to draft James Conner because he is really good until he gets hurt. I also like drafting Trey Benson because James Conner always gets hurt. Kyler Murray is a great fantasy QB when healthy. You just might want to get a back up. Trey McBride is everyone’s favorite tight end. Micah Wilson is someone I like drafting in deeper leagues. I think he has high upside but you can probably snag him off waiver wires if he performs well in most leagues.

Predicted Record: 6-11…but a really fun 6-11.

There you have it! Check out tomorrow when I do my first overall rankings of the year and my playoff predictions. And then on Friday I’ll be dropping my first Five for Friday where I give you 5 interesting games you should watch over the weekend!