The AFC arms race is hotter than ever and the West is adding a ton of talent, making it difficult for non-division winners to make the playoffs.
The AFC is becoming very difficult to be in now that the AFC West is just continuing to load up. Finally, the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos, and Las Vegas Raiders are making enough of a splash to compete with the Kansas City Chiefs.
This is very bad news for the Indianapolis Colts for a couple of reasons. One reason is, the Colts haven’t been keeping up with the big moves. Other than the trades for Matt Ryan and Yannick Ngakoue, the Colts have been very quiet in free agency.
Meanwhile, the West division has added some of the most explosive players in free agency making this the toughest division in history.
The other reason that is bad for Indianapolis is that the Colts play the AFC West next season. Every one of these explosive teams is on Indy’s 2022 schedule.
Let’s look at some of the moves made by the teams Indianapolis will play next season.
Departures in the AFC West
The list of players to leave is minimal in comparison to the ones who joined. Although, there are a few bigger names. Of course, the most electric name to leave is Chiefs star wide receiver, Tyreek Hill being traded to the Miami Dolphins.
In the Russell Wilson trade, there were three players traded from the Broncosg: Shelby Harris, Noah Fant, and Drew Lock.
As I mentioned, not a ton of talent left in comparison to what came into the division. The Hill trade is the biggest detriment, that will likely knock the Chiefs out of the division winner category for the first time since Patrick Mahomes took over as quarterback.
Tyreek will be making quarterback money over the next four years with $30 million per year. That’s the highest by any wide receiver in history.
With the exit of Hill and the few additions for the Chiefs, Kansas City could be trending down in the division. They might need to catch up with the rest in the draft.
Arrivals in the AFC West
Teams in the West are loaded. Last season, the NFC West was the best division in football with three playoff teams and two of them in the NFC Championship.
This year, there will be at least three playoff teams in the AFC West, and maybe a fourth if the schedule works outright. The four teams play the AFC South this season, which will certainly help their records.
https://twitter.com/pff/status/1506088295029256193?s=21&t=ae-ItHqIiS4UR9G54SCamw
This doesn’t even account for players like D.J. Jones, Vernon Butler, or Gerald Everett either.
Who will end up kings of the AFC West this year? No one really knows. Will this be too much for Patrick Mahomes and what is left of the Chiefs roster? What will be fun is watching Wilson, Mahomes, Herbert, and Carr battle it out a total of 24 times throughout the season.
This all is bad news for the Colts, too. The Colts aren’t making big enough moves to compete in the division, let alone the conference. Especially since they have to face these four juggernauts.
Will Matt Ryan be enough to help Indy overcome this schedule or is he just a temporary spot until the Colts find the next quarterback?
Should Colts look to the Draft or veteran free agents to upgrade at receiver?
The Indianapolis Colts still need to upgrade at the wide receiver position but what is the best way for the team to do that?