2016 AFC West Draft Grades

Denver Broncos

Grade: B

First Round Pick: Paxton Lynch-Quarterback-Memphis

Best Pick: Paxton Lynch

The defending Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos entered the 2016 National Football League Draft knowing that they had several holes to fill and that is exactly what the team’s executive president of football operations John Elway set out to do. The Broncos were hit hard by free agency and Elway went to work as far keeping the Broncos machine going.

The Broncos picked last in the first round, but Elway moved up five spots to select Memphis Tigers quarterback Paxton Lynch. At 6’7″, 244 lbs., Lynch is the big quarterback that Elway covets and he along with Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak will look to groom into being a solid starter.

Aside from Lynch, the Broncos added depth in the trenches with the likes of defensive tackle Adam Gotsis and guard Connor McGovern. But if Denver’s fourth-round pick in running back Devontae Booker is able to stay healthy, he could become one of the steals of the draft.

Kansas City Chiefs

Grade: B

First Round Pick: None

Best Pick: Round Five-Kevin Hogan-Quarterback-Stanford

In 2015, the Kansas City Chiefs came out of nowhere to earn a wild card berth in the AFC. And after advancing to the AFC Divisional Playoffs, the Chiefs lack of talent at the wide receiver position finally caught up to them. But for some reason Chiefs head coach Andy Reid passed on several opportunities to address that issue early in the National Football League Draft.

This draft process was simply about adding depth for the Chiefs, but they may have struck gold in the fifth round when they selected Stanford Cardinal quarterback Kevin Hogan. Hogan was a four-year starter at Stanford which included leading his team two three Rose Bowl appearances. To me Hogan was the most pro-ready quarterback in this year’s draft and if Reid coaches him up properly, he should become a solid player. Another sleeper pick came for the Chiefs in the sixth round when they selected Virginia Tech Hokies defensive end Dadi Nicolas. Nicolas has solid edge rushing skills and he can now learn from two of the best in the business in Kansas City from outside linebackers Tamba Hali and Justin Houston.

Oakland Raiders

Grade: B

First Round Pick: Karl Joseph-Safety-West Virginia

Best Pick: Round Three-Shilique Calhoun-Defensive End-Michigan State

The Oakland Raiders are showing that they are ready to get back to the National Football League Playoffs for the first time since 2002. The Raiders may have reached with their first round selection of West Virginia Mountaineers safety Karl Joseph, but they made up for it after that.

The middle rounds of the National Football League Draft saw Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie go to work in finding play makers. McKenzie has a thing for the Big Ten Conference as in the second round he selected Illinois Fighting Illini defensive end Jihad Ward which was followed by the selection of Michigan State Spartans defensive end Shilique Calhoun in the third round. Calhoun had the talent to go in the early portion of the second round, but he fell to Oakland at the middle of the third round. Both Ward and Calhoun will compete from their first day in training camp and they could set the Raiders up with solid edge rushers for the coming years.

In the fourth round, McKenzie found Calhoun’s collegiate teammate in quarterback Connor Cook. Some people felt that Cook could have gone in the first round, but this could be a situation where McKenzie will groom him to trade him in a few years as the Raiders have their franchise quarterback in Derek Carr.

The fifth round saw the Raiders select Texas Tech Red Raiders running back DeAndre Washington who’ll be used on third down situations while also becoming an impact player on special teams.

San Diego Chargers

Grade: C+

First Round Pick: Joey Bosa-Defensive End-Ohio State

Best Pick: Joey Bosa

The 2016 National Football League Draft went downhill for the San Diego Chargers as soon as it started. The Chargers appeared poised to select Ole Miss Rebels offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil until a questionable photo appeared of him on Twitter. The Chargers then decided on Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Joey Bosa in spite of the fact that selecting an edge rusher wasn’t their biggest need.

The Chargers did select Arkansas Razorbacks tight end Hunter Henry in the second to be the heir apparent to tight end Antonio. But throughout the entire National Football League Draft, San Diego failed to properly address their issues on the offensive line as this unit has had problems in protecting quarterback Philip Rivers.