Moving on to the final division in our series of draft evaluations, we head out west to take a look at what some serious contenders were able to accomplish over draft weekend.
AFC West
The AFC West was slightly surprising in 2023. The Kansas City Chiefs were able to secure another Super Bowl victory behind an elite defence despite what looked to be a horrid wide receiver room, becoming the only team in what is consistently considered to be a tough division to finish with a record above .500.
The Raiders moved on from their head coach Josh McDaniels on Halloween after a 3-5 start to the season. A 5-4 finish to the year was enough for the Raiders to remove the interim tag from Antonio Pierce as he enters 2024 looking to put his stamp on the team after drastically increasing the vibes in that locker room.
Sean Payton and the Broncos are also undergoing major changes after taking on the biggest dead cap hit in league history by cutting Russell Wilson and looking to rebuild what has been a depleted roster, albeit with minimal assets available to them.
Meanwhile, the Chargers finally moved on from their former head coach Brandon Staley and brought in a perennial winner in Jim Harbaugh to try and help Justin Herbert turn his impressive talent into legitimate playoff success. What was once the most fearsome division in the NFL now has a collection of teams who are in the midst of a retooling as they strive to reach the level that the Chiefs have been able to achieve.
Kansas City Chiefs
- 1 (28): WR Xavier Worthy, Texas
- 2 (63): T Kingsley Suamataia, BYU
- 4 (131): TE Jared Wiley, TCU
- 4 (133): S Jaden Hicks, Washington State
- 5 (159): C Hunter Nourzad, Penn State
- 6 (211): CB Kamal Hadden, Tennessee
- 7 (248): G C.J. Hanson, Holy Cross
Despite losing some key parts of their Super Bowl winning defence, the Chiefs used the draft to attack their holes on offence and grabbed some exciting pieces that can contribute immediately.
After many failed attempts at finding a solution to their wide receiver room since the Tyreek Hill trade, the Chiefs moved up in the draft to select Xavier Worthy and add him to a group which already features Marquise Brown and Rashee Rice in a rebuilt unit.
Worthy ran the fastest 40 time in combine history, and gives Mahomes another explosive option on the outside who can also be a difference maker after the catch. Worthy also might be stepping into a larger role than anticipated with the multiple incidents surrounding Rice making his availability for the entirety of the 2024 season questionable at best. Worthy was a strange selection in my opinion – the speed is unquestionable, but he’s extremely small (172 pounds) and PFF has his receiving grades in the 70’s over the past two seasons, which isn’t what you would expect to see from a first round pick.
He was often compared to Brown during the pre-draft process, so doubling down on an outside speedster with questionable hands seems a little redundant. However I’m certain that head coach Andy Reid is already scheming up creative ways to get Worthy involved in the offence.
The Chiefs moved up again in round two and picked what could be a stellar left tackle for years to come. Suamataia has experience on both sides of the offensive line, and posted a 80.9 pass blocking rating on the right side and a 86.1 pass blocking grade on the left.
This whole offence works because Patrick Mahomes is who he is, and finding someone who can protect the most important element of the unit for years to come, and potentially being able to do that with a late second round pick, is an absolute win for the Chiefs. Suamataia will need some work – he’s far from a plug and play starter at this point of his development so the Chiefs could be looking to sign a veteran before training camp to at least start the season for them at tackle. Nevertheless, they might have a steal of a pick if Suamataia reaches his ceiling.
Tight end Jared Wiley surrounds Mahomes with more talented pass catching options, and paired with Noah Gray, the Chiefs are setting themselves up for a not so distant future without Travis Kelce. Wiley offers a rare combination of speed and size and has an extremely high ceiling thanks to his big play potential.
Hunter Nourzad is a high floor, low ceiling type player that can be a rotational piece in the Chiefs offensive line that will likely earn some starts this coming season if there are injuries up front.
On defence, Jaden Hicks was a bit of a steal in the fourth round as he was seen as a third round prospect in many mock drafts, and Kamal Hadden is a really good coverage corner who dropped due to his struggles in the run game. The Chiefs continue to select high upside defensive backfield players and have the infrastructure to allow them to reach that potential. If the offence clicks and is as explosive as it looks like it can be on paper, the Chiefs defence won’t be defending against the run too often anyways.
Las Vegas Raiders
- 1 (13): TE Brock Bowers, Georgia
- 2 (44): C Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon
- 3 (77): T Delmar Glaze, Maryland
- 4 (112): CB Decamerion Richardson, Mississippi State
- 5 (148): LB Tommy Eichenberg, Ohio State
- 6 (208): RB Dylan Laube, New Hampshire
- 7 (223): S Trey Taylor, Air Force
- 7 (229): CB MJ Devonshire, Pittsburgh
After the Raiders missed out on the top tier of quarterbacks, they were left flipping a coin to decide between taking cornerback Terrion Arnold or tight end Brock Bowers. In case you were wondering, that’s not how professional organizations should be making franchise changing decisions. But, as we all know, the Raiders rarely act like a professional organization.
For his part, Bowers is an A+ prospect. He’s a versatile weapon and can make an immediate impact on the offence every time he has the ball in his hands. Bowers had 689 receiving yards after contact during his college career, which is the most since PFF began tracking that in 2014. The fit was unexpected as the Raiders just used a second round pick on fellow tight end Michael Mayer last season, and they seemingly have unlocked Jakobi Meyers by utilizing him as an inside receiver. Considering Gardner Minshew and Aiden O’Connell are currently in line to battle it out for the starting job at quarterback, Bowers rookie season has a precariously low ceiling on it. But the team needs talent on offence and Bowers can certainly be a building block for them going forward.
On the other side of the coin, Jackson Powers-Johnson was a nice selection in the second round. He’s a versatile interior lineman who is an absolute mauler and actually fits the team’s needs. After years of poor offensive line play, Powers-Jackson has the potential to be a tone setter at center that helps reset the entire line’s mentality. The Raiders then reached on their next pick to select tackle prospect Delmar Glaze, who graded well in pass blocking in 2023 but lacks the movement skills to be a true outside blocker.
With Spencer Rattler still on the board into the 5th round, it’s kind of shocking the Raiders didn’t take a shot on a prospect at the most important position in football, and instead reached on some potential future rotational pieces. Heading into the season with just O’Connell and Minshew with no real succession plan in place is concerning, but if you’re a Raiders fan, that seems to be par for the course.
Denver Broncos
- 1 (12): QB Bo Nix, Oregon
- 3 (76): EDGE Jonah Elliss, Utah
- 4 (102): WR Troy Franklin, Oregon
- 5 (145): CB Kris Abrams-Draine, Missouri
- 5 (147): RB Audric Estime, Notre Dame
- 7 (235): WR Devaughn Vele, Utah
- 7 (256): IOL Nick Gargiulo, South Carolina
Following the dismissal of Russell Wilson, the Broncos had one of the worst quarterback rooms in the NFL and tried to address that with the sixth quarterback taken in the draft. Bo Nix was a round two level prospect, but was clearly seen as the last viable option for the Broncos as they selected him with the twelfth pick.
Nix isn’t a special prospect at the position by any means, but Payton obviously believes his coaching was a major factor in the success of Drew Brees in New Orleans, and thinks he can recreate that with Nix in Denver. If Payton can scheme up an offence where Nix can step back and throw the ball to a spot on script, then this marriage can work. Nix is an accurate passer and can get the ball out quickly, but is more of a game manager than a true game leader.
With the way the draft fell, the Broncos were almost forced to take Nix with their first round pick. There likely wasn’t an option to trade down as he could have been selected at thirteen by the division rival Raiders, so the Denver needed to take the last viable option to ensure that they weren’t starting one of Zach Wilson or Jarrett Stidham in 2024.
While the selection of Nix can be debated, the Broncos actually had an excellent remainder of the draft despite the amount of picks they’d traded away over the past few seasons. With no second round pick they had to wait until the third round to address the pass rush and got a high energy guy in Jonah Elliss that will be able to enter the rotation as soon as this season.
Elliss racked up 39 pressures (including 13 sacks) in just ten games last season, and won 17.7% of his pass rushing snaps. There’s a massive need at edge in Denver, and Elliss is the kind of upside pick that can pay dividends sooner rather than later. He may not be an every down player right off the bat, but if he’s used properly on passing downs he could make an impact sooner this season.
I’m still waiting to hear why Troy Franklin fell all the way to the fourth round. He’s a big play threat speedster that also happens to have chemistry with Bo Nix from their time together at Oregon, so the Broncos won’t be complaining about him dropping in the draft.
Franklin averaged 3.34 yards per route run in 2023, the third best total amongst all receivers in last season’s draft class. There’s a possibility that Payton has Franklin out running cardio as he designs the offence around quick passes with limited deep shots (much like what happened to Marvin Mims last season), but he’s a legitimate prospect with a very high ceiling that should have been selected ahead of four or five other receivers in this year’s draft.
Audric Estime is another name to watch as a potential top running back for the Broncos. Payton has a history of scheming around two successful running backs. So even if Javonte Williams has a bounce back season now that he’s two years removed from his torn ACL, Estime has the skill set to be a valuable piece in this offence. Estime is an absolute bruiser and Payton can look to work him into short yardage and red zone looks in his rookie season.
The roster for the Broncos had plenty of holes coming into the season, but they were able to grab some depth throughout the draft and are building a solid foundation in Payton’s second season as head coach.
Los Angeles Chargers
- 1 (5): T Joe Alt, Notre Dame
- 2 (34): WR Ladd McConkey, Georgia
- 3 (69): LB Junior Colson, Michigan
- 4 (105): DL Justin Eboigbe, Alabama
- 5 (137): CB Tarheeb Still, Maryland
- 5 (140): CB Cam Hart, Notre Dame
- 6 (181): RB Kimani Vidal, Troy
- 7 (225): WR Brenden Rice, USC
- 7 (253): WR Cornelius Johnson, Michigan
The new Jim Harbaugh era began with the selection of Joe Alt, an elite level tackle prospect who’s an absolute monster. With several holes on the roster, the new regime had to dig themselves out of the poor roster construction and financial hell that Brandon Staley and former GM Tom Telesco put the franchise in. Alt was just the first of many excellent picks who will make a major impact in 2024 and beyond.
With Greg Roman in as offensive coordinator, this team’s offence will be shifting to a more smash mouth identity. Despite having the opportunity to nab either Rome Odunze or Malik Nabers to start refilling their wide receiver room, the selection of Joe Alt fits what the team hopes to do in 2024.
There were rumours that the Chargers were considering drafting J.C. Latham, as he has had more experience on the right side of the line, but Alt has all the tools and knowledge to switch sides and form one of the best tackle duos in the NFL with Rashawn Slater.
The Chargers can’t completely abandon the passing game however, so getting an impact receiver was crucial in this year’s draft. LA traded up in the second round to snag Ladd McConkey out of Georgia. An electric pass catcher with excellent hands and some pretty high level route running. McConkey could easily become Justin Herbert’s go-to receiver in high leverage situations and make a major impact for the team in year one considering the lack of talent in the wide receiver room.
The linebackers in this years draft class were pretty underwhelming overall, but Junior Colston was amongst the top of the prospects list. Colston will reunite with both Harbaugh and new Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, and has serious potential to be a day 1 starter given his familiarity with the system that Minter ran at Michigan. Colston is a little undersized, but had a pretty good coverage score (83.4) in college, only missing 4.7% of his tackle attempts over the season.
Keep an eye on Kamani Vidal as well. The Chargers essentially brought in the 2023 Ravens running back room for this season, but there are questions there. Gus Edwards punched in plenty of touchdowns for Baltimore last season, but hasn’t really been seen as a true workhorse back throughout his career. Meanwhile J.K. Dobbins has had an injury riddled career and is trying to work his way back from a torn achilles, so there’s a path for Vidal to carve out a role in this offence.
Vidal’s vision isn’t great, but he’s an explosive athlete who can blow up defences if he’s given some space. And with the way the Chargers are building this offensive line, it’s not hard to imagine Vidal being given the lanes he needs to make some explosive plays.
NFC West
The NFC West is set to be another buzzsaw in 2024, and probably boasts the best collection of coaches amongst all the divisions in football.
The San Francisco 49ers are loaded with talent and are led by one of the most creative offensive minds in the game in Kyle Shanahan. Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams shocked everyone last season by making the playoffs on the backs of two late round rookies in receiver Puka Nacua and running back Kyren Williams. But Matthew Stafford is another year older and the defence took a big hit with the retirement of Aaron Donald, so McVay will have his work cut out for him again in 2024.
The Seattle Seahawks will be without Pete Carroll on the sidelines for the first time since 2010 as they turn the page with the highly-touted defensive guru Mike Macdonald as their new head coach. He’ll attempt to get the team’s defence back on track after a disappointing 2023 season. In Arizona, Jonathan Gannon enters his sophomore season and looks primed to improve on his four win rookie season. With a full season of a healthy Kyler Murray in tow, the Cardinals are early favorites to make a big leap in 2024.
The NFC West isn’t going to be an easy one to predict.
San Francisco 49ers
- 1 (31): WR Ricky Pearsall, Florida
- 2 (64): CB Renardo Green, Florida State
- 3 (86): T Dominick Puni, Kansas
- 4 (124): S Malik Mustapha, Wake Forest
- 4 (129): RB Isaac Guerendo, Louisville
- 4 (135): WR Jacob Cowing, Arizona
- 6 (215): G Jarrett Kingston, USC
- 7 (251): LB Tatum Bethune, Florida State
The 49ers had major questions regarding their two star receivers in Brandon Aiyuk and Deeboo Samuel this offseason. But, so far, they’ve been able to hold onto both while simultaneously turning to the draft and grabbing another weapon on offence who will be ready to step in as early as this season.
Ricky Pearsall is a perfect fit for Shanahan. He’s tough as nails, versatile, sure handed and is already an elite route runner. Pearsall can create separation and make the tough catches inside, and can also be used in the run game.
I was already big on Pearsall entering the draft, and the landing position only raises his floor in my opinion. Adding Jacob Cowing to the receiver room in the fourth round gives the 49ers another weapon to play with as well. Cowing is fast and explosive and can help keep defences from cheating with his ability to get downfield and evasiveness after the catch. He’ll be a guy to keep tabs on during training camp for sure.
Third round prospect Dominick Puni will likely have to move inside to make it in the NFL due to size and athletic scores. But he’s also a mauling run blocker with 27 career starts at Kansas. He can become an early starter on the inside of the offensive line, but his experience at the very least will give the 49ers a versatile 6th option this season.
On defence, San Francisco looked to address their secondary early. Second round pick Renardo Green was selected a little bit earlier than where most mocks had him. He also tends to excel in man coverage (90.0 PFF coverage grade) whereas the 49ers have typically preferred playing zone, but there’s a new defensive coordinator in town so they must have a plan to properly utilize Green’s skills. Combining him with fourth rounder Malik Mustapha, a hard hitting rangy centre fielder, gives the defensive backfield some nice young talent to integrate into their scheme.
There are few teams with rosters as deep as the one in San Francisco. As a result, they were able to go out and select based on what they determined to be the best player available. Not many teams have that luxury. Now we get to see how they’re able to integrate this new group into the roster.
Los Angeles Rams
- 1 (19): EDGE Jared Verse, Florida State
- 2 (39): DL Braden Fiske, Florida State
- 3 (83): RB Blake Corum, Michigan
- 3 (99): S Kamren Kinchens, Miami Fl.
- 5 (154): EDGE Brennan Jackson, Washington State
- 6 (196): DI Tyler Davis, Clemson
- 6 (209): K Joshua Karty, Stanford
- 6 (213): WR Jordan Whittington, Texas
- 6 (217): C Beaux Limmer, Arkansas
- 7 (254): IOL KT Leveston, Kansas State
There’s no replacing the future first ballot hall of famer Aaron Donald. But the Rams did a solid job of at least trying to patch the massive hole left by his retirement.
LA selected edge rusher Jared Verse in the first round, then traded up in the second round to snag his Florida state teammate Braden Fiske, giving us one of the most heartwarming moments from the draft. Verse and Fiske transferred to Florida State at around the same time and worked closely together during their college career. Now they get the chance to break into the NFL together. Verse brings some serious power rushing help on the outside, while Fiske uses his athleticism and quickness to get into the backfield on the interior.
When breakout star running back Kyren Williams missed time due to injury last season, the lack of depth on the Rams roster was evident. They addressed that by drafting Blake Corum in the third round.
Corum has the same body type and play-style as Williams and will bring the same high level vision to the team’s offence. While most organizations like to fill their running back depth charts with players that can occupy different roles, the Rams now have two nearly identical running backs to ensure that their offence will continue on schedule if they have to deal with injuries or the starter needs to take a breather. I’m not entirely sure I’m sold on this strategy, but McVay tends to rely heavily on his lead back so this might end up working out.
The Rams finished up day two of the draft by selecting a safety with impressive ball skills in Kamren Kinchens. Kinchens will give the team some depth in their defensive backfield and is an intimidating presence when he’s on the field for opposing quarterbacks. He’s a bit on the lighter side, but his 11 interceptions since 2022 are the most at the position so he has the ability to excel in a deep safety role.
It was weird to see the Rams actually making a first round selection in the 2024 draft, something they hadn’t done since they selected Jared Goff in 2016. But it was also imperative that the team addressed the defensive side of the ball early if they hope to make another run at the playoffs this coming season. They did a nice job of grabbing some high ceiling prospects who will likely be early contributors.
Seattle Seahawks
- 1 (16): DI Byron Murphy II, Texas
- 3 (81): G Christian Haynes, UConn
- 4 (118): LB Tyrice Knight, UTEP
- 4 (121): TE AJ Barner, Michigan
- 5 (136): CB Nehemiah Pritchett, Auburn
- 6 (179): T Sataoa Laumea, Utah
- 6 (192): CB D.J. James, Auburn
- 6 (207): T Mike Jerrell, Findlay
New head coach Mike McDonald was likely salivating at the opportunity to select the consensus top defensive player in this year’s draft in Byron Murphy with the 16th overall pick. Murphy will be an instant impact player in Seattle.
After a disappointing defensive season in 2023 for the Seahawks, Murphy can be a cornerstone piece for this unit to turn build around. He has incredible strength to go with an explosive first step. Traits that will transfer well from college to the NFL. He can also collapse the pocket in a hurry. And while he might not rack up the counting stats like sacks and tackles for loss, he’ll be consistently impacting opposing offences from day one.
Without a second round pick (used in the Leonard Williams trade last season), Seattle sat back and got great value in the third round with guard Christian Haynes. The offensive line as a whole took a big step back from 2022 to 2023, largely due to injuries, so adding some depth to that unit had to be a priority this offseason. Having the opportunity to grab a plug and play starter on the interior of the line in the third round has to be an unexpected win for Seattle.
While Haynes is more than serviceable in pass protection, he has a real mean streak that allows him to be a pain in the ass in the run game. He’ll be a monster if Seattle uses him as a pull-blocker as no linebackers will want to meet him in the open field if he has some momentum behind him. You can rest assured that he’ll be blocking defenders well through the whistle.
After the first two picks, the rest of the draft was fairly ho-hum for the Seahawks. Tyrice Knight is a rangy linebacker, but was barely ranked in the top two hundred on most boards, so that was a bit of a reach with the 118th pick. Tight end A.J. Barner out of Michigan is a decent blocking tight end, but won’t move the needle as a pass catcher. Corner Nehemiah Pritchett has long arms and great speed, giving them a solid special teamer with some developmental upside as an outside cornerback, so not a bad choice in the fifth round there.
The Seahawks have evidently prioritized two things this offseason – improving the defence, and getting more physical in the trenches on offence. While not all of their picks will be regular starters, they’re assembling things well under a new general manager and head coach. This is the type of draft that lays the foundation for how the team will be run going forward.
Arizona Cardinals
- 1 (4): WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
- 1 (27): EDGE Darius Robinson, Missouri
- 2 (43): CB Max Melton, Rutgers
- 3 (66): RB Trey Benson, Florida State
- 3 (71): OT Isaiah Adams, Illinois
- 3 (82): TE Tip Reiman, Illinois
- 3 (90): CB Elijah Jones, Boston College
- 4 (104): S Taylor Dadrion-Demerson , Texas Tech
- 5 (138): EDGE Xavier Thomas, Clemson
- 5 (162): OT Christian Jones, Texas
- 5 (191): WR Tejhaun Palmer, UAB
- 7 (226): CB Jaden Davis, Miami
Following the 2023 draft, I went on record saying I expected the Cardinals to move on from Kyler Murray and enter the 2024 draft with two top five picks after their trade with the Texans that allowed Houston to select Will Anderson with the third overall selection.
Here we are in 2024, and the Cardinals are committed to Murray at quarterback and are silently cursing the Texans for their 2023 explosion that resulted in turning that potential top five pick to the twenty seventh overall selection.
The Cardinals still have plenty of holes on the roster, but they entered the draft with an overabundance of picks and GM Monti Ossenfort used them wisely.
Despite rumours that the Cardinals were willing to trade down from the fourth overall pick to a quarterback needy team, they were wise to hold onto it and select Marvin Harrison Jr. to be the focal point of their passing offence. Harrison Jr. will give Kyler Murray a true number one target for years to come.
Arizona’s defensive line has been in shambles for a couple of seasons now. So while I might not have had a first round grade on Darious Robinson, the pick at least fills a need. There was a huge tier drop at defensive end after Robinson, and his physicality up front will certainly help this defence. Robinson’s strength is his calling card, and he was able to rack up nine sacks in college after moving from the interior of the defensive line to the edge.
Max Melton in the second round was a part of a big run on cornerbacks. Melton is a tenacious ball hawking corner who allowed just a 65.7 passer rating in coverage in 2023 and brings the Cardinals some versatility after playing both inside and outside in college.
Running back Trey Benson was a wise pick for Arizona. They’ve relied heavily on James Conner for the past few seasons. But he’s now 29 years old and entering the final year of his contract. Benson was the top running back on plenty of experts’ boards and will not only give Arizona an explosive home run hitter to rotate in with Conner this coming season, but can also step into the leading role going forward.
The Cardinals spent their abundance of picks on some projects, grabbed some good character guys and a couple workout warriors who were noticeable at the combine. Some of the names might not jump off the page, but they did a good job of adding some good character pieces to the depth of this young team.
Overall, the Cardinals were able to make their offence more explosive with Harrison, looked towards the future with Benson, and added some much needed defensive pieces who will play significant snaps in year one.
-Devon Gallant
Twitter: @DevGallant
Photo: 621st Contingency Response Wing. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.