Oakland Raiders: Predicting How The AFC West Plays Out This Season

The Oakland Raiders are entering this season expecting to contend for a division title – but how will the AFC West play out in 2016?

The Oakland Raiders have had themselves quite an offseason. They’ve brought in a number of players via free agency and the draft that will be real difference makers for this club. Areas of weakness last season have been addressed, and could very well become sources of strength for the team this year. But Oakland’s success this year is going to depend a lot upon how quickly this team can come together and form a cohesive unit.

In the minds of many, the Kansas City Chiefs are the sexy pick to lock up the AFC West title, with some going so far as to proclaim them the favorites to make a Super Bowl run. Others think that despite their losses on both sides of the ball, the Denver Broncos will hold tight to the division title they’ve owned for the last four seasons.

The only team not getting any respect or playoff hype are of course, the Chargers. And given their 4-12 record last season, and an offseason that hasn’t been entirely productive, it’s easy to see why.

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The Raiders though, are an interesting case. Some think they have it in them to contend for an AFC West title. Others think they’re still a year away from the playoffs at best.

And given the few “way too early mock drafts for 2017” that have made their rounds and have the Raiders picking inside the top 10, there are obviously some who think this team is still pretty far away from the playoffs – or as we like to call them, people who don’t exist in reality.

How is the AFC West going to shake out? Obviously, we won’t know until the pads go on and the games start to count. But we can always have a little fun and speculate on how we see things playing out.

Here then, is our “way too early” speculation on how we seeing the race for an AFC West title shaping up this season. And of course, we’d love to hear your thoughts and predictions in the comments section.

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