We are just a little over one month removed from Super Bowl LX, and yet so much has already transpired in the 2026 NFL offseason. The NFL Combine is over, and before we turn our attention to the draft coming up next month, teams are finalizing deals with free agents and pulling off trades.
The offseason is all about improving the overall balance of the squad and ensuring the correct personnel is in place for the upcoming football season. Irrespective of where teams finished the previous season, that is in the past.
So, each new season brings about its own set of challenges, and depending on how the offseason goes, team fortunes can change rapidly. As most of the team’s rosters start to take shape, this article will be about the early odds for the AFC West division winners.
2025-26 AFC West Recap
Before looking ahead at the 2026-27 NFL season, here is a quick summary of how the AFC West shaped up last season to give us an idea of where things stood prior to the offseason.
The Denver Broncos ended a run of 9 straight seasons that saw the Kansas City Chiefs winning the division. With a (14-3) record, the Broncos clinched the AFC West, just as the Chargers with an (11-6) claimed second spot. Denver and LA both made the playoffs, but the latter was bounced in the Wild Card round by the Patriots, whereas the former lost to the same team in the AFC Championship game.
The Chiefs went from all-out domination to a losing season (6-11), culminating in missing the postseason for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era. Last but not least, the Las Vegas Raiders finished with one of their worst seasons (3-14), coming last in the division for the second year running.
AFC West Division Winner Odds 2026-27
The Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers are tied with the best odds to clinch the AFC West divisional crown for the 2026-27 NFL season, as per the odds on FanDuel. The table below represents the latest division winner odds for the AFC West ahead of the upcoming season.
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2026-27 AFC West Key Changes, Strength of Schedule, and Draft
Now, let us take a look at some of the key offseason changes these teams have made so far, along with the strength of schedule and draft picks for the AFC West teams for the upcoming season.
Key Offseason Changes
Starting with the Kansas City Chiefs, the biggest offseason moves include a few top names, such as Kenneth Walker III, Travis Kelce, and Trent McDuffie. The Chiefs are looking to improve their run game drastically, and the latest addition of Walker points to that.
Travis Kelce is back for one more year as well, while other additions include Safety Alohi Gilman and DT Khyiris Tonga. However, the Chiefs have lost plenty of top names as well, with McDuffie being traded to the Rams, CB Jaylen Watson also joining the Rams in free agency, and OT Jawaan Taylor and DE Mike Danna being released.
For the Los Angeles Chargers, one big coaching change is the hiring of former Dolphins’ head coach Mike McDaniel as the new OC, which could be an interesting fit as he looks to unleash Justin Herbert.
The Chargers have made a few signings, but none as big as that of Khalil Mack, with whom they worked out a one-year extension. On the other hand, edge rusher Odafe Oweh has left the team, and RG Mekhi Becton was released.
The Denver Broncos have not made any huge splashes in free agency or via trade thus far. However, they did re-sign J.K. Dobbins to a new 2-year deal. They also signed LB Justin Strnad and re-signed deals with TE Adam Trautman, WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey, LB Alex Singleton, and others.
As for the Las Vegas Raiders, their biggest signing thus far has been that of former Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum. Further, they also signed linebackers Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean in a bid to improve the defense. Former Vikings WR Jalen Nailor also joined the Raiders.
QB Geno Smith was dealt to the Jets as Vegas with the number one overall pick is widely believed to draft Fernando Mendoza as their next franchise signal caller. DE Maxx Crosby nearly finalized a trade to the Ravens, but Baltimore backed out after his medical. However, there is still a strong chance Crosby is traded somewhere else.
Strength of Schedule
In the AFC West, it is the Kansas City Chiefs (.536) who have the toughest strength of schedule for the 2026-27 NFL season. As a matter of fact, the Chiefs have the 5th most difficult schedule in the league.
The Chiefs are closely followed by the Raiders (.529) and the Chargers (.522), who slot into the 7th and 9th spots for the toughest schedules in the upcoming season. The Broncos, with a strength of schedule of (.512), are near the middle of the pack at number 15 in the league.
Coming to the draft picks, the Chiefs have a total of 9 selections in the 7-round NFL draft. Having finished with a poor record last season, they have received the number 9 overall pick and also hold the number 29 overall pick in the first round from the Trent McDuffie trade.
The Chargers do not have too much draft capital in the upcoming draft. They have a total of only 5 picks, with their first round selection being the number 22 overall.
Last season’s number one seed in the AFC, the Broncos hold a total of 9 draft picks, but their first round selection is the number 30 overall. Moreover, of the 9 selections, 3 of them are in the seventh round of the draft.
The Raiders have the most picks amongst the AFC West teams with 10 to their name as of now. They also have the biggest advantage of holding the number one overall pick in this year’s draft. Vegas is also well placed with overall picks 36 and 67 in the second and third rounds, respectively. If a deal for Maxx Crosby goes through, that is potentially one more first-round selection.
Early prediction: The AFC West has become tighter than it has been over the past few years, with the Broncos and Chargers taking the fight to the Chiefs. But having missed the postseason altogether last season, and with key additions in the offseason, we are leaning towards the Chiefs to regain their divisional crown, even if it is a close race to the top.
(The above odds are sourced from FanDuel. Use FanDuel to ace your betting game in all sports!)
I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!
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