AFC West Q&A: Who will be the division MVP? By STAFF ESPN July 13, 2018 Quarterback or premier pass-rusher? Our roundtable takes a look at who will be the top player this season in the AFC West. Jeff Legwold, Denver Broncos reporter: If Jon Gruden can still dial up the big plays after an extended sideline absence, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr could give the division an MVP run, as could Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers. But the only former Super Bowl MVP in the division, Von Miller, is poised for big things. The Broncos already have proved that a dominant Miller in a swirling, speed-first defense is a successful Super Bowl formula. For the Broncos to duplicate anything close to the 2015 run, the offense has to be far more opportunistic and far less turnover-prone -- the Broncos were second in the league in turnovers last season. Also, Bradley Roby has to be able to replace Aqib Talib at cornerback in the team's secondary. If rookie Bradley Chubb is the impact pass-rusher the Broncos hope he can be, he will force opposing offenses into the kinds of decisions in pass protection that should free Miller. Miller is still at the peak of his football powers and would be the centerpiece of one of the league's best defenses if the Broncos can give him just a little more room to work after a '17 season filled with double- and sometimes triple-teams. Eric Williams, Los Angeles Chargers reporter: Kareem Hunt, Derek Carr, Case Keenum and Keenan Allen are all candidates, but my pick is Philip Rivers. The 36-year-old signal-caller had a solid season last year, but he should put up even better numbers in his second season under head coach Anthony Lynn. The Chargers added veteran center Mike Pouncey, who will make Rivers' job easier at the line of scrimmage, identifying fronts and picking up blitz coverages. And even without Hunter Henry due to a season-ending knee injury, Rivers still has plenty of playmakers at his disposal, including Allen, Tyrell Williams, Travis Benjamin, Melvin Gordon, Austin Ekeler and a healthy Mike Williams. Finally, the Chargers face just two defenses this year that finished in the top 10 in points allowed last season -- Rivers and the Bolts should light up the scoreboard in 2018. Adam Teicher, Kansas City Chiefs reporter: Quarterback play from the two incumbents (Philip Rivers of the Chargers and Derek Carr of the Raiders) and the two newbies (Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs and Case Keenum of the Broncos) will be fascinating and probably determine the course of the division race. But none of those players will post classic MVP numbers. Skill players at other offensive positions won't either, though Travis Kelce will be even more interesting to watch in Kansas City with Mahomes at QB. So we'll look to the defensive side, where premier pass-rushers such as Khalil Mack of Oakland, Von Miller of Denver and Justin Houston of the Chiefs could have big seasons. But none of those players will be a part of a division championship team. Joey Bosa of the Chargers will. Paul Gutierrez, Oakland Raiders reporter: With so much change in the division -- Denver and Kansas City have new quarterbacks in Case Keenum and Patrick Mahomes, while Oakland has a new QB whisperer for Derek Carr in Jon Gruden -- let's strike a blow for consistency. The seemingly ageless Philip Rivers appears only to get better with, well, age. After griping about the Chargers' move from San Diego to Los Angeles and its accompanying commute, "Old Man" Rivers responded by leading the top-ranked passing game in the NFL. He passed for 4,515 yards, the fourth most of his 14-year career, and had 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, his fewest picks since 2009. Rivers is more than the AFC West's senior statesman under center -- the No. 4 overall pick of the 2004 draft also became the ninth member of the NFL's 50,000-yard passing club last season. Maturing weapons such as receiver Keenan Allen and running back Melvin Gordon will make Rivers, who turns 37 in December, only more dangerous. NFL's best and worst offensive arsenals: 32-1 weapons ranking By Bill Barnwell ESPN July 13, 2018 If you had to list the reasons why the Eagles went from last place in the NFC East to Super Bowl LII champions in 12 months, weapons wouldn't be far from the top. General manager Howie Roseman went out last year and transformed what Carson Wentz was working with by adding LeGarrette Blount, Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith in free agency. Corey Clement worked his way into the rotation as a replacement for the injured Darren Sproles. Nelson Agholor took Jordan Matthews' spot and evolved from failed first-round pick into an effective slot receiver. Throw in the Dolphins scapegoating Jay Ajayi for their problems and Philly's trio of effective tight ends, and you have a group of weapons that was able to help propel Wentz to an MVP-caliber campaign and keep Nick Foles afloat in the postseason. In light of the successes that the Eagles and Rams had in revitalizing their offenses around their 2016 first- round picks last offseason, the league followed. The Bears signed what will seemingly be an entirely new receiving corps for Mitchell Trubisky. The Ravens turned over their wideouts for Joe Flacco and Lamar Jackson. Cleveland brought in plenty of talent for Tyrod Taylor and first overall pick Baker Mayfield. Fifteen of the first 51 picks in this year's NFL draft were skill-position players. Now that just about every running back, wide receiver and tight end short of Dez Bryant are on a roster, let's take stock of where the league stands after a busy offseason. We're ranking each team's arsenal of running and receiving weapons from 32 to 1. Please keep a few things in mind: These rankings are attempting to consider a team's skill-position talent without including the impact of the quarterback, offensive line or scheme. Let me repeat that again. These rankings are attempting to consider a team's skill-position talent without including the impact of the quarterback, offensive line or scheme. It's not possible to totally extricate one from the other, but this will be an educated guess. These rankings don't include contract value. I might mention a contract here or there, but this analysis is strictly about on-field performance. I'm solely considering how these players will perform in 2018. Long-term value beyond this upcoming season doesn't matter. It's impossible to project injuries, so I'm using each player's recent injury history as an estimate of his availability for this year. The arsenals are weighted more toward receivers. All you have to do is take a look at contracts to see how the league values wideouts versus tight ends and running backs. The largest active annual salary on an extension for a running back is LeSean McCoy, at $8 million per year. That's what Trey Burton and Kenny Stills average on the deals they've signed over the past two offseasons. Top-level talent wins out over depth. These rankings are weighted heavily toward each team's top five weapons, given that each squad will line up five skill-position players on most snaps. Organizations with truly remarkable depth at the skill-position spots will get a slight bump, but no team has an Antonio Brown lurking on its bench. Finally, I didn't mention everyone. Every team has a rookie midround pick or a veteran with some history of success lurking as their sixth or seventh option. Most of them will have only a modest impact. Mentioning all of them would turn this into an even longer piece. All right! The Jets were 32nd last season. Surely, they've invested in their skill-position talent for new quarterback Sam Darnold and won't be last this year, right? 32. New York Jets Well, no. Former undrafted free-agent wide receiver Robby Anderson leads the way, but the secondary targets are low-ceiling veterans such as Jermaine Kearse and Terrelle Pryor. General manager Mike Maccagnan let Austin Seferian-Jenkins leave, but the duo of former Raiders backup Clive Walford and fourth-round pick Chris Herndon form the majority of one of the league's worst tight end depth charts. The move to spend $4 million per year on anonymous Browns back Isaiah Crowell doesn't move the needle. The Jets will be investing in skill-position talent next offseason. 31. Miami Dolphins No team falls further in this year's rankings, as everything that looked promising for Miami in 2017 either didn't work out or didn't come back in 2018. Running back Jay Ajayi is gone and replaced by 35-year-old Frank Gore, who has nearly 15,000 carries on his back. Jarvis Landry has been swapped out for Danny Amendola and Albert Wilson, who have combined for two 100-yard games over the past two seasons. Tight end Julius Thomas whispered through a 388-yard, three-touchdown season, and he has been replaced in the lineup by second-rounder Mike Gesicki, a combination of round and position that has yet to produce even a 700-yard rookie season once. Kenny Stills was less efficient in a larger role, while DeVante Parker spent his presumed breakout season struggling with an ankle injury. The most exciting player left might be halfback Kenyan Drake, who could be squeezed by Gore and rookie fourth-rounder Kalen Ballage.