AFC West Round One Draft Grades
Photo Credit: NBC Sports
The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft took place Thursday night, and each team in the AFC West had one pick apiece. Obviously, Kansas City was in a much better position than the other three teams heading into the draft, but all four teams had their respective needs. How did each team do in Round 1?
Los Angeles Chargers: Joe Alt, B+
Many fans won’t be as happy with this pick because it’s not as flashy as the like of other prospects that were available on the board such as Rome Odunze. However, there are a lot more talented receivers who will be available for Los Angeles when the team picks again at 37, and not a lot of tackles. Positional value is the key term for this pick, and LA understood it perfectly. Alt is a phenomenal prospect with a great combination of size and speed, and it will be interesting to see which side of the line he plays on in Week 1. In his three seasons at Notre Dame, Alt allowed just four sacks in 2,214 snaps played. This clip shows his speed and his reach ability combined to make an out-of-this-world block.
Denver Broncos: Bo Nix, C
A few days ago, Denver traded with the New York Jets for Zach Wilson. The trade was low stakes for Denver and seemed to solidify that they would use the 12th pick to either trade down or fill another hole on the roster. However, Denver opted to stay and go with Oregon’s Bo Nix, who is just six months younger than Wilson, and will be in a competition with him to start Week 1. Nix’s playstyle does mesh with Sean Payton’s offense much better than Wilson, with quick game passing and timing, but making the selection after the trade leaves Broncos Country with some question marks, especially given the fact that they had every defensive player and Brock Bowers on the board for the pick. The 2023 Heisman finalist threw for over 15,000 yards and 113 touchdowns in his career, and has a lot of experience under his belt,
Las Vegas Raiders: Brock Bowers, B-
This was a very safe pick for Las Vegas, taking one of the top skill players who has a very high floor. There is no question to Bower’s talent, ability to extend plays, and physicality, but the issue with this pick is that Vegas seemed to solve their tight end problem in last year’s draft when they selected Michael Mayer out of Notre Dame. The Raiders had many other issues to address at pick 13, most notably at the tackle position, but decided to pass on multiple talented tackle prospects. Bowers will be a fantastic player in the NFL, but this decision by the Raiders was puzzling to not fix other needs. The Georgia product finished his career with 31 total touchdowns and 2,731 total yards in three seasons, and won the John Mackey award twice.
Kansas City Chiefs: Xavier Worthy, A+
Whoever let this happen in Buffalo’s front office should be ashamed. The Chiefs did not lose much draft capital in this trade, and in return, drafted the fastest man in NFL combine history to give Patrick Mahomes a deep threat to work with. Everyone knows what Mahomes can do with a speedy receiver, and while Worthy is not Tyreek Hill, he possesses similar traits. Worthy isn’t just a receiver whose only purpose it to take the top off, he is a great route runner, and can create space in the short and intermediate passing game effortlessly. The wide receiver room was the weakest link of Kansas City’s offense last year, and Worthy is a phenomenal addition to make the room much more dynamic. In three years, he had 2,755 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns at Texas.
