The 2024 NFL Draft is this week, and that means every team has its annual chance to inject its roster with an influx of cheap, young talent.
The draft is where champions are made and rebuilding teams are taken to the next level, and some of the teams in the AFC West are certainly looking to make jumps this year.
The Chargers, Broncos, and Raiders are all picking high with an eye toward the future, while the Chiefs need to continue hitting on draft picks to keep the Patrick Mahomes championship window wide open.
Here's what all four of these teams need to achieve at the draft this week.
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2024 NFL Draft Needs Los Angeles Chargers (AFC West): Offensive Line, Wide Receiver
The Chargers have the fifth overall pick and an apparent mandate from new coach Jim Harbaugh to improve the running game, but the truth is this roster has needs everywhere.
A tackle to complement Rashawn Slater, a center to help protect Justin Herbert, and a receiver to give Herbert a new weapon are all paramount for the Bolts.
They have enough picks to address all of these needs, but it will be interesting to see what they do with the fifth overall pick. Receiver seems to be a more pressing need than tackle, but Harbaugh may disagree.
2024 NFL Draft Needs Denver Broncos (AFC West): Quarterback, Defensive Front Seven
The Broncos have been rumored to be enamored with many of the young quarterbacks in this draft, and it's easy to see why Sean Payton doesn't want to wait around in quarterback limbo at this stage in his career.
The Broncos could either trade up for, say, J.J. McCarthy, or hope he falls to them. The rest of this roster is solid but unremarkable. The presence of Pat Surtain II makes defensive backs not a huge need, but pass rush help would be good, as could offensive line support and more weapons.
Denver is well positioned to add a cornerstone piece in the first round, but they need to hit on several picks in the next couple of years to get the franchise as a whole turned around.
2024 NFL Draft Needs Las Vegas Raiders (AFC West): Quarterback, Offensive Line
The Raiders have Antonio Pierce and his intense winning culture in the house as full time head coach, and an intimidating defensive line led by Maxx Crosby going for them.
Wide Receiver is solid too, but everything else is a major need. Pierce was in the program at Arizona State when Jayden Daniels was the Sun Devil quarterback, so there could be some interest in trading up to land the Heisman winner from LSU.
If not, the offensive line could be a good place to start to help build out the group that will protect second-year signal-caller Aidan O'Connell.
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2024 NFL Draft Needs Kansas City Chiefs (AFC West): Successors
With two straight Super Bowl championships and Patrick Mahomes just entering his prime, the Chiefs have shown they don't need the most stacked roster to win it all.
The core around Mahomes is either aging or coming due for contracts the team won't be able to afford, though, so hitting on their picks is a huge key to keeping Mahomes surrounded with talent.
Look for the Chiefs to take a shot on a tight end at some point to try to learn under Travis Kelce, and some defensive linemen to one day take Chris Jones' spot could go a long way as well.
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