3rd – AFC West All-Time First Team:
Raiders, Chiefs, Broncos, Chargers
QB: John Elway (DEN)
QB: Len Dawson (KC)*
RB: LaDainian Tomlinson (SD; now LAC)
RB: Marcus Allen (OAK; now LV & KC)
RB: Terrell Davis (DEN)
WR: Lance Alworth (SD; now LAC)
WR: Tim Brown (LA/OAK; now LV)
WR: Fred Biletnikoff (OAK, now LV)
TE: Kellen Winslow (SD; now LAC)
LT: Art Shell (LA/OAK; now LV)
LG: Gene Upshaw (OAK; now LV)
C: Jim Otto (OAK; now LV)
RG: Will Shields (KC)
RT: Ron Mix (SD; now LAC)
DE: Howie Long (OAK; now LV)
DT: Buck Buchanon (KC)
DT: Gary Johnson (SD; now LAC)
DE: Fred Dean (SD; now LAC)
OLB: Derrick Thomas (KC)
ILB: Junior Seau (SD; Now LAC)
ILB: Willie Lanier (KC)
OLB: Ted Hendricks (LA/OAK; now LV)
CB: Charles Woodson (OAK; now LV) – Also on NFC North Team
S: Eric Berry (KC)
S: Steve Atwater (DEN)
CB: Willie Brown (OAK; now LV)
K: Jan Stenerud (KC)
P: Ray Guy (OAK; now LV)
KR/PR: Rick Upchurch (DEN)
Coaches: John Madden (OAK; now LV), Hank Stram (KC)
Honorable Mentions: Head Coach Andy Reid (KC), OLB Bobby Bell (KC), TE Tony Gonzalez (KC), TE Travis Kelce (KC), RB Priest Holmes (KC), DE Neil Smith (KC), Head Coach Mike Shanahan (DEN), CB Champ Bailey (DEN), OLB Von Miller (DEN), TE Shannon Sharpe (DEN) DE Elvis Dumervil (DEN), LB Karl Mecklenburg (DEN), QB Ken Stabler (OAK), CB Mike Haynes (LA; now LV), CB Lester Hayes (OAK; now LV), RB Bo Jackson (LA Raiders; now LV), TE Todd Christensen (LA/OAK; now LV), G Steve Wisinewski (LA/OAK; now LV), S Jack Tatum (OAK; now LV), P Shane Lechler (OAK; now LV), QB Dan Fouts (SD; now LAC), WR Charlie Joiner (SD; now LAC), TE Dave Casper (LA/OAK), TE Antonio Gates (SD; Now LAC), QB Philip Rivers (SD; now LAC). Head Coach Don Coryell (SD; now LAC).
*Patrick Mahomes is coming fast for Len Dawson’s spot on the list, no doubt.
Scores:
QB: 7/10
This is likely to be bumped up to a 9/10 or 10/10 in the coming years at Patrick Mahomes continues his assault on the NFL. Still, it’s already a strong group.
RB: 8/10
A strong collection of talent, but lacks a true “GOAT” contender so it misses out on a perfect score.
WR: 6/10
Underwhelming to tell the truth. Lance Alworth was an absolute beast, but after that there’s a pretty big drop-off.
TE: 10/10
By far the best collection of tight ends in NFL history for a single division. Tony Gonzalez, Kellen Winslow, Antonio Gates and Shannon Sharpe are all better than most division’s all-time best tight ends. Then add in current tight end Travis Kelce. It’s incredible.
OL: 9/10
Heavy reliance on AFL success, but a fantastic collection of all-time talent nonetheless. A lot of gold jackets hanging out in that offensive line.
DL: 7/10
A strong group, but lacks some of the elite talent that other divisions boast.
LB: 9/10
Here we have a great collection of talent and a versatile linebacking core. These linebackers would halt any offense they came across at all three levels.
DB: 8/10
A talented defensive backfield, no doubt. Charles Woodson’s best years came in Green Bay, but I won’t hold that against the AFC West.
ST: 9/10
An historic group. Each one of those guys is one of the very best of their era and of all-time. They deserve their high ranking for special teams.
Coaches: 7/10
No coaches that brought dynasties or prolonged success (in terms of 3+ championships) hurts this division. A lot of championships though, for sure, just spread around a handful of coaches. Still, it was a tough call because their coaches have made a huge impact on the game of football.
Honorable Mentions:
I’d say there’s a plethora of incredibly talented men in the “honorable mentions” section, enough to get a near perfect score.
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