There wasn't a more surprising division in the NFL last season than the AFC West. The Denver Broncos, with Peyton Manning, were supposed to be solid, but shattering offensive records wasn't exactly expected. Then there's the Kansas City Chiefs, the worst team in the NFL the year before, going undefeated through the first half of the season. The San Diego Chargers surprised everyone by sneaking into the playoffs at the end, and the Oakland Raiders ... well they were the Oakland Raiders.
NFL free agency 2014: Branden Albert, Jared Veldheer top prizes in AFC West
Aside from the pair of offensive tackles, Oakland’s Lamarr Houston and Denver’s Eric Decker and Knowshon Moreno are among the top AFC West free agents.
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Let’s take a look at the notable free agents for each team.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos came up short in the Super Bowl, falling to the Seattle Seahawks, and now have some big decisions to make. Two of the key contributors to the league's most productive offense of all time are on expiring contracts, and to make matters worse, the Broncos do not have a whole lot of cap room to room work with.
WR Eric Decker
Decker should be Denver's top priority in free agency, but he's likely due a pay increase. A significant pay increase. The Broncos may not be able to afford keeping Decker around, but it would certainly be huge for that offense if they can manage it. He's the No. 2 receiver behind Demaryius Thomas and the two work well together.
Moreno is an interesting case. The Broncos have been taking steps to prepare for his eventual departure, the most notable of which is drafting Montee Ball in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft, but Moreno threw a wrench into the works when he had an excellent 2013 season. Moreno was effective running, catching and blocking. He will demand a big contract, and the Broncos don't look like they'll give it to him.
OL Zane Beadles
Beadles has developed into a very solid starter in recent years. The Broncos cannot risk letting a unit as integral as the offensive line fall apart, meaning Beadles needs to get an extension. He won’t command top dollar by any means though, so Denver should be able to afford him.
Other players of note: CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, DE Shaun Phillips, S Mike Adams, DL Robert Ayers
Team needs: DE, CB, LB, WR, S
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Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs are in a precarious position due to the top free agent on our list, Branden Albert. There's not an awful lot of cap space next season and Albert will demand a large contract., In addition, three of the team's top four safeties and four offensive linemen are set to become free agents, which could be big.
OT Branden Albert
Albert is one of the top offensive linemen in the NFL. He’s going to demand top dollar for his services at left tackle, and he deserves it. Reports over the weekend made it sound like the Dolphins and Albert were a sure thing.
OL Geoff Schwartz
During the season, Schwartz took over for Jon Asamoah when the latter went down with injury, and he clearly outplayed him. Now, both are set to become free agents and the Chiefs have to decide which guy they want to keep. At this point, Schwartz has looked better and is more versatile, so he should get the nod.
KR/PR Dexter McCluster
McCluster developed into one of the NFL’s top punt returners this season. He managed 53 receptions for 511 yards as the team’s No. 3 receiver, which is great, but the 58 punt returns for 686 yards and two touchdowns is what really jumps out. He made a huge difference this year and seems to fit better with the Chiefs than other teams.
Other players of note: OL Jon Asamoah, DL Tyson Jackson, S Kendrick Lewis, S Husain Abdullah
Team needs: FS, WR, DE (3-4), OG, OT, ILB
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San Diego Chargers
With roughly $6 million in salary cap space, only three teams have less room than the Chargers. There’s not an awful lot of money to go around at this point, but there are a couple guys worth noting if the Chargers can somehow work some magic and find some cap room for them.
CB Richard Marshall
Marshall played much better than anticipated in 2013 and, more importantly, he was cleaning up someone else’s mess. Marshall was filling in for Derek Cox, who struggled big time for much of the season. Marshall filled in and finished fourth on the team in tackles and was generally solid. If he’s not a starter next season, he should be available as someone the Chargers can plug in when need be.
Other players of note: RB Ronnie Brown, LB Larry English, OL Rich Ohrnberger, WR Danario Alexander
Team needs: CB, OG, ILB, OLB (3-4), WR
Oakland Raiders
The Raiders have spent the last few seasons purging poor contracts from the books. Those poor contracts didn’t necessarily belong to poor players, but players who were simply making too much for what they provided or what the Raiders were willing to spend. They’ll be careful giving out the next big contracts, but there’s a few names worth looking at this offseason.
Veldheer is obviously the top priority for the Raiders. He’s not the top left tackle set to hit the market, but he’s young and will command a hefty contract from someone. He is a starter and has only improved every season he’s played. The Raiders chose not to use the franchise tag to retain him and could now watch him depart on the open market. He’s been linked to Arizona in early reports.
RB Rashad Jennings
Jennings didn't break any records or anything, but he gave the Raiders an actual running game when Darren McFadden was injured, which was roughly 100 percent of the time. Jennings is young and a hard runner, and if McFadden is going elsewhere, the Raiders will need Jennings to build around.
DE Lamarr Houston
It was a tough decision between Houston and cornerback Tracy Porter for this spot, but we're going with Houston. If he moves back to the left side he'll be even more a force to be reckoned with. He's one of the most consistent performers on that defense and deserves a modest multi-year contract.
Other players of note: RB Darren McFadden, OL Tony Pashos, DE Jason Hunter, CB Tracy Porter
Team needs: QB, DE, OG, CB, DT
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