Latest Fad Is to Pick Chargers to Overtake Chiefs

The Chiefs haven’t been a wild-card team since Travis Kelce’s 2013 rookie season, the first year of Andy Reid’s Kansas City tenure. But count Colin Cowherd among the growing number of observers publicly picking someone else to win the AFC West.

“Kansas City is a wild-card team,” Cowherd said on Tuesday’s edition of The Herd. “Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers, now that they have their running back situation and offensive tackle set … last year, the only thing they were missing was juice, offensively.”

Cowherd expects that new juice to come from first-round rookie running back Omarion Hampton and free-agent Najee Harris.

Since Harbaugh became head coach in 2024, the team has drafted exclusively offense in the first and second rounds. Los Angeles complemented left tackle Rashawn Slater by taking Joe Alt to shore up right tackle in the first round last year. After Alt, the Chargers made an outstanding value selection in wide receiver Ladd McConkey at the top of the second round.

In 2025, they used their first-rounder on Hampton, who led the Atlantic Coast Conference in rushing each of the past two years, one season with Drake Maye and one without him. And following Hampton in the second round, they tapped the SEC for another explosive wideout, Tre Harris from Ole Miss.

Harbaugh has a history of dramatically improving teams in the first year at each of his head-coaching stops, whether college or the NFL. Last year in Los Angeles was no different, especially on defense.

“Their defense finished almost near the top of the league,” Cowherd said, noting the Chargers went from ninth-worst in the league (23.4 points allowed per game in 2023) to best in the NFL (17.7 in 2024).

“They built the culture last year. But free agency and a draft, and you know, you know Harbaugh's good at the draft. I think they're going to be one of the better teams in the league. I think they're an 11-, 12-win team.”

The Chiefs have been an 11-, 12-win team – or better – in each of Patrick Mahomes’ seven seasons as an NFL starter (2018-24). Like countless talking heads this offseason, Cowherd said he’s most concerned with the Kansas City offensive line.

But when the Chiefs’ offensive tackles let them down in 2024, Mahomes led them to a career-best 15 wins. And that was without Isiah Pacheco, Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown for most of the year. Now, after Kansas City made its best effort to address its issues at tackle, those other offensive weapons are back.

The Chiefs know they still need to earn another trip to the Super Bowl, but the wise choice – at least until another team proves it can halt Kansas City’s string of nine division titles – seems to be the defending AFC West champions.

But assuming Cowherd is correct, and the Chargers or Broncos do stop that division streak, Kansas City will be a wounded animal as a wild card. And in the postseason, Justin Herbert is 0-2 in his career with a pair of disappointing setbacks. Bo Nix and Geno Smith are both 0-1.

Mahomes is 17-4, and two of his losses were in Super Bowls.

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