Which 'hungry' AFC West rival is biggest threat to Chiefs reign?

Expectations are mile-high in Denver — and everywhere in the AFC West — entering the 2025 NFL season.

On Wednesday, NFL.com's Kevin Patra relayed comments Broncos wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. made during a recent SiriusXM NFL Radio appearance, with the third-year wide receiver saying, "I think everyone's hungry. I feel like ... we're going to make something happen this year as long as we keep going on each other and just strive to get there."

The Kansas City Chiefs have won nine consecutive AFC West titles and are favored (-120) to continue their reign, but the division has arguably never been as competitive during the run as it appears it could be in 2025.

Here's our ranking of Kansas City's AFC West competition from least to most likely to claim first place.

3. Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders made big moves to close the gap between them and the rest of the division, hiring Pete Carroll as head coach, trading for quarterback Geno Smith and extending four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby on a contract worth $35.5 million annually.

It certainly wouldn't be surprising if Las Vegas contended for a wild-card berth, but toppling the Chiefs — and leaping the Broncos and Chargers — is a tall ask for a team that went 0-6 against the division last season.

2. Denver Broncos

What can quarterback Bo Nix do for an encore? The rookie proved to be a perfect fit in head coach Sean Payton's system, and the Broncos also have one of the league's premier defenses.

Pat Bryant, a 6-foot-2 rookie wide receiver who Payton has raved about, could help Nix take the next level, along with second-round running back R.J. Harvey and free-agent signing J.K. Dobbins, who rushed for a career-high 905 yards with the Chargers in 2024.

1. Los Angeles Chargers

On Saturday, Chargers rookies will be the first to report to training camp. It makes sense. As hungry as the Broncos are, the Chargers might be even more starved. 

Los Angeles is coming off a humbling 32-12 wild-card loss to the Houston Texans and has never won a Lombardi Trophy.

The Chargers had the league's top scoring defense in 2024, but the unit was much better during the first half of the season, when it allowed 13.1 points per game. Over its last nine games (including playoffs), the Chargers defense allowed 23.9 points per game.

In March, the Chargers added cornerback Donte Jackson, who had a career-high five interceptions in 2024 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and 3-4 defensive end Da'Shawn Hand, who is coming off arguably his best season after injuries forced him to miss 30 of 34 regular-season games from 2021-22.

The Justin Herbert-Jim Harbaugh union got off to an excellent start. Herbert's 0.6 percent interception rate was the NFL's lowest, and he also established personal highs in passer rating (101.7) and yards per attempt (7.7) while finishing ninth in MVP voting.

He formed a strong connection with rookie wideout Ladd McConkey, who was recently voted No. 100 by his peers in the NFL's Top 100 Players of 2025, but the Chargers otherwise didn't give their franchise quarterback much to work with.

This offseason, Los Angeles improved (at least, it hopes it did) the skill-position talent surrounding Herbert, using its first-round pick on versatile running back Omarion Hampton and signing former Steelers back Najee Harris, the No. 24 pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, in free agency.

The Chargers also reunited with wideout Mike Williams and spent two of their first six 2025 draft picks on receivers Tre Harris and Ke'Andre Lambert-Smith.