2022 Team Needs: Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs, Raiders

February 19, 2022

Thanks for checking out our 2022 Offseason Team Needs previews. Consider this a primer for the goals each team has to accomplish this offseason and the resources they have to work with.

A couple of notes. Cap space projections are from Over The Cap and based on a salary cap of $208.2 million, which is the ceiling for this year. It’s also using OTC’s effective cap space, which takes into account what teams have to budget to sign their rookies and fill out the offseason 51-man roster.

Compensatory picks are also from OTC’s projections, which are historically the most accurate in the industry. Their methodology is outlined here. The comp picks from minority hires the past two offseasons are also included.

With that, let’s get into it:

Broncos

Projected Cap Space: $31,907,469

Draft Picks: 9

1st (No. 9)
2nd (No. 40)
2nd (No. 64, from LAR)
3rd (No. 75)
3rd (No. 96, from LAR)
4th (No. 113)
5th (No. 144, from DET)
5th (No. 151)
7th (No. 248, from SF)

Notable Free Agents: RB Melvin Gordon, QB Teddy Bridgewater, LB Alexander Johnson, S Kareem Jackson, OT Bobby Massie, CB Bryce Callahan, OLB Malik Reed (RFA), LB Josey Jewell, OLB Stephen Weatherly, CB Kyle Fuller, LB Kenny Young, LB Micah Kiser, DT Shamar Stephen, OT Cameron Fleming

Biggest Needs:

Quarterback

Plan A for the Broncos for a year or so has obviously been trading for Aaron Rodgers. But now that it continues to look increasingly likely that he’s staying in Green Bay, what’s plan B? Outside of quarterback, this Broncos roster stacks up well against the rest of the teams in the AFC West. They truly do just need that final piece to push them over the top.

This is where it’s fair to second-guess GM George Paton’s decision to pass on Justin Fields and Mac Jones for CB Patrick Surtain II. Don’t get it twisted, Surtain was excellent and looks like a No. 1 corner. But you can make a good case Denver’s outlook would be far brighter with either in the fold even if they were still looking for help at corner. They’re picking at No. 9 again this year, and it doesn’t look like they’ll have better options at quarterback than what they’ve already passed on.

Outside Linebacker

It was time for the Broncos to move on from OLB Von Miller, and they got pretty decent compensation all things considered, more than they would have if he had left in free agency this offseason. That does open up a need at outside linebacker, however. Bradley Chubb has been bitten by the injury bug since a 12-sack rookie season, and while ideally he shakes it off and breaks out in a contract year, Denver should plan contingencies.

They’ll tender Reed but so far he’s been better as a rotational rusher than a full-time starter. Seventh-round rookie Jonathon Cooper was an unexpected revelation, as he went from having a heart procedure in May to become a valuable role player. There’s room for another starting-caliber player here, though, to team up with Chubb and have Reed/Cooper coming off the bench.

Inside Linebacker

Denver churned through a ton of players at inside linebacker last season because they just could not get anyone to stay healthy. Now the Broncos face more challenges because there are a number of pending free agents at the position, with 2021 third-rounder Baron Browning the only viable player under contract for 2022.

Johnson was terrific until he tore his pec, but he’s looking at unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career at the age of 30, meaning it might be his only chance to cash in. Young was solid and could be brought back cheaply, but the Broncos ought to look toward finding another long-term starter if they lose Johnson.

Chargers

Projected Cap Space: $48,904,292

Draft Picks: 11

1st (No. 17)
2nd (No. 48)
3rd (No. 79)
4th (No. 121)
5th (No. 159)
6th (No. 193)
6th (No. 215, comp)
7th (No. 234)
7th (No. 253, comp)
7th (No. 254, comp)
7th (No. 256, comp)

Notable Free Agents: WR Mike Williams, CB Chris Harris, DT Linval Joseph, OLB Uchenna Nwosu, LB Kyzir White, OLB Kyler Fackrell, DT Justin Jones, TE Jared Cook, OL Oday Aboushi, RB Justin Jackson, K Dustin Hopkins, WR Andre Roberts, G Senio Kelemete, DT Christian Covington

Biggest Needs:

Defensive Line

Chargers HC Brandon Staley entered his first year in charge with a reputation as a sharp defensive mind. Unfortunately, the Chargers actually regressed in a major way defensively from where they ranked the previous few seasons. That’s something to watch going forward but it is worth noting Staley didn’t necessarily have the personnel for his new scheme, which is predicated on stopping the pass first, then the run.

That worked with the Rams because he had terrific interior defensive linemen who could clog gaps, but that wasn’t the case last year with the Chargers. Staley’s defense ended up as one of the worst run defenses in the league, and it cost them in several key losses. Joseph and Jones are pending free agents, meaning the Chargers have a chance to bring in players who fit Staley’s vision at the position.

Right Guard/Right Tackle

The Chargers made strides in fixing a horrendous offensive line in 2021. First-round LT Rashawn Slater was phenomenal, while veteran free agents Matt Feiler and Corey Linsley solidified the left guard and center positions. Los Angeles looked like it had even struck gold with Aboushi before he went down with an injury in Week 5. Starting RT Bryan Bulaga got hurt in Week 1 and the Chargers were on their heels adjusting to losing both all season.

Aboushi could be back on another one-year deal, but Bulaga is likely a goner to save money. Either way, the Chargers need more permanent solutions on the right side of their line.

Outside Linebacker

Staley was the outside linebacker coach for the Bears and Broncos before getting the Rams DC gig that launched his head coaching stock. At all of those stops, the system was predicated on having a pair of strong pass rushers to collapse the pocket and take pressure off the secondary — Khalil Mack and Leonard Floyd in Chicago, Miller and Chubb in Denver, Aaron Donald and Floyd in Los Angeles.

With the Chargers, Staley has one of those dudes in Joey Bosa. I’m not sure they have the other. There were high hopes for Nwosu but he set a career-high this past season and it was just five sacks. His pressure metrics are better, but still far closer to league average than any sort of upper percentile. It’ll be interesting to see what his market is, but even if the Chargers bring him back, there’s a strong case to be made that should be looking for another true impact pass rusher to really take this defense where it needs to go.

Chiefs

Projected Cap Space: $1,393,792

Draft Picks: 10

1st (No. 30)
2nd (No. 62)
3rd (No. 94(
3rd (No. 102, comp)
4th (N0. 133)
6th (No. 189, from BAL)
7th (No. 231, from MIN)
7th (No. 241, from LV)
7th (No. 249)
7th (No. 260, comp)

Notable Free Agents: LT Orlando Brown, S Tyrann Mathieu, DT Jarran Reed, DE Melvin Ingram, CB Charvarius Ward, OL Andrew Wylie, OT Mike Remmers, DE Alex Okafor, S Daniel Sorensen, WR Byron Pringle, RB Darrel Williams, RB Jerick McKKinnon, WR Demarcus Robinson, C Austin Blythe, CB Mike Hughes, DL Derrick Nnadi, TE Blake Bell, LB Ben Niemann, S Armani Watts, QB Chad Henne

Biggest Needs:

Defensive End

The Chiefs figured things out enough toward the end of the season on the defensive side of the ball. But the goal this offseason should be to avoid having to scramble like they did last year. They need one or two edge rushers on the outside who are capable of taking attention away from Chris Jones. They might have to cut Frank Clark to make room, as the production hasn’t really justified what will be a monstrous cap hit for 2022. They would free up $12.7 million in cap space that could be allocated toward a replacement or elsewhere. There’s not much they can do about the $13.6 million in dead money.

Secondary

The playoffs really exposed Kansas City’s secondary, first in a shootout against the Bills where they were unable to provide any semblance of resistance and got bailed out by the offense, then in the following week in the AFC championship game when they couldn’t stave off Cincinnati’s comeback.

If Kansas City doesn’t re-sign Mathieu, they need to make safety a priority. It’s also probably not a bad idea to add a guy here for some depth so they don’t ever have to put Sorensen on a football field again. The bigger issue is at corner. It’s the hardest position in football to play outside of quarterback, which is why it’s really hard to find true lockdown cover corners. Someone like that though would change a lot of dynamics for the Chiefs on defense, and they should be willing to pounce.

Wide Receiver

At the end of the day, the Chiefs were still one of the most dangerous and explosive offenses in football. They stalled out far more than the football-watching public was used to seeing in 2021, however. Some of that was a funk QB Patrick Mahomes found himself in. Defenses challenged him and the offense to be patient and he spent a lot of time pressing too hard for the explosive plays he’s been accustomed to hitting before eventually settling down as the offense found a late-season rhythm that lasted until the second half of the AFC championship.

But another factor in Kansas City’s offensive “regression” is they actually missed Sammy Watkins. When he was on the field, which admittedly wasn’t a given due to his injury history, he provided a reliable and semi-explosive third option to Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce for Mahomes to lean on and for defenses to account for. Mecole Hardman struggled in that role and really ought to be more of a gadget player and deep threat. The Chiefs could have used someone like JuJu Smith-Schuster or Odell Beckham, and unfortunately struck out on both in 2021. Perhaps they get a second chance with Smith-Schuster in 2022.

Raiders

Projected Cap Space: $16,416,357

Draft Picks: 7

1st (No. 22)
2nd (No. 53)
3rd (No. 86)
4th (No. 124)
5th (No. 163, from NE)
5th (No. 164)
7th (No. 225, from CAR)

Notable Free Agents: CB Casey Hayward, LB K.J. Wright, QB Marcus Mariota, LB Nicholas Morrow, DL Solomon Thomas, DT Quinton Jefferson, DT Johnathan Hankins, DT Gerald McCoy, G Richie Incognito, RB Jalen Richard, WR DeSean Jackson, WR Zay Jones, CB Desmond Trufant, LB Patrick Onwuasor, CB Brandon Facyson, C Nick Martin, OT Brandon Parker

Biggest Needs:

Secondary

The Raiders’ secondary wasn’t great but it wasn’t as much of a weakness as it has been in past seasons in 2021. New DC Patrick Graham is undoubtedly going to want to revamp the group, though. Free safety-type Trevon Moehrig looks like a keeper after his rookie season, as does slot corner Nate Hobbs. Former second-rounder Trayvon Mullen is entering the last year of his rookie contract and S Johnathan Abram will be too once Las Vegas declines his fifth-year option, as expected. It’s hard to see Hayward sticking around. So that’s potentially two new corners and a safety that the Raiders need to find in the next year or so.

Right Tackle

Raiders 2021 first-rounder Alex Leatherwood was one of the team’s classic surprise first-round picks, as former GM Mike Mayock and HC Jon Gruden loved taking players from elite college programs like Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State. He ended up being pushed inside from right tackle to guard midway through his rookie season, and while he didn’t play well at either spot, he looked like he might have a little bit more of a future at guard.

That leaves the Raiders still in need of a right tackle. It would be interesting if they went for Round 2 with Patriots RT Trent Brown now that Josh McDaniels is in Las Vegas. Brown washed out of Las Vegas as a high-profile free-agent signing and admitted the structured organizational culture in New England helped him more as a pro. The Raiders could also look to the draft.

Defensive Tackle

There’s a case to be made for wide receiver here, as the Raiders still need a deep threat to replace Henry Ruggs and Bryan Edwards continues to be more flash than substance. The cupboard isn’t empty though, with slot WR Hunter Renfrow exactly the type of player McDaniels has had a lot of success featuring in the past. The offense might be more tight end-heavy as well.

At defensive tackle, the cupboard is almost completely bare if the Raiders elect not to re-sign any of their pending free agents. They’re also shifting to more of a 3-4, although that matters less in today’s NFL than it used to. Hankins would still fit as a nose tackle. Clelin Ferrell could slide inside on passing downs but the Raiders probably need to make at least two additions here if they aren’t going to bring back Hankins, Jefferson or Thomas.