AFC Notes: Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs

Broncos

• Adam Caplan reports that a high-ranking NFL source told him that Eagles’ QB Carson Wentz could end up in Denver, as the team may be looking to upgrade from QB Drew Lock after his poor performance last season: “I had a high-ranking source with another team tell me to keep an eye on Denver. Obviously, they’ve got [quarterback] Drew Lock, who did not play well last season.”
• However, Denver 7’s Troy Renck says the Broncos are not in on trade talks for Wentz. He adds they will pursue a clear upgrade like Texans QB Deshaun Watson if he becomes available and Lock understands he has to keep growing to keep the job. 

Chargers

Chargers’ QB Justin Herbert mentioned that he plans to reach out to Saints’ QB Drew Brees and other veteran quarterbacks in order to learn more about watching film and picking up the scheme of new OC Joe Lombardi.

“Drew is definitely one of those guys I plan to reach out to,” Herbert said, via ChargersWire.com. “He’s been able to do it all. I’m going to try not to bother them too much. I’ve got a bunch of questions about how to watch film, how to prepare for defenses. There are things that I can always get better at. These guys have had so much success. If I didn’t ask them, that’s on me. It’s an opportunity for me to learn from them. I’ll definitely be reaching out. I’ve talked to a couple of them already.”

• West Virginia DT Darius Stills has met virtually with the Chargers. (Justin Melo)

Chiefs

The Chiefs drafted WR Mecole Hardman in the second round in 2019 to add more speed to their offense when they thought they might be on the verge of losing Tyreek Hill due to another assault allegation. But instead, Hardman has been a part-time role player behind Hill and veteran WR Sammy Watkins. With Watkins set for free agency, Hardman believes he’s ready for a bigger role. 

“I can really run routes,” Hardman said a few days before the Chiefs lost in the Super Bowl, via ESPN’s Adam Teicher. “That kind of makes me mad when people say, ‘Oh, he’s just a deep ball threat.’ I literally can run routes very well. People don’t really see it because a lot of my routes are down the field. You’ve got Travis [Kelce] and Sammy and Tyreek for all that other stuff. They can do everything across the board. I can really run routes really [well]. I get out of my breaks very well. A lot of people [think] I can’t run routes. I’m like, ‘What?’ People have the misunderstanding that I can’t run routes. I’m very capable of running every route on the tree.”

• Teicher notes that an indicator of how much confidence the Chiefs have in Hardman to shoulder a bigger role will be in how hard they go after keeping Watkins, as if Hardman was ready it would be an easier decision to let the veteran walk. 
• Teicher adds Hardman had a couple of notable route mistakes during the Super Bowl and was seemingly referenced by QB Patrick Mahomes, though not by name, when he said, “the receivers were running routes to not where I thought they were going to be.”
• Chiefs LB coach Matt House turned down an offer to join the University of Tennessee as the defensive coordinator. (Dan Graziano)