AFC Notes: Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders

Broncos

• Broncos’ new OT Billy Turner said he was eager to play under HC Nathaniel Hackett, OC Justin Outten, and OL coach Butch Berry, and called Hackett one of his closest friends: “Football aside, as people, I wanted to play for coach Hackett, I wanted to play for coach Outten, and I wanted to play for Barry. I love all those guys as people. I’ve played for all of them at one time. Hackett, I consider one of my best friends.” (Mike Klis)
• Turner elaborated on his close relationship with Hackett and his family: “I know his wife and his kids and I love them all. They are some of the best people in the world. Not just football. People you meet in life. Hackett is one of the best people I’ve ever met, football or otherwise.” (Mike Klis)
• According to Mike Klis, the Broncos are scheduled to host Tulsa OT Tyler Smith for an official top-30 visit this week. 

Chiefs

• Chiefs’ new WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling said Patrick Mahomes was among the first players to contact him: “He told me how bad he wanted me there.” (Adam Teicher)
• Valdes-Scantling indicated that his top three choices were the Saints, Packers, and Chiefs. (Herbie Teope)
• Valdes-Scantling said it was difficult to part ways with Aaron Rodgers, but is glad to be joining Mahomes: “But I walked into a situation with a very similar quarterback.” (Adam Teicher)
• As for Kansas City trading Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins, Valdes-Scantling said the situation was a “huge” factor in his decision to join Kansas City over the Saints. (Herbie Teope)
• Chiefs QB Chad Henne‘s one-year, $3.265 million deal includes a guaranteed base salary of $2.385 million and an $880,000 signing bonus (Aaron Wilson)
• Chiefs OT Geron Christian‘s one-year, $1.187 million deal includes a $152,500 signing bonus and $895,000 of his $1.035 million base salary is guaranteed for skill, injury, and salary cap. (Aaron Wilson)
• Chiefs FB Michael Burton‘s one-year, $1.272 million deal includes a $152,500 signing bonus and $580,000 of his $1.12 million salary is guaranteed. (Aaron Wilson)

Raiders

Raiders WR Davante Adams feels like it was his destiny to wind up with Las Vegas, having worn a Charles Woodson jersey in his third-grade yearbook photo and making it known that he wanted to make it to the NFL someday.

He also cited his family situation and his Raiders fandom as factors in his decision-making process.

“I grew up in East Palo Alto (California). I was a Raiders fan my whole life, so it is a dream to be a Raider, man,” Adams said, via NFL.com. “It’s a dream come true. In the third-grade yearbook, I said I want to be an NFL star or an NBA star, and I was wearing a Charles Woodson jersey at the time. It’s been documented forever, so I guess you could say it’s meant to be. It’s the best division in football right now, and it’d be hard to not say that even if I was still in Green Bay, honestly. It’s loaded. It’s not going to be easy. But it’s definitely something I’m looking forward to, I’m always looking for a challenge. The Chargers added a few more pieces. Obviously, we stacked over here, so it’s exciting to see what’s ahead, I’m looking forward to it. Ultimately, it was just for my family situation, I got another baby on the way. Quality of life obviously is another piece of it that means a lot to me. I have a lot of family in California that’s never been to see me play before. Grandparents, my grandmother wasn’t doing well, she was in the hospital recently. Just kind of reflecting and thinking about life things and stuff that really matters in this world, that’s stuff that matters to me. That’s stuff that’s weighing on my mind when there’s a decision that needs to be made. Do I want to be able to go through my whole career without having either of my grandparents on either side, see me play? And I didn’t like that. Obviously being in Vegas gives them a much better opportunity. My dad drives everywhere, so he’ll be able to make that happen. It’s a little harder to drive to Green Bay. It’s a dream come true to be able to do this thing and ultimately get it done. There’s a couple of guys that stopped through here later in their career, Randy Moss and Jerry Rice, who, they didn’t necessarily establish themselves in the league while being with the Raiders, but those are two guys who I obviously watched, those are some of the founding fathers for me. It was more than just receivers. It was obviously C-Wood (Charles Woodson). Tim Brown was a big inspiration. My whole family was Raider fans, so I knew a lot about the history since I was young, too. Just growing up, honestly, all Raiders, anything Raiders was what I was about. I had a Tim Brown jersey. C-Wood. Those got worn until the numbers fell off. Rich Gannon. I mean everything. I’m just looking forward to coming in, trying to leave my footprint as well as I can.”