AFC West Notes: Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders

Broncos

Broncos OC Pat Shurmur is looking forward to working with new QB Drew Lock this season after working with fellow rookie Daniel Jones as head coach of the Giants in 2019.

“Obviously we were in the market for a quarterback last year,” Shurmur said, via DenverBroncos.com. “And we have a very, very high opinion of Drew. We did a lot of work on him. We were very certain that he was going to have an outstanding career, and he had a bright future. I’m really looking forward to being able to work with him.”

Shurmur added he plans to tailor his offense to the team’s personnel while ensuring that Lock continues to develop. 

“Well, I think we’ll take a good look at the players that we have, [and] we’ve got to make sure we’re doing the things that they do well,” Shurmur said. “Obviously, the development of our young quarterback is going to be critical as we move forward and really all of our players need to improve individually and then certainly do it as a group so that we can score points and help us win games.”

Chiefs

Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy downplayed the notion that he doesn’t have a say in play calls and is just a bystander to HC Andy Reid. 

“We have an operation in how we do things and we have a communications system,” Bieniemy said, via the Kansas City Star. “I mean, coaches communicate with me, I’m communicating to the quarterback. To be honest with you, I think people are making something out of nothing.”

• Chiefs DL Chris Jones says he’s “day to day” in regards to his calf injury: “I’m still day to day. We’ll just build up to Sunday and see how I feel.” (Adam Teicher)
• Chiefs TE Travis Kelce told reporters that he’s “ready to roll” for Sunday’s game. (Adam Teicher)
• The Chiefs list DT Chris Jones (calf), RB LeSean McCoy (illness), and QB Matt Moore (illness) as questionable for Sunday’s game. 

Raiders

Raiders GM Mike Mayock put the blame on himself for how things played out with WR Antonio Brown last summer. 

“I put that on me,” Mayock said, via Vic Tafur of The Athletic. “My anticipation was that he was coming off a situation in Pittsburgh where he wants to prove everybody wrong and he wants to ride into the Hall of Fame. That he was going to come in with Jon Gruden and Derek Carr and our offense and lead the way. … I really thought we were going to get the best out of Antonio Brown and we didn’t.

“We weren’t able to get anything out of him. So, at the end of the day, in hindsight, we lost a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick, and I can’t tell you how much pain that causes me.”

Mayock pointed to the defense and the receiver positions as obvious areas that need to be addressed this offseason. 

“We have to get better on defense,’ Mayock said. “We still have to fill a lot of holes. On the offensive side of the ball, obviously the wide receiver position didn’t work out as we anticipated so we have some work to do there as well.”

Mayock also stressed the importance of competition at all positions including quarterback. 

“I think Derek stepped forward in Year 2 under Jon Gruden,” Mayock said. “His mental capacity to handle what Jon asks him to do, his accuracy, his arm talent … I think he had a better second year under Jon than a first year.

“As far as what the future holds, I’m gonna tell you the same thing I told you last year. About every position. And that is, my job is to evaluate every position and try and make us better. And if I can, I will, and if I can’t, I won’t. And that holds true at every position.”