AFC West Breakout Candidates 2015

Denver Broncos

Bradley Roby, CB: The rich get richer. Denver's talent at cornerback is already at an elite level with Chris Harris and Aqib Talib, and Bradley Roby will push them over the edge. Roby had a solid rookie season, but he has an incredibly high ceiling. He has the size, speed and ball skills of an elite cornerback, he just needs to work on consistency. He sometimes can get caught trying to make the big play and get burned, but if he works on that he could be great. He is in a very good position with Denver too, as they have a wicked pass rush with Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware and Shane Ray. The Broncos D can bring the heat, which provides more of an opportunity for their secondary to make plays. Roby will bring to light that the Broncos have a terrifying trio instead of a dynamic duo at cornerback. I'm predicting 4 interceptions for Roby and more consistent play too.

San Diego Chargers

Jason Verrett, CB: I'm not overly confident in this choice. Only because I don't know if Verrett has already broken out. Mighty Mouse is a star. I have a huge man crush on this guy, and I think he is going to be one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL for years to come. He has all the traits you would look for in a star cornerback except for size, but he plays way bigger than he is. I could go on and on about how awesome Verrett  is, but it's easier if you just watch some of his highlights. He's incredible. Between him and Flowers, the Chargers have a deadly duo at cornerback. I'm predicting 3 interceptions for Verrett, but more importantly I think he will end the year as a top 5 cornerback.

Oakland Raiders

Derek Carr, QB: There are usually two kinds of opinions on Derek Carr. The first is that he is a franchise QB and had a terrific rookie season. The second is he had a horrible rookie year and isn't a good quarterback. I fall somewhere in between these two views. I think he had a bad rookie season, but he showed me enough flashes of brilliance that I think he is a franchise QB going forward and will make a big leap in year 2. Carr is a very smart quarterback with a big arm, and I'm expecting him to jump to at least a league average QB next year. Drafting Amari Cooper was very smart by Raiders management, because Carr really lacked any explosive go to target, and now that he has just that in Cooper there is no telling what the two can do. Oakland also has hope in the backfield with Latavius Murray, and if he is even serviceable then that will go a long way in helping ease some pressure off of Carr. I'm predicting 3,800 yards for Carr, with 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Kansas City Chiefs

Travis Kelce, TE: The only things that previously stood in Kelce's way to break out earlier is health and playing time. Health is always a risk for every player, but the lack of playing time should not be a problem anymore. Kelce is an absolute animal on the field, which led to his nickname being Mini-Gronk, and it is almost criminal that it has taken KC this long to realize they should play him more. Kansas City does run a conservative offense, but along with Maclin and Charles, they only have three real receiving threats so he should be due for a lot of targets. I don't have much negative to say about Kelce. Talent wise I think he is a top 3 TE in the NFL (behind Gronk and Graham) and if KC uses him well then he will put the NFL on notice early. I'm predicting 950 yards and 10 touchdowns for this behemoth.

The "Short" NFL Player Dilemma

This article was supposed to be a small description of the Chargers cornerbacks in their Offseason Outlook article. I started writing it, and I got very invested because it is actually an amazing situation when you really think about it. What's amazing is that the Chargers two best cornerbacks are both only 5'9. Maybe I'm the only one who is shocked by that, but I could say that a thousand times and it would still surprise me. In today's NFL, receivers are getting bigger and bigger, and because of that, some teams just draw the line in the sand at cornerback and only want them to be 6 feet tall or they won't draft them. Theoretically, I can understand that because 5'9 seems almost tiny going up against 6'5, 230 lb wide receivers. Yet these two cornerbacks, who again are both only 5'9, are making it their personal vendetta to make any team that passed over them because of their height pay. To go on a brief tangent here, Kevin White (6'3, 215 lbs) has gone on record saying that Jason Verrett is the toughest cornerback he has ever faced. Granted he hasn't played a down in the NFL, but he did face some tough CB's in college; and the reason why he said that, is because it is completely true. Verrett makes every WR he faces make them earn whatever yards they get off of him. It starts at the line, he may only be 5'9, but he plays like he is 6'5. He has terrific explosiveness right from the snap, and he has incredible footwork and anticipation to mirror the receiver and not give up an inch of ground. Verrett was passed on by the Browns who drafted Justin Gilbert ahead of him, then the Bears that drafted Kyle Fuller ahead of him, then the Bengals that drafted Darqueze Dennard ahead of him. The reason he was drafted behind those players is not because of talent, but because of his size. In his scouting report on NFL.com, the first thing Mike Mayock says in his weaknesses section is that he does not look the part. The rest of his "weaknesses" are just other ways of saying he's short. Mayock gave him a 2nd round grade. This has absolutely nothing to do with Mike Mayock either, obviously he can miss on certain players just like everybody, and if he gave him a 2nd round grade then he gave him a 2nd round grade there is nothing more to it. I understand the stigma in the NFL about small players. Sometimes they don't work out. Especially at cornerback, almost every NFL team wants big tall cornerbacks like Richard Sherman. The reason why I'm turning this into it's own article is because NFL teams need to wake up. I actually have no problem with putting height or size as a weakness or strength when scouting NFL players. A lot of the times it can be useful scouting scheme fit and all. Except when NFL teams completely take a young, talented player off of their board because of it. Drawing an arbitrary line in the sand and as a franchise saying you won't draft players under a certain height can cripple your franchise. Your team could miss out on the next Russell Wilson, Drew Brees, or Jason Verrett just because they were too short to play professional football. That was also the biggest knock on Wilson too right? He was too short, how could he even see over an NFL offensive line. Well personally I think that hasn't been too big of a problem for him on his way to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances after only 3 years in the league. Maybe this frustrates me because I'm 5'9 and am waiting for my shot in next years NFL draft, and that's why I need an entire article to complain about this completely arbitrary (I know I have said it is arbitrary a lot but it truly is) line that prevents players under a certain height at a specific position being drafted. Or maybe I see something wrong with the way certain teams are scouting players and I want my voice to be heard. Whatever the reason is, the Chargers are going to reap the rewards this season if/when Jason Verrett proves that he can stay healthy so Verrett and Flowers can be a dominating duo.

Offseason Outlook 2015: San Diego Chargers

Offense

It might be a little weird but the biggest question I have about the Chargers offense right now is will Phillip Rivers be their quarterback after next season. Since this is a 2015 outlook, I'll keep myself from talking about that until the time comes. Speaking of Phillip Rivers, he really doesn't get enough credit. Maybe he isn't an elite QB, but he's not far off from that Brady and Rodgers level of play either. The Chargers offense relies on him to perform at a very high level, and he always seems to come through. He does have some good weapons though. Keenan Allen has been a very good wide receiver ever since he was drafted, and hopefully he can take the step forward that many were expecting him to take last year. They also have Malcolm Floyd who I believe was one of the most underrated wide receivers in football last season. He didn't dominate by any means, but he was very consistent and in fact put up the best numbers for a WR on their team last year. They also signed Stevie Johnson who could be a very good 3rd WR for Rivers. At tight end, they have one of the best TE's of all time in Antonio Gates (who by the way caught 12 touchdown passes last year. 12! I just looked it up and am still in awe over it), and a young, high-ceiling TE in Ladarius Green. I don't know if this will FINALLY be the year that Ladarius Green will get an increased role, but even if he doesn't flourish with it, I still am curious as to what he would do with more snaps. He is an absolute behemoth of a TE and at 6'6 and 240 lbs, and being a crazy athletic human being, I just want to see him make a few jaw dropping plays even if he isn't all that consistent. The running back situation looks substantially better for San Diego this year. Melvin Gordon (The 15th pick in this years draft) has a real chance to be a special running back in this league. I think that because of Todd Gurley, Gordon didn't receive as much attention as he deserved, but he's a difference maker in the backfield and he will force defenses to game plan for him as well as Rivers. Apart from Gordon, they have some depth in the Darren Sproles like Brandon Oliver, Danny Woodhead, and Donald Brown. Even though I'm surprised the Chargers didn't focus more on the offensive line in the draft, it should still be better than last year as signing Orlando Franklin was a solid move by San Diego's FO. Orlando Franklin will probably play at left guard, and along with King Dunlap, they will make a formidable left side (not to mention massive, Franklin is 6'7, 320 lbs, and Dunlap is 6'9, 330 lbs!). Dunlap continues to surprise people at left tackle as he has been a good blindside protector for Rivers. Chris Watt had a nice first year at center after Nick Hardwick retired, and if he can stay healthy then hopefully he can take another developmental step forward. At right guard there are serious question marks, but D.J. Fluker should be in for a bounce back year at right tackle. This offense surprised me though. Now I will confess, I didn't watch a lot of Chargers games live last year, but even without Melvin Gordon, I would have expected this to be around the top 10 in points per game last year, but they were in the bottom half of the league. Now that they should have a solid run game, I'm predicting a big year for Rivers (also contract year!) and this offense as a whole. A top 10 finish seems almost overdue.

Defense

This is an interesting defense to say the least, and I will get more into that near the end, but let's start with the defensive line. I'm a big fan of Corey Liuget. He had a solid season last year, but I'm expecting him to make a big jump and be a huge difference maker for this D. Kendall Reyes had a bad year last year, I am well aware of that, but I weirdly still believe in him. I'm not saying he's going to be a superstar, but I also don't think he will be a liability in any means this year. They also have Sean Lissemore at nose tackle, who might be a little below average, but he's a passable NT. The Chargers have a group of linebackers that has gone through an extreme makeover over the last couple of years. Melvin Ingram has bounced back after a slow start to his career to become a productive pass rusher for them. They also have a young trio of inside linebackers in Donald Butler, Manti Te'o, and Denzel Perryman. All three of these players can be solid ILB's for the Chargers for a long time, but Donald Butler has struggled to stay healthy in his career so I'm assuming that is why they drafted Perryman. Their second round pick from 2014, Jerry Attaochu, also has very high potential and could end up being a great pass rusher, but he played in very few snaps last year for San Diego so it is tough to predict how he will fare this season. This is a very young and talented group of linebackers, and if all goes right, they could all be elite players; but this is the NFL, and very rarely does all go right so I guess we'll see what happens with them next year. My opinion is that I do think at least one of these linebackers will break out in a big way next year. On to a very interesting NFL position group, the Chargers secondary. Let's get out of the way what we know. Eric Weddle is an elite safety, that is a fact. He is extremely good at what he does, and has been incredibly consistent throughout his career, so I would expect another big year out of him. Their other safety, Jahleel Addae, was actually pretty good last year too. He clearly benefitted from playing alongside Weddle, but he had a surprisingly strong year. On to what we don't know. The Chargers cornerback duo might be the best in the NFL next year. I'm going to say that again slowly, because it does sound ridiculous. The. Chargers. Cornerback. Duo. Might. Be. The. Best. In. The. NFL. Next. Year. Let me explain myself first, then feel free to mock. Brandon Flowers, who is their number one CB going into next year, had himself a terrific year last year. He wasn't the best CB in the NFL, but being in his first year with the Chargers and on a new defense, he graded out as a top tier number one cornerback. Brandon Flowers partner in crime, Jason Verrett, is my favourite player not enough people are talking about going into the season. He only played in parts of 6 games last year, but if he is healthy, he has the talent to instantly become one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. I could riddle off a bunch of stats in college and his small NFL sample size about how amazing he is, but you can easily Google that so I'm not going to bother. All I'm going to say is watch some of his tape, watch his hips, watch him mirror certain wide receivers at the line, and after you do all of that jump on the bandwagon with me. Overall, this Chargers defense should be better next year. A healthy year out of Verrett would be huge, and if their linebackers start to reach some of their potential, then the rest of the NFL should take notice. I wouldn't be shocked to see a top 10 finish on defense, and considering they were 13th last year, it would shock me if they weren't in the top 10.

The Chargers are making the playoffs this coming year. It's not that bold of a prediction, and if they don't I will own up to being completely wrong, but I think they have a CHANCE to snake the division away from the Broncos. Phillip Rivers has a real run game for the first time since LaDainian Tomlinson, and I'm sure he intends to make the most of it. The Chargers should also get more from their defense in what should be a defining season for a San Diego team that may or may not have Phillip Rivers as their quarterback going into the 2016 season.