The Los Angeles Chargers were recently called the team to beat in the AFC West by Denver Broncos general manager John Elway. But Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn doesn't want to hear it.

"That sounds like a mousetrap to me," Lynn said Thursday during an appearance on "NFL Up to the Minute," via Herbie Teope of NFL.com. "That's all I can say about that drill.

"We know Kansas City won this division, they had a good draft, they brought in some key free agents. To me, that's still the team to beat in this division. Until we beat Kansas City, we can't even talk about playoffs and things like that."

The Chargers overcame an 0-4 start to finish 2017 second in the division (9-7), winning six of their final seven games. The Chiefs (10-6) finished on top, but lost to the Tennessee Titans in the wild-card round.

Kansas City then traded veteran quarterback Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins. Now the Chiefs appear set to hand the offense to sophomore QB Patrick Mahomes.

The team didn't have a first-round pick in the 2018 draft, but selected defensive end Breeland Speaks with the 46th overall choice. Wide receiver Sammy Watkins was the Chiefs' marquee free-agent addition.