



INDIANAPOLIS — Practically every day, the new general manager of the Oakland Raiders looks at the whiteboard in his office packed with the depth charts of his AFC West foes. Invariably, his eyes slide to a team — Kansas City — and he sees some names that inspire immediate respect: Travis Kelce … Tyreek Hill … and of course, the big one — the recently crowned, 23-year-old league MVP — Patrick Mahomes.

“I sit there and stare at that whiteboard every day and say, I’ve got Patrick Mahomes, I’ve got Tyreek Hill and [Travis] Kelce and … how do you defend that?” Raiders GM Mike Mayock said with a chuckle.

Mayock also mentioned the challenges certain players bring on the Los Angeles Chargers, who went 12-4 and could have won almost any other division in football with that record, and Denver Broncos. But make no mistake, when Mayock undertakes his first draft with the Raiders, who boast three first-round picks this year, he’ll be doing so with an understanding that he better find some players for his 26th-ranked defense who can take away the stars in the AFC West, starting with Mahomes.

In his first season as a starter, Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs to the AFC championship game. (AP) More

“You’re always trying to build a roster to defend the quality of your division, and Patrick Mahomes is as good as any quarterback in the league right now,” Mayock said. “I’ve always believed that when you build a team in the NFL, you’ve got to build it based on who you’re trying to beat in your division.”

And when the division champions boast a ridiculous offense helped by an MVP quarterback, there’s only one way to do that.

“[You have to] build a hell of a defense and start there,” said new Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians, who will face a Chiefs-like offensive juggernaut in the New Orleans Saints in the NFC South. “And hopefully, you have a quarterback that can counteract him and score enough points to do it.”

It’s a popular notion that has become the reality for the Chiefs’ AFC West foes over the course of the season, according to decision-makers for the Chargers, Raiders and Broncos.

When asked how he’s supposed to combat the 2018 MVP for years to come, for example, Chargers coach Anthony Lynn took a top-down look at a method to supplementing his roster, which features the ninth-ranked offense and ninth-ranked defense.

“Well, we’ve already got a quarterback,” Lynn told Yahoo Sports. “Philip [Rivers] does an outstanding job with the offense and making players around him better. So I think offensively, he puts points on the board.

“And defensively, speed in space [is important]. The Chiefs have athletes all over the place, and they’re really good in space. So when you have athletes that can match their speed in space, that can only help you.”

Broncos general manager John Elway — whose coach, Vic Fangio, stated during the week that all three levels of their 22nd-ranked defense could use some help — agreed, as Denver also attempted to upgrade its quarterback position this offseason by trading for a former Super Bowl champion in Joe Flacco.

“Patrick had a tremendous year last year,” Elway said. “It’s going to be something that we’re going to have to deal with for a long time … our first goal is to win the division, and that’s going to go through Kansas City.”

As for the Chiefs, well, they’re sitting pretty. The winners of three straight AFC West titles have the league’s MVP at the league’s most important position, and they are fully aware of how fortunate they are.

“I think it’s a good position to be in, because the hardest thing to do is identify and find a franchise quarterback,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach told Yahoo Sports.

While AFC West foes will have to deal with the Mahomes headache for years, actually having Mahomes suit up will also come with pressure. The Chiefs set the bar high by reaching the AFC championship game in Mahomes’ first year as a starter, which means that for the foreseeable future, reaching the Super Bowl — and eventually winning one — will be the expectation. And to that end, it will be up to Veach and coach Andy Reid to surround Mahomes with the talent needed to counteract the looming efforts by division foes — and the whole league — to thwart their crown jewel.

Story continues