2022 NFL Breakout Candidates: AFC West

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Each and every year, opportunities for a breakout arise on NFL teams. This may be due to a few different factors. The depth chart may be thinner in spots, compared to the year before. Elsewhere, the raw talent or technical refinement cannot be denied in a short span. With that in mind, let’s take a quick look at the AFC West.

If you haven’t heard, the amazing quarterback talent in this division somehow got even better, with the new addition in Denver. One contender improved their roster this offseason with veteran additions after narrowly missing the postseason last year. One team hoping to repeat as playoff performers has added arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL, reuniting him with his college quarterback. Finally, one team is coming off of six straight AFC West division titles and has hosted the AFC Championship Game four years in a row. That is something that had never been done before in the history of the AFC title game.

So far, we have completed our breakout candidate articles for six other divisions. You can read the previous ones by clicking on each division: AFC East, NFC East, AFC North, NFC North, AFC South, NFC South

Let’s now dive into the AFC West breakout candidates. Kicking things off, is a tight end for the Denver Broncos.

Denver Broncos- TE Albert Okwuegbunam

Now with the Broncos, Russell Wilson is surrounded by plenty of premiere talent. The wide receiver room lost a notable name for the season, when Tim Patrick suffered a torn ACL last week in training camp. Though, the potential with Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton and other young candidates makes Denver dangerous. The running back room of Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon also give them a desirable one-two punch. Finally, the offensive line has shown steady improvement over the last couple of years.

One thing that has always been a nice wrinkle for a Wilson-led offense, is how the tight end is used. Of course, it may not look the exact same as it did while he was in Seattle. Yet, Wilson seemingly set his tight ends up for explosive play after explosive play, by feeding them quickly and letting them work after the catch. He also made sure to push the ball to the dirty areas with the tight ends, forcing defenses to make quick decisions.

One player that may love the addition of Wilson the most is tight end Albert Okwuegbunam. With Noah Fant being part of the Wilson trade, going to the Seahawks, this is now Okwuegbunam’s chance to get rolling. He has shown mini flashes. He has only achieved 44 receptions and 451 receiving yards in 18 games played to this point. Nonetheless, his massive frame, body control, length and ball skills make him incredibly difficult to handle at his size. Do not be surprised if Okwuegbunam becomes a security blanket for Wilson in Denver.

Kansas City Chiefs- WR Mecole Hardman

All offseason long, the Chiefs were bombarded with talk of losing Tyreek Hill. The number one question during training camp has been how the wide receivers would perform. So far, the Patrick Mahomes to JuJu Smith-Schuster connection looks crisp. Marquez Valdes-Scantling is primed to handle a bigger load. In addition, rookie Skyy Moore has electric separation skills and run after catch ability. The name that is suddenly the most tenured in the Chiefs’ wide receiver room? That would be Mecole Hardman.

Hardman has seen his role fluctuate during the first three seasons of his career. He did in fact see some chances as a vertical receiver while Hill was out of the lineup with an injury in 2019. In 2020, his presence on over routes and in the intermediate passing game grew. Last season, he was more limited after ball security questions and inconsistency within his separation. Eventually, Andy Reid believed that they had finally found Hardman’s true identity.

This may not necessarily be the man who leads the Kansas City wide receivers in receiving this year. However, it is Hardman’s first full season of being able to showcase that he can be trusted at being used in a multitude of ways. With further improvement with his ball skills and route running, the Georgia product has started off training camp on the right foot. Can he carry that confidence throughout the entire season? If so, the Chiefs offense should once again be just fine.

Las Vegas Raiders- CB Nate Hobbs

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Most casual fans may not have realized what all Nate Hobbs accomplished last season. As a rookie fifth-round pick out of Illinois, the cornerback finished with four quarterback hits, three tackles for loss, three pass breakups, one sack, one forced fumble and one interception. More importantly, Hobbs made many impact plays in a plethora of areas all over the field. He crashed downhill hard on the run. He maintained efficient leverage against wide receivers on quick passes. Meanwhile, Hobbs flashed plus instincts and a stout nose for the football when defending in the intermediate to deep passing game.

Overall, the Raiders roster is better than they were last year, and they still had a tremendous core last season. If there is any position group that feels a bit suspect in Vegas, it may be the secondary. The cornerback room is arguably Hobbs’ to lead now in 2022. Especially in a division where you have to defend against the near-elite quarterbacks that you do in the AFC West, Hobbs will need to once again be productive. If he does increase his output, Vegas should be a playoff team again, and the defense could be more well-rounded in the back seven.

Los Angeles Chargers- CB Asante Samuel Jr.

Just like the aforementioned Hobbs, Asante Samuel Jr. was also a cornerback who was drafted into the AFC West last year. He did miss a few games with injury. However, Samuel Jr. was immediately productive in the Chargers secondary. Los Angeles was gifted by 11 pass breakups and two interceptions from the Florida State product. He also provided reasonable figures like 62.1 percent of passes to be completed against him, as well as a yards per target allowed number of 8.3.

What stood out from Samuel Jr. right away last season was his feistiness and intensity in coverage. He simply adds physical coverage in the grill of opposing wide receivers, leading to early frustration for opposing pass catchers. Meanwhile, Samuel Jr. is certainly polished, when it comes to ball skills and his ability to attack the football. The AFC West quarterbacks must be careful when throwing the ball his way.

Be on the lookout for more 2022 NFL offseason articles and analysis here at Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.