The Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, and Los Angeles Chargers all made the NFL playoffs last year. The Las Vegas Raiders have a new coach, a new quarterback, and the draft capital to make some noise. That puts a big spotlight on the AFC West for the 2025 NFL Draft as each team vies for their spot at the top.

And these teams did not disappoint, especially for fantasy football. In fact, in one of the deepest running back classes in years, three of the top five running backs in Ashton Jeanty, Omarion Hampton, and RJ Harvey went to this division. As we saw with the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles, adding an elite running back like Saquon Barkley was a key reason they were visiting the White House this week.

As we are doing with every NFL division, let’s take a look at the most interesting note from every team for fantasy football. There are edges to be out there whether it’s in your dynasty leagues or early best ball leagues so it’s important to stay ahead of the curve!

 

 

 

Denver Broncos - Why We Are Willing To Gamble On RJ Harvey

What makes RJ Harvey a gamble? Well, his age, for starters. He’s already 24 years old and anyone that has been paying attention to football in recent years knows that the age apex for running backs is short with some guys noticeably declining at age 27+. 

The reasons he’s an older prospect also make him a bit risky. First off, he’s a converted quarterback who never played running back until he got to college. Then he suffered a serious knee injury that put off his career for a bit. By the time he put together the tape with back to back monster seasons he was already an older prospect.

That said, Harvey has tremendous upside. Those back-to-back seasons saw almost 3,500 yards from scrimmage and 42 touchdowns. And this landing spot could not be any juicier for fantasy football. Joe Lombardi and Sean Payton LOVE throwing the ball to the running back. I play fantasy football leagues to win them so I’ll be taking the risk on Harvey.

 

 

 

Kansas City Chiefs - Jalen Royals Value Play

Typically we don’t get that excited about Day Three wide receivers. And it’s even harder to get excited about them if it’s not a great wide receiver class. But, at a certain point in your rookie dynasty drafts, you’re going to have to take a stab on someone. And I’m starting to believe that someone should be Jalen Royals.

He was highly productive in college (albeit in the Mountain West). And he landed in one of the best offenses in football with Patrick Mahomes. But it was comments made shortly after the draft by Chiefs Director of Player Personnel Ryne Nutt that have us most intrigued. 

For those that just want the cliff notes, Ryne Nutt essentially compared Jalen Royals to Rashee Rice in a number of ways. Namely, strong hands and his run-after-the-catch ability. The comparison to Rice is intriguing as Rice is not only returning from a serious knee injury but is also potentially facing a suspension either this year or next due to multiple off-field incidents. It’s hard for Day Three picks to get any sort of opportunity but Royals could see one in the near future.    

 

 

 

Los Angeles Chargers - Muddying The Backfield with Omarion Hampton

It’s no secret that Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman prefer a “smash mouth” brand of football. Harbaugh could go on and on about the importance of a good offensive line. That’s why signing Najee Harris this offseason felt like a match made in heaven. Why not bring in a hard-nosed rusher that has never had fewer than 1,000 yards in a season?

The Chargers decided to throw a wrench in all of that this weekend by drafting running back Omarion Hampton in the first round. The 6’0” 220 pound back is ALSO a bruiser with a lot of overlapping skills to Najee Harris. And the reality is that fantasy gamers are probably going to be betting on “their guy” which means no discount in fantasy drafts on either one. 

We’ve seen guys like Bucky Irving overtake the starter as a rookie but we’ve also seen guys like Chuba Hubbard and Chris Carson put up great seasons in the past despite their team drafting the first NFL back off the board. There is definitely value to be had on better on, or against, rookies. But this backfield certainly got a bit murkier. 

 

 

 

Las Vegas Raiders - Weapons A Priority With Ashton Jeanty, Jack Bech

Ashton Jeanty is incredible. Everyone knows by now of his tackle-breaking prowess and tremendous upside. So we won’t bore you by rehashing all of those details. He’s the clear 1.01 in your rookie drafts and it’s not crazy to consider him in the first round for 2025.

The more interesting discussion surrounds wide receiver Jack Bech. Bech was touted by many fantasy analysts and draft pundits alike as a “sneaky” sleeper pick that could make some noise in the later rounds. Instead, the Raiders decided to skip the wait and take Bech in the second round as the eighth wide receiver off the board.

He’s an immediate upgrade over Tre Tucker who finished as the WR58 in fantasy football despite running the 7th most routes of any wide receiver. We know that Brock Bowers is going to get his targets and we know that it is fairly rare for three pass-catchers on the same team to be fantasy relevant. So the game now is Jack Bech vs. Jakobi Meyers for that second target share. Meyers is an unrestricted free agent in 2026 when he will be 30 years old so, even if Bech doesn’t overtake him in year one, there could be an opportunity next year.