AFC West Training Camp 2026 Preview: What to Watch as Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders and Chargers Report
Training camp opens across the NFL later this month, and nowhere will the storylines carry more weight than in the AFC West. All four teams in the division open camp between July 22 and July 28, and each arrives with a defining question hanging over the summer. Here’s a team-by-team breakdown of what to watch when players report.
Denver Broncos: A New Voice Calling Plays for a 14-Win Team
Denver went 14-3 last season and reached the AFC title game, but head coach Sean Payton didn’t sit still afterward. He fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi within 48 hours of the loss and elevated 31-year-old Davis Webb to replace him. A month later, Payton handed Webb the play-calling duties outright — a fast rise for a coach who was Payton’s quarterbacks coach just three years ago.
That means quarterback Bo Nix, who’s expected to be full-go after breaking his ankle in last season’s divisional-round win, will be adjusting to a new voice in his helmet during camp. He’ll do it with a deeper receiving room. Denver traded for Jaylen Waddle this offseason, pairing him with Courtland Sutton to give Nix two legitimate No. 1 targets. Camp reps should start to clarify whether Payton and Webb plan to run them as a true 1A-1B tandem, and whether anyone behind them — Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims Jr. or Pat Bryant — can lock down a clear third role.
Roster-wise, Denver mostly ran it back. The Broncos didn’t make a draft pick until the third round and made no major outside free-agent additions beyond Waddle, choosing instead to keep the core of a 14-win team together. That continuity matters given the schedule: Denver opens with road trips to Kansas City and San Francisco sandwiched around home games against Jacksonville, the Rams, and a trip to the Chargers, all before Week 6.
Kansas City Chiefs: Mahomes’ Recovery Timeline Dominates Camp
Kansas City comes off a 6-11 season, its first missed playoff appearance of the Patrick Mahomes era, largely because Mahomes tore his ACL and LCL in a Week 15 loss to the Chargers last December. Recovery from that injury typically runs nine to twelve months, and Mahomes has said his goal is to be ready for Week 1 against Denver on Sept. 14.
Head coach Andy Reid told reporters Mahomes should “be able to do some things” once camp opens, though the real benchmark — full running and cutting at game speed — hasn’t been cleared yet. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer has reported Mahomes is on track to be cleared for 11-on-11 drills by the end of camp, according to Kansas City sources, though that’s not yet an official team confirmation. Backup Justin Fields, acquired in a trade with the Jets, will get heavy reps as the Chiefs manage Mahomes’ workload carefully through the summer.
“Obviously, I’m not running and cutting yet. That’ll be another adjustment period at some point,” Mahomes said, per multiple outlets that have tracked his rehab throughout the offseason.
Kansas City also has to rebuild its cornerback room again after trading two-time All-Pro Trent McDuffie and losing Jaylen Watson in free agency — both landed with the Rams. Third-year corner Nohl Williams and rookie Mansoor Delane, this year’s No. 6 overall pick, are expected to anchor a retooled group alongside free-agent signings Kader Kohou and L’Jarius Sneed. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has turned over this room before without much drop-off, and Kansas City is betting he can do it again.
One more name worth tracking: offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy is back in Kansas City after a five-year run with the team from 2018-2022, during which the Chiefs never finished outside the top six in scoring. In the three seasons since he left, Kansas City has averaged a 17th-ranked offense. Whether that’s cause or correlation, his return adds intrigue to an offense trying to reset around a recovering quarterback.
Las Vegas Raiders: Mendoza’s First Camp as a Pro
No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza arrives in Henderson coming off a perfect 16-0 season at Indiana that ended with a national championship and the Heisman Trophy. New head coach Klint Kubiak has signaled he’d prefer not to start a rookie quarterback in Week 1, and the team’s free-agent signing of veteran Kirk Cousins backs that up — Mendoza’s first start figures to come by design, not necessity.
Even as QB2 to open the year, Mendoza will be the center of attention in camp. The larger question for Las Vegas is who lines up around him at receiver. Tre Tucker was the team’s most reliable target last season but isn’t a true No. 1. Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Jr., both 2025 draft picks, are looking to bounce back from quiet rookie years, while free-agent addition Jalen Nailor — who posted 858 yards and 10 touchdowns over his final two seasons in Minnesota — has a chance to grab a bigger role.
Defensively, Las Vegas nearly moved on from Maxx Crosby entirely. A trade sending the five-time Pro Bowler to Baltimore was reportedly agreed to before the Ravens backed out days later, according to reporting at the time. Crosby stayed, and the Raiders had already spent heavily to build out the rest of the defense anyway — adding linebackers Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker, cornerback Taron Johnson, and edge rusher Kwity Paye. That group now returns fully intact, giving Las Vegas a defense that could be the most talented of the Crosby era even before factoring in the buzz around Mendoza.
Los Angeles Chargers: Betting on Health and a New Offensive Voice
The Chargers went 11-6 last season but were outscored 15 combined points in their last two wild-card exits, prompting Jim Harbaugh to fire longtime collaborator Greg Roman and hire Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator. McDaniel built one of the league’s most explosive offenses in Miami, and the hope is he can do something similar with quarterback Justin Herbert, who’s already playing at a Pro Bowl level even with the offense underperforming around him.
Health is the bigger swing factor. Left tackle Rashawn Slater tore his patellar tendon in August of last season, and right tackle Joe Alt needed season-ending ankle surgery after just six games. Herbert took a league-high 54 sacks and absorbed 268 pressures — also a league high — behind a patchwork line. Slater and Alt are both back, joined by free-agent signings Tyler Biadasz and Cole Strange and second-round rookie Jake Slaughter. If that group stays healthy and gels quickly in August, it changes the ceiling of the entire offense.
| Player | 2025 Sacks Allowed / Pressures | Status for 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Justin Herbert | 54 sacks, 268 pressures (league-high 43.3% pressure rate) | Healthy, new OC (McDaniel) |
| Rashawn Slater | N/A — season-ending patellar tear (August) | Returning |
| Joe Alt | N/A — season-ending ankle surgery (6 games played) | Returning |
On defense, the Chargers stayed relatively quiet, signing veteran Dalvin Tomlinson to bolster the interior while losing pass rushers Odafe Oweh and Da’Shawn Hand. First-round rookie Akheem Mesidor, who led the ACC with 12.5 sacks in 2025, joins a room anchored by Tuli Tuipulotu — sixth in the NFL with 13 sacks last season — and nine-time Pro Bowler Khalil Mack. Los Angeles isn’t asking Mesidor to replace anyone immediately; the plan is for him to develop behind two established veterans.
Why This Camp Matters for the AFC West Race
Three of these four teams reached the playoffs or came close last season, and the fourth — Kansas City — has too much pedigree to ignore even at 6-11. The division’s fate largely rides on health: Nix’s ankle, Mahomes’ knee, and the Chargers’ rebuilt offensive line are all questions that won’t fully resolve until pads come on in late July and preseason games begin in August.