Kiz: Now that quarterback Peyton Manning is 39 years old, is Denver’s grip on the division beginning to slip? I’m not so certain the Broncos can automatically presume the AFC West championship is theirs for the taking in 2015, but did any division rival improve enough in the draft to take it away from Denver?
Hooch: It will take more than a draft and some free agents for any of the three teams to surpass the Broncos. Kiz, I’m fired up about Shane Ray and I know you are too. It’s unfathomable that he was available at No. 23. How does a talent like this slip? Did the other teams know something about the toe injury that Denver didn’t? Was the fact that he had weed on him the week of the draft that large of a red flag? I will take this fellow who fed off SEC quarterbacks, and hope Von Miller makes sure young Ray doesn’t make any more mistakes that young Miller did. OK, what about the other teams?
Kiz: There’s a reason the Raiders are a joke. They are knuckleheads. With the fourth pick in the opening round, Oakland had a chance to take USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams and make the life of Manning miserable. Instead, the Raiders selected wide receiver Amari Cooper. Stupid is as stupid does.
Hooch: I disagree, man. I think Alabama’s Cooper will be a top-five wide receiver in the NFL by the end of 2016. OK, maybe top seven. Still, I’m curious whether his new team is really that much better than his previous one. Speaking of wide receivers, the Chiefs again overlooked many in the first round. Who will be the next Kansas City wide receiver to catch a touchdown pass — J.J. Birden Jr.? And what about the Chargers?
Kiz: If anybody bumps off the Broncos, it will be the Chargers. And this draft made San Diego a bigger threat. Melvin Gordon is the running back from Wisconsin that the Broncos wish Montee Ball could be. Linebacker Denzel Perryman will put a jolt in the Bolts’ defense. Don’t be surprised if the AFC West title is on the line when Denver plays San Diego in the final week of the regular season.
Hooch: And here’s envisioning Ray making a key tackle on Gordon in that game! I love Gordon’s mind-set. He will be a sharp back for San Diego. But they’re still the Bolts, not the Colts.
