Finding a No. 2 banana in the AFC is incredibly tough. It's clear that the New England Patriots are the top team in the conference. That said, the Oakland Raiders appear to be the great unknown right now. They've a franchise quarterback in Derek Carr and a team that is budding for sure. But can Oakland really take enough steps to challenge the best team in the AFC?
AFC Odds at BookMaker.eu
New England Patriots +190
Pittsburgh Steelers +675
Oakland Raiders +700
Kansas City Chiefs +1000
Houston Texans +1200
Denver Broncos +1300
Indianapolis Colts +1500
Baltimore Ravens +1700
Tennessee Titans +2000
Cincinnati Bengals +2300
Miami Dolphins +2500
Los Angeles Chargers +3500
Jacksonville Jaguars +3500
Buffalo Bills +4500
Cleveland Browns +15000
New York Jets +15000
Key Players for Winning the AFC
Derek Carr – Teams either have quarterbacks, or they don't have quarterbacks. The difference between the Raiders and say, the Texans, is the fact that Oakland has its quarterback, while Houston doesn't. Carr got injured at the end of last season, and when he did, the Raiders looked worse than the Texans. In fact, the Raiders were trashed by Houston's elite defense in Wild Card weekend without Carr. Carr took a huge jump up to an elite level quarterback last season, throwing for 3,937 yards and 28 touchdowns against six interceptions. There is room for improvement for sure, but remember that Carr is just 26-years old and has plenty of time to get to the next level. If he does, the Raiders can legitimately knock off the Patriots and win the AFC.
Marshawn Lynch – "Beast Mode" is back, and he's back in his hometown. Perhaps the $64,000 question of the entire year for Oakland is whether Lynch is going to continue to be a bulldozer after a year of "retirement" or if he's going to be a waste of a plodding back. The team gave up on Latavius Murray and let him walk away in free agency. If Lynch can step into that role and rush for 12 touchdowns like Murray did last year, this offense will be just fine. But if Lynch turns into a guy averaging 3.5 yards per carry, that's going to put a lot of pressure on Carr to throw the ball more often in this offense, and that's not what Jack Del Rio wants to accomplish.
David Sharpe – The Raiders really have addressed their offensive line in free agency in recent years, bringing in guys like Kelechi Osemele and Rodney Hudson. The big issue comes at the left tackle spot. Donald Penn is gone, and there's a big spot now open when it comes to protecting Carr. Sharpe was drafted in the fourth round of the NFL Draft this year, and he already is projecting out to be a starter, more out of necessity than anything else. Sharpe was the 129th pick in the draft and the fifth offensive tackle taken off the board. If Sharpe can't man the fort, the AFC West can be a disaster for Carr. Imagine trying to use a rookie fourth rounder to block Von Miller or Justin Houston or Tambi Hali or Joey Bosa. Good luck with that.
Khalil Mack – There are only two players on this defense that the Raiders drafted in the first round of a past NFL Draft, and Mack happens to be one of them. He had 11 sacks last year and is one of the best pass rushers in the NFL from off the edge, but he clearly needs some more help. Getting Bruce Irvin on his opposite side helped a lot last year, but Mack has to take the additional help he has and become a legitimate J.J. Watt-style game-wrecker. This Oakland secondary isn't good enough to hold up in coverage against the best receivers in the NFL, and if you want to say that beating the Patriots is the standard for winning the AFC, you're going to have to figure out how to get after Tom Brady. Mack can do so, and there are games that he's flat out going to have to dominate at the highest level to lift the Raiders to the AFC title.
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