AFC West Preview: 2026 Fantasy Impact of Coaching & Personnel Changes

This article will analyze offseason coaching and personnel changes in the AFC West to figure out what it means for each team's scheme in 2026. The Raiders are the only team in the division with a new head coach, but all four have new offensive coordinators, including the much-celebrated Mike McDaniel in Los Angeles.

McDaniel and new Raiders coach Klint Kubiak are leaders of the recent trend away from 11 personnel on early downs, consistently favoring a FB or additional TE in favor of a third WR (and sometimes in favor of a second WR). McDaniel and Kubiak, both products of the Shanahan coaching tree, also bring massive scheme changes in a broader sense, taking over offenses whose 2025 design was largely the work of Greg Roman (Chargers) and Chip Kelly (Raiders). Good riddance!

While the Chargers and Raiders are counting on huge scheme upgrades and better O-line health, their division rivals in Kansas City and Denver are banking on new weapons to make the difference. RB Kenneth Walker and WR Jaylen Waddle both address clear needs for their new teams, giving every AFC West team reason for optimism about an improved offense in 2025.

Below you'll find a deep dive for each team, focusing on the fantasy positions (QB/RB/WR/TE) and how scheme changes may impact playing time or production. If you're looking for similar breakdowns on the other divisions, I've done the AFC East and AFC North so far:

If you're looking for similar breakdowns on the other seven divisions, they can be found below:

AFC North Preview: 2026 Fantasy Impact of Coaching & Personnel Changes

AFC South Preview: 2026 Fantasy Impact of Coaching & Personnel Changes

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AFC East Preview: 2026 Fantasy Impact of Coaching & Personnel Changes

NFC North Preview: 2026 Fantasy Impact of Coaching & Personnel Changes

NFC South Preview: 2026 Fantasy Impact of Coaching & Personnel Changes

NFC East Preview: 2026 Fantasy Impact of Coaching & Personnel Changes

NFC West Preview: 2026 Fantasy Impact of Coaching & Personnel Changes

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Denver Broncos

• Key Coaching Changes: OC Davis Webb
• Key Losses: None on offense
• Key Additions: WR Jaylen Waddle, RB Jonah Coleman (R4), TE Justin Joly (R5)

The Broncos hope Waddle and a healthy J.K. Dobbins will give the offense some juice in Davis Webb's debut as offensive coordinator and playcaller. Webb has been with the Broncos as their QBs coach throughout Sean Payton's tenure, and it came as no surprise when Payton stayed in-house after firing former offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi in January.

Payton said he'll remain heavily involved in the offensive gameplan, but Webb is taking over as the primary playcaller. It sounds like a change with intention, not a 'we'll try this' type of thing, though Payton could always change his mind in-season if the Denver offense disappoints.

Quick Hits - What to Expect from Denver's offense

1. Scheme continuity.
2. Diverse personnel groupings (11, 12, 21, 22, 10 & more).
3. Backfield committee.
   1. Should still have plenty of RB targets.
4. Jaylen Waddle & Courtland Sutton in two-wide formations.
5. Minimal TE Targets.
6. WR3 Camp Competition.

Stay informed with fantasy football news and track usage roles with the NFL depth charts.

Personnel Changes

The Broncos retain all of their offensive starters (and nearly all of their backups) from last year. They traded for WR Jaylen Waddle before drafting RB Jonah Coleman (fourth round) and TE Justin Joly (fifth), improving what had previously been a mediocre group of playmakers.

The Broncos now have solid depth to deploy various personnel groupings, not to mention the impact of Waddle's speed on the passing game. With Waddle neatly projecting as the Z receiver and Courtland Sutton as the X, we may see an end to Sean Payton's frustrating rotations at WR. Look for both Waddle and Sutton to get plenty of playing time in two-wide packages (12 and 21 personnel).

Pat Bryant, Troy Franklin and Marvin Mims provide strong depth at wide receiver, with Bryant and Franklin likely competing for the No. 3 role this summer. The Broncos also still have Payton favorite Lil'Jordan Humphrey, in case you were wondering. Sutton and Waddle will easily run the most routes when healthy, but Payton does have flexibility here to sub his top guys out more often than other teams do.

That's also the case at running back, despite Payton's comments this spring about J.K. Dobbins being his offseason priority. Dobbins was re-signed, but 2025 second-round pick RJ Harvey still figures to have a role, while rookie fourth-rounder Jonah Coleman offers an appealing combination of size and soft hands. Early buzz out of Denver suggests Coleman could push Harvey for passing-down snaps if the Broncos prioritize blocking/size over quickness.

The tight ends are more defined by what they lack than what they offer, with Evan Engram, Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins still atop the depth chart. Rookie fifth-round pick Justin Joly has some fans among the prospect hounds, but he probably wouldn't sniff many targets even if he were to replace Engram in clear passing situations.

Fullback Adam Prentice is also still around, after playing 211 snaps last season in 21 and 22 personnel (the Broncos' third- and fourth-most popular groupings, behind 11 and 12).

What Will Change Structurally?

When he informed reporters that Davis Webb will call plays this season, Sean Payton also made sure to note, "It's still going to be our offense," per The Athletic.

Payton then pumped the brakes on talk of pushing the pace, saying "I may not want tempo. My defense might be tired. If I'm going tempo, I want to be able to control that." Payton did say that Webb will get the play calls sent to the QB faster in some cases, but that might be about giving Bo Nix more time to adjust at the line, not about getting the snap off sooner.

In any case, the Broncos have been fantasy-friendly from a pace/style standpoint since drafting Nix, ranking fifth and sixth in Pass Rate Over Expectation (PROE) while finishing 13th and seventh in seconds per play. Last year, they ran the fifth-most plays (64.2 per game) and had the fourth-most cumulative plays when including defense (126.6 per game). Even a small boost under Webb could put the Broncos near the top of the league in terms of pace and/or PROE.

Under Payton, the Broncos have been a weekly candidate to lead the league in unique personnel groupings, mixing in stuff like four-WR sets, two-RB formations and 13 personnel, in addition to a steady mix of their favorite looks (11, 12, 21 and 22). We should expect that to continue, though the personnel does lend toward lighter packages after adding Waddle and failing to clearly upgrade the TE room.

Broncos' Personnel Groupings by Year (2023-25)

Counter to league-wide trends, Denver's usage of 11 personnel has risen each year under Payton, mostly at the expense of 12 personnel. The team's subpar TE room probably has something to do with that, and it's possible the Broncos go four-wide a bit more often this year.

The lack of TE impact and possibility of Sutton and Waddle running a lot of deep routes means we should see strong target rates for the RBs -- a common feature of Payton offenses anyway -- and could even see reasonably high target rates for one or two of the backup WRs. It's not clear, however, that any one of Bryant/Franklin/Mims will get enough snaps to matter for fantasy, even if they play well in real life.

Kansas City Chiefs

• Key Coaching Changes: OC Eric Bieniemy
• Key Losses: RB Isiah Pacheco, RB Kareem Hunt
• Key Additions: RB Kenneth Walker, WR Cyrus Allen (R5)

Eric Bieniemy is back as offensive coordinator after Matt Nagy left to call plays for the Giants. It's a welcome change for most Chiefs fans, though it hasn't ever been clear how much the offensive coordinator matters in KC. Andy Reid, as always, will be the architect and playcaller.

The Chiefs averaged at least 28.2 points per game in each of Bieniemy's previous five seasons (2018-22) as offensive coordinator, including a league-high 29.2 ppg in his final year, 2022, when they won a Super Bowl after trading Tyreek Hill to Miami. The offense declined in 2023 and hasn't been the same ever since, at least for fantasy (the real-life Chiefs were still highly successful in 2023-24).

Quick Hits - What to Expect from Kansas City's Offense

1. Mix of 11/12/13 Personnel.
   1. Heavy on 12 personnel relative to league averages.
2. Lower pass rate / PROE than past years, especially in September.
   1. Still likely to be +PROE for full season. More play-action as year progresses?
3. Redesigned run game for Kenneth Walker?
   1. Walker's passing-down usage uncertain.
4. Opportunity for young sleeper at WR?

Personnel Changes

There was a lot of buzz about the Chiefs upgrading their receiving corps at the beginning of the offseason, but they instead stood pat at WR and TE, bringing in RB Kenneth Walker as the big upgrade on offense. It makes sense, with Patrick Mahomes coming back from an ACL tear and already having shown that he can win a Super Bowl with mediocre receiving weapons*.

It's probably also true that the Chiefs don't view their weapons as mediocre, still hoping for a Xavier Worthy breakout and/or better availability from Rashee Rice. They also have TE Travis Kelce and deep threat Tyquan Thornton, largely keeping the same crew from last year, both at the skill positions and along the offensive line.

The uncertainty at WR could open the door to significant playing time for 2025 fourth-round pick Jalen Royals or 2026 fifth-round pick Cyrus Allen.

There's also uncertainty in the backfield behind Walker, with fifth-round pick Emmett Johnson and veteran Emari Demercado being of the most interest to fantasy managers so far (Jaydn Ott and Brashard Smith may also compete for roles this summer).

The Chiefs don't have a traditional fullback on the roster, nor did they last year when Carson Steele spent the whole year on the practice squad (he's in Philadelphia now). They did use two-RB looks a couple of times per week, despite having subpar running backs (mostly Pacheco/Hunt, both gone now). Backup tight end Noah Gray figures to get plenty of playing time again, and the No. 3 TE (Jared Wiley or whoever else it might be) may also play a dozen or so snaps per week.

*The Chiefs may still add a veteran WR before Week 1.

What Will Change Structurally?

The Walker signing, and the timing of it, signal clear intention to run the ball more. The Chiefs, of course, have long been ranked near the top of the league in PROE, continuing to lean heavily on Mahomes' right arm (and sometimes his scrambling) without the help of top-notch pass catchers. They've finished fourth or higher in PROE each year since Mahomes took over as the starting QB, with three first-place finishes (2020, 2022, 2023).

In other words, the Chiefs still figure to be pass-first relative to the rest of the league, when all is said and done. However, that might not be the case in September. Their talented offensive line looks healthy for the start of training camp, while Mahomes, Rice and Worthy are all coming back from surgeries (Rice and Worthy should be fine for Week 1, reportedly).

The Chiefs have been heavy users of 12 personnel throughout the Mahomes era, averaging 301.8 snaps and 159.4 pass attempts per season. They had a lot more success with it in the early Mahomes years, both in terms of passing and rushing efficiency:

Chiefs' Stats from 12 Personnel on 1st/2nd Downs

With Walker providing a legitimate rushing threat, the Chiefs likely will run more of those 12 personnel snaps from under center. Last year, for example, only 25.3 percent of their 12 personnel snaps came from under center. For 11 personnel, the rate was a measly 11.3 percent.

Walker, by contrast, took just 24 percent of his carries from shotgun formations last year, averaging 4.3 YPC on these totes to bring his career average up to 3.9 YPC (across 276 attempts). From under center, Walker averaged 4.9 YPC last year, bringing his career average up to a much stronger 4.5 YPC (across 497 attempts, nearly twice as many).

Walker will need to adjust to more shotgun carries in Kansas City, but the Chiefs also figure to make some adjustments in the other direction for their expensive new toy. If the vision works out, Walker will force defenses to respect the running game and open up more big-play opportunities for Mahomes as the year moves along.

Chiefs' Personnel Groupings By Year (2023-25)

Las Vegas Raiders

• Key Coaching Changes: HC Klint Kubiak, OC Andrew Janocko, DC Rob Leonard
• Key Losses: QB Geno Smith, RB Raheem Mostert, WR Tyler Lockett
• Key Additions: QB Fernando Mendoza (R1), QB Kirk Cousins, WR Jalen Nailor, RB Mike Washington (R4), TE/FB Connor Heyward

Last year's disaster left the Raiders with no choice but to make huge changes, and they were well positioned to do so, holding the No. 1 overall pick after adding RB Ashton Jeanty and TE Brock Bowers in the past two drafts. The defense remains a disaster beyond almost-traded Maxx Crosby, but the Raiders at least signed Pro Bowl C Tyler Linderbaum and have LT Kolton Miller coming back from injury, so the offensive line looks OK on paper.

New Raiders head coach and playcaller Klint Kubiak did excellent work with Seattle's O-line last year, which helped bring out the best in Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Kubiak's offensive coordinator will be Andrew Janocko, the QBs coach from Seattle last year.

It's been widely reported that Raiders brass, including Tom Brady, prefer that QB Fernando Mendoza open his career on the bench. Thus the Kirk Cousins signing, though Kubiak's comments on the matter suggest Mendoza has a shot at the Week 1 starting assignment if he shines this summer.

Quick Hits - What to Expect from the Raiders Offense

1. 12 Personnel - a lot of it.
2. Minimal use of 3/4-wide formations outside of clear passing downs.
3. Jeanty and Bowers, and Jeanty and Bowers.
4. Shaky starters at WR; open competition for WR3-5 spots.

Personnel Changes

Apart from making Linderbaum the highest-paid center in league history, the Raiders signed WR Jalen Nailor and QB Kirk Cousins before adding 10 draft picks. First overall pick Fernando Mendoza was the Raiders' only skill-position pick on Days 1/2, but weak depth at RB and WR hints at opportunity for RB Mike Washington (Round 4) and WR Malik Benson (Round 6).

The massive talent drop-off between Jeanty/Bowers and the rest of the team's weapons likely will dictate a lot of the offensive strategy this season. The other favorites to pile up snaps (but not necessarily touches) are Nailor, WR Tre Tucker and TE Michael Mayer.

If not for the disaster in Miami, the Raiders' WR room would widely be considered the worst in the league, with Nailor and Tucker backed by Benson, Jack Bech, Dont'e Thornton and a slew of no-names and journeymen (including Phillip Dorsett, for whatever reason). This isn't an offense where the No. 3 receiver will get many targets, but it is an offense where the subpar starters at wide receiver hint at opportunity for a lineup change if someone (Bech? Benson?) steps up this summer. Tucker has long been one of the league's least productive starting WRs on a per-route basis, and Nailor only has experience as the No. 3 receiver alongside two vastly superior players.

The Raiders did give $2 million guaranteed to Connor Heyward, who served as a fullback, H-back and QB-sneak specialist in Pittsburgh last year. Kubiak also deployed a non-QB for his sneaks last year, so there's a chance for Heyward to get that work, in addition to his snaps as a fullback/H-back.

What Will Change Structurally?

The poor WR group and impressive TE duo give Kubiak every reason to maintain his preference for two-wide formations over three-wide sets on early downs.

When he called plays for the Saints in 2024, they ran just 33.3% of plays from 11 personnel, using two-wide looks nearly half of the time and one-wide formations (22, 13) on about 15 percent of plays. Injuries to Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed played a role there, but even in Weeks 1-6 the Saints used 11 personnel on just 39.4% of snaps.

Last year's Seahawks were in far better shape at wide receiver, but also in far better shape from a game-script standpoint. Including playoffs, they used 11 personnel on 41.6% of snaps, compared to 29.0% in 12 personnel, 13.2% in 21 personnel and 8.6% in 22 personnel.

Klint Kubiak Personnel Groupings as Playcaller

Kubiak deployed a fullback and used his backup TEs a lot; note that 12 personnel remained both frequent and effective after rookie Elijah Arroyo suffered a knee injury. Arroyo's speed was part of what made the package so successful early on, but the Seahawks continued to run a lot of 12 personnel without him (around one-third of snaps down the stretch) and remained efficient with blocking specialist Eric Saubert getting more snaps.

Mayer falls somewhere between Arroyo and Saubert on the receiver/blocker spectrum, and is likely a much better real-life player than either one. That doesn't mean he'll get a lot of targets, but it does mean he'll be on the field for most of the snaps that aren't in obvious passing situations.

And while we may occasionally see multi-TE packages with Mayer and Ian Thomas (rather than Bowers), it's still a safe bet Bowers will play most of the 12 personnel snaps and rank among the TE leaders in both route share and target rate. Even better that the Raiders' projected starting receivers are downfield "threats" who don't see many short targets even if they hold their own in non-fantasy terms.

The structure of Kubiak's offense probably favors WR/TE receiving volume and RB rushing volume rather than RB receiving volume, but that might not really apply to a team that has Jeanty in the backfield and not much of use out wide. An offense with Nailor and Tucker running most of the WR routes is one where the RBs and TEs see the vast majority of short-area targets (and overall touches). The only doubt for fantasy is whether Bowers and Jeanty can manage decent efficiency if the QB play and blocking disappoint.

Los Angeles Chargers

• Key Coaching Changes: OC Mike McDaniel
• Key Losses: WR Keenan Allen, RB Najee Harris, TE Tyler Conklin, TE Tucker Fisk
• Key Additions: RB Keaton Mitchell, FB Alec Ingold, TE Charlie Kolar, TE David Njoku

This might be the most analyzed OC hire in the history of fantasy football. Mike McDaniel brings a strong reputation, along with a scheme that's vastly different from what Justin Herbert has done to this point in his career.

While the Chargers occasionally flexed a running game under Greg Roman the past two years, they often reverted to 11 personnel and a lot of passing plays, for one reason or another.

McDaniel has no problem with passing the ball, but he prefers to do so on early downs from two-wide formations, with an emphasis on explosive plays that goes beyond the usual lip service. Whatever we think of him as a head coach, he essentially deserves a mulligan for 2024-25 as a playcaller, having been forced to design an offense around Tua Tagovailoa's unique limitations.

Justin Herbert, of course, has no such limitations. Much the opposite, in fact.

Quick Hits - What to Expect from the Chargers Offense

1. Better/healthier blocking.
2. Heavy-ish personnel on early downs (21/22/12/13).
   1. Personnel groupings more varied than McDaniel's teams in Miami.
3. 11 Personnel only used in clear passing situations some weeks.
4. Frequent play-action and pre-snap motion.
5. Wide-zone running game + play-action shot plays.
6. FB Alec Ingold getting regular snaps (21/22 personnel).
7. Strong target rates (TPRR) for wide receivers.
   1. Route shares may disappoint.
8. TE committee?

Personnel Changes

McDaniel is bringing along FB Alec Ingold, who handled a snap share between 33 and 40 percent in Miami the past four years. He may not play that much on a Chargers team with solid TE depth, but they aren't giving Ingold a $3.6 million guarantee just for special teams.

TE David Njoku settled for a much lesser contract, with only $850K guaranteed, while TE Charlie Kolar ($17M gtd) and RB Keaton Mitchell ($5M gtd) made their agents happy this offseason. It felt like Kolar, Mitchell and Ingold were all signed to facilitate the scheme change, while Njoku was brought in at the end because it didn't cost much.

It's hard to say where all of this leaves Oronde Gadsden, a converted WR who came on strong in the middle of his rookie season. He certainly looked like a future fantasy starter at tight end, but playing time is a huge concern for the immediate future.

At wide receiver, the Chargers have Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston returning as starters, with the now-deprioritized No. 3 spot seemingly up for grabs between Tre' Harris, KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Brenen Thompson. There's also been some buzz about Harris, a 2025 second-round pick, potentially getting the shot to replace Johnston in the starting lineup if Johnston fails to impress.

What Will Change Structurally?

The Chargers probably won't use 21 personnel as often as McDaniel's Dolphins teams did, but they'll be well above league average and likely within the top five. We can also expect some 22 personnel and 12 personnel (two-TE formations), and perhaps 13 personnel as well. There's even some chance the Chargers could use 12 personnel in clear passing situations, depending on how things develop with their various WRs and TEs.

Mike McDaniel Personnel Groupings as Playcaller

None of this is entirely new to Herbert, who spent the past two seasons in a Greg Roman offense where 11 personnel was used on 57.3 and 57.5 percent of snaps, slightly below league average. The Chargers struggled in heavier packages last year, averaging just 6.6 YPA and 3.3 YPC in 12/13/21/22 personnel, after faring much better in 2024 (8.8 YPA, 3.6 YPC).

High rates of play-action usage represent another commonality between McDaniel's Dolphins offenses (ranked 1st, 3rd, 13th, 14th in PA rate) and Roman's Chargers offenses (8th, 2nd), though McDaniel scaled it back some the past two years in favor of more quick-hitters to keep Tua Tagovailoa alive.

In every other sense, McDaniel's offense represents a drastic departure from Roman's, relying on zone blocking and frequent outside runs rather than the power/gap scheme that helped Roman build strong running attacks in other locations with the help of a dual-threat QB (he had far less success with the Chargers). McDaniel won't ignore Herbert's wheels entirely, but the Chargers largely will look to create conflict between run/pass assignments rather than using the rushing-QB threat to create gap conflicts.

They also figure to use pre-snap motion more than in past years, given long-time trends for both Roman and McDaniel. Some of the other McDaniel trends are less promising in terms of what fantasy managers often target -- uptemo + pass-first mentality -- but the real selling point should remain the same: the chance for a huge leap in both run and pass efficiency with McDaniel taking over and working with a (hopefully) healthy O-line.

Much of the fantasy conversation about McDaniel's offense has centered on the same themes as 13 personnel chatter, namely that the presence of non-pass-catching threats taking skill-position snaps increases the target rates for the other players on the field. At their best, McDaniel's Dolphins were the poster child for this, repeatedly sending the ball to Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle or their running back while FB Alec Ingold and TE Durham Smythe were either blocking or running dump-off routes. There were many snaps where opponents knew the ball was either going to Hill or to the running back, but they couldn't stop it anyway.

Another unique feature of those 2022-23 Miami offenses was the low snap shares for the wide receivers (relative to other high-caliber starters around the league). Rather than putting his top guys out there for nearly every play, McDaniel would rest them for about one-fourth of snaps and demand an extremely high work rate on the other three-fourths of plays.

Hill ended up posting target rates and per-route numbers that have otherwise only been approached by Puka Nacua, who benefits from a roughly similar dynamic under Sean McVay.

The Chargers obviously don't have that caliber of player, but things still set up nicely for third-year pro Ladd McConkey and fourth-year pro Quentin Johnston, both of whom should get playing time in both two-wide and three-wide formations. Early ADP suggests fantasy players are well aware of the breakout potential, which is also true for second-year RB Omarion Hampton, typically a second-round pick (and likely the Chargers' top TD scorer).

Keaton Mitchell will of course have a role after getting paid, but we've already seen McDaniel offenses where the combination of clever scheming and downfield passing success leads to massive success for the running backs in terms of both YPC and touchdowns. That's the vision fantasy managers are chasing this summer, hoping that the likes of Hampton, McConkey and/or Johnston can corner large workload shares while benefitting from a massive playcaller upgrade.

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