The Las Vegas Raiders shake up their offensive line while the Denver Broncos’ receivers make noise in camp. Here’s what’s happening across the AFC West.
Two AFC West teams, two very different camp stories, but both are watching young players force their way into the conversation.
Start in Las Vegas, where the right guard battle finally showed some real movement Thursday. For weeks, Jackson Powers-Johnson had taken the bulk of first-team reps next to Tyler Linderbaum. Then, without much warning, second-year lineman Caleb Rogers started rotating in with the ones, and Powers-Johnson found himself running with the twos instead. Spencer Burford is still assumed to be the starting left guard, but head coach Klint Kubiak has made it pretty clear nobody’s job is locked in.
“The best athlete isn’t the one that’s going to win the job,” Kubiak said. It’s about consistency, and it’s about playing well with the other five guys around you. Offensive line coach Rick Dennison has been impressed with how coachable Powers-Johnson has been this offseason, but Rogers isn’t sweating the competition either way. He says the whole room is pushing each other up, regardless of who’s technically starting.
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The AFC West is seeing different versions of the same story…
Denver’s version of this story is playing out at receiver. With Jaylen Waddle banged up and Courtland Sutton missing a few days of work, somebody had to step into that void, and Pat Bryant has made it his. He hauled in another contested touchdown Saturday, squeezing the ball between two defensive backs and staying in bounds. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph didn’t hold back afterward, calling him a complete receiver: good size, tracks the ball well downfield, and dangerous in the red zone. Joseph also pointed out the flip side.
All those extra reps for Bryant, Marvin Mims Jr. and Troy Franklin have made life harder on the defense, which is exactly the kind of pressure that’s sharpened Pat Surtain II and the rest of the secondary. There’s good news on the defensive front for both teams, too.
In Denver, Joseph feels good about replacing edge rusher John Franklin-Myers, pointing to Tyler Onyedim, Sai’vion Jones and a noticeably stronger Enyi Uwazurike as answers up front. Rookie linebacker Red Murdock has come on lately as well, forcing a fumble Friday after a slow start adjusting to the mental side of the job.
The stakes aren’t quite the same for these two teams, though. The Raiders are still trying to figure out their best five up front after a terrible 2025, and Powers-Johnson knows he needs a strong camp to hold onto his job. Denver’s situation is a little calmer. It’s less about who starts and more about who earns the extra targets, with cornerback Riley Moss also using his contract year to make a case for a new deal.
Different roster, different question, but the same idea running through both camps: let the competition sort it out.
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