Where do Raiders stand in AFC West power rankings after busy free agency?

With the impact portion of free agency in the books, the 2020 NFL rosters are taking shape — with the NFL draft still to come, of course.

Where does that leave the Raiders in the AFC West pecking order pre-draft? NFL.com took a stab at by ranking all the NFL teams after free agency.

The AFC West skinny? Well, the Raiders are one of two teams in the division to move forward and are now the second-highest ranked team in the division after its post-season ranking.

The Raiders, who have added 11 free agents, are ranked No. 21 by NFL.com. They were previously No. 22.

The bad news is there is still a huge gap between Super Bowl champion Kansas City and the rest of the division. The Chiefs are still ranked No. 1. Kansas City hasn’t added much this offseason, but its core — starting with the best current NFL player alive (in my opinion) Patrick Mahomes — remains. So, it is still No. 1.

The Chargers, after a busy offseason, moved up one spot to No. 24. The Broncos fell seven spots from No. 18 to No. 25. That is interesting because, along with the Raiders ad Chargers, Denver’s free agency was considered productive by most around the league.

The Raiders are the 11^th ranked AFC team by NFL.com. Of course, the NFL playoffs will now include seven teams, up from six. So, according to these rankings, they still have work to do before becoming a real playoff threat.

What does all this ranking stuff mean? Nothing, of course. Just some much-needed March fun.

I do think the moral of this story is that the Chiefs are still significantly ahead of the rest of the AFC West. But the Raiders certainly have an argument for being the second-best team in the division, especially with the Chargers having a quarterback question and the Broncos being young at the spot.

Whether you are a Derek Carr believer or not, the Raiders currently have the second-best quarterback in the division. Perhaps that will mean something in the playoff hunt.