This has got to be the thinnest AFC in years

[Everlong]

Think about it;

Without a quarterback, is there really any reason to consider the Broncos a threat? They still have an outstanding defense, but no real offense to speak of. They might squeak into the playoffs, but I don't think anyone is concerned about them being a huge threat to get to the Super Bowl.

The Bengals have still never won a playoff game with Marvin Lewis or Andy Dalton despite five tries in a row against relatively weak competition. Is there any reason to expect they can suddenly figure it out?

The Raiders aren't there quite yet, even if they're building the young nucleus they need.

The Steelers might just be able to push themselves there even if they're not up to the standard of their other recent Super Bowl teams, simply because they have a QB advantage and jus tknow how to scrape out postseason victories.

The Patriots still have a better chance than anybody even though Brady is going to be out the first four weeks. It's basically their AFC to lose this year.

[DBSoT]

It does seem thinner than recent years, but I think people are sleeping on Kansas City. They won 11 straight games at the end of the season last year including a shutout win of the Texans in the Wild Card. They also had a close loss to New England in the Divisional round. They should win the AFC West. Denver has QB trouble, Oakland is still developing and San Diego was bad before their 1st round pick held out. New England should be fine once Tom Brady comes back, but those first four games are critical. They aren't winning in Arizona, so they will have to beat 2 out of 3 against Miami, Houston and Buffalo. Miami and Houston have the d-lines to scare a young QB like Garoppolo. Buffalo defense surely isn't a slouch with Marcel Darius on the line and Stephon Gilmore at CB. If New England loses 3 out of 4 to start the season, than they will have to win 10 out their remaining 12 games. Not impossible for Brady, but also not very easy. They will likely be a wild card, but I don't see them winning the division.

[The Legend]

If by thinnest you mean they have the best team in football and then more than half of the rest of the conference has compelling arguments to make for why they could be a serious threat then sure, it's paper thin.

The Patriots are about to go beast mode on the NFL from October-February. The Steelers may be the best offensive football team since the 07 Patriots (excluding the 14 Broncos). The Bengals almost certainly would have won a playoff game last year if they A) had a healthy Andy Dalton or B) didn't get absolutely snowed by the officials in favor of the league's favorite team. They could be a huge threat this year depending on what level coaching they get now that their OC is gone. The Colts have Luck healthy again which means they will be back to being the Colts (which is a team that improves each season since Luck got there). The Texans made the playoffs with Brian Fucking Hoyer as their QB last year, I don't know what exactly to think of Brock Osweiler, but I'm pretty sure he plays QB better than Brian Hoyer. The Raiders are the most obvious team on the rise we've seen in a while. The Broncos will still beat most teams in the NFL with that defense and running game alone.

Line up those seven teams against the top seven teams in the NFC and I'm willing to bet the AFC wins at least four of those games. First you'd have to figure out who the 3-7 teams are in the NFC though, because after Green Bay and Carolina there's the Grand Canyon separating the rest of the conference from the top.

[Everlong]

I think you're overrating the Steelers a bit. I can agree with the Bengals assessment, but again, I'm not going to believe they're capable of going the distance until they can prove they don't choke in big game situations. That's not just in the playoffs, either. When was the last time you saw the Bengals beat a contender, or show up in prime time?

I'm not on the Chiefs hype train this year, either. Their roster seems to be aging, they could make the playoffs but do they really seem like a championship caliber team to you? Meh.

Andrew Luck still played like complete ass even before getting hurt last year. Outside of Luck, their roster is shit. It'll still probably be enough to win their division, but they can't really compete with the Patriots.

I just don't see how anyone other than the Patriots, or maybe the Steelers, gets to the Super Bowl. For the Bengals to go all the way, they'll almost certainly have to beat New England in the postseason, and it'll be a cold day in hell when that happens.