An NFL award is something so special to win but ultimately super difficult to achieve. In the NFL, there are many awards you can earn but there are a big seven that hold a different kind of feeling.
The MVP, Coach of the Year, OPOY (Offensive Player of the Year), DPOY (Defensive Player of the Year), OROY (Offensive Rookie of the Year), DROY (Defensive Rookie of the Year), CPOY (Comeback Player of the Year), and an honorable mention, for the Walter Payton Man of the year award.
The MVP (Most Valuable Player) in the entire NFL has three candidates: Lamar Jackson, Christian McCaffrey, and Tyreek Hill.
The question is, is the award the most valuable player to the team or just the players with the best numbers? All three candidates play different roles on their teams and have different numbers. The MVP is also typically a QB award. Only eight people who are not a QB have won the MVP since 1990. The last one was Adrian Peterson in 2012.
“I think Lamar Jackson should win it, he has shown year after year his dedication to win and he has already won it before and continues to show how much of a valuable player he is.” Sophomore Grayson Schwalbach said.
Coach of the Year is a tough choice every year for the NFL committee, considering there are 32 coaches. All go through their own battles with their own teams, all in different situations. A lot of stuff on the outside typically plays a large role in the choice as well.
Senior Drew Barth thinks Dan Campbell should win. “Honestly Dan Campbell is easily the best coach in the league right now and how much he cares about his team and the work they have put in for him does not go unnoticed.” The most favorable candidate currently is Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland Browns).
Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year are amazing accomplishments. Only one player (out of the 352 possible options) for each award wins. Currently, Christian McCaffrey is the most favorable Offensive Player of the year. Following with Myles Garrett being the favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year award.
“Myles Garrett had an amazing season this year. He was probably the most feared guy on the defensive side of the ball in any team,” said Barth.
Being a Rookie is typically a hard thing for most to handle. It is an entirely different game than college. But for some, the pros are where they were destined to be. They can dominate in the NFL just like they did in college. Those rookies are rewarded with a chance to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award and the Defensive Rookie of the Year award.
CJ Stroud is the highest likely winner currently for the OROY. in addition “CJ Stroud should win, he went 7 games without an interception and averaged 220+ yards starting his career,” Scwalbach said. Jalen Carter is the favorite currently for the DROY award. I think Will Anderson Jr. should be the clear winner for this award.
The Comeback Player of the Year award has stirred conflict between NFL fans this year, with Damar Hamlin seeming like the clear favorite this year to be the winner. With Hamlin suffering an injury last year that caused him to collapse on the field, and being able to come back this year and continue playing the sport he loves.
But with other candidates like Joe Flacco (who was retired) who came out of retirement to take a job with the Browns who is now leading them in the playoffs. Or Baker Mayfield who has been written off his whole career, is now in the playoffs with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is a top 10 QB in the league at the end of the season. “Damar Hamlin only plays mainly Special teams and didn’t do much of anything impressive before his injury as well,” Schwalbach said.
Who really deserves these awards?