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William W Thomas, December 3 2020

MVP, Offensive Rookie of the Year, and more. Who will win? My 2021 NFL honor awards predictions

After every NFL season awards are given to the players for various things such as: Offensive player of the Year, Defensive player of the Year, Offensive Rookie of the Year, Defensive Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, Comeback Player of the year, and Most Valuable Player. There are more awards, but these are the awards I will be focusing on in this post. A list of 2020's winners can be found here. We are currently heading into week 12, and these are my predictions for the 2020 NFL honor awards.

Defensive Player of the Year

Candidates: Myles Garrett (CLE), Aaron Donald (LAR), T.J Watt (PIT)

Predicted Winner: Aaron Donald (LAR)

Aaron Donald is the best defensive player in football right now. A quarterback’s worst nightmare, he is like a cut on the roof of your mouth that will not heal. Aaron Donald has been in the league for seven years and is without a doubt a future hall-of-famer. Donald has won the award the past two seasons and is on track to win his third. Through ten games his stats are the following:

Aaron Donald is a pillar in the LA Rams’ franchise and is a large reason for their defensive success. Not to mention he increases the amount of time the offence is on the field. I think Myles Garrett could also win the award this year: however; I think Donald has the edge. Check out his 2019 highlights here.

Offensive Player of the Year

Candidates: Dalvin Cook (MIN), Patrick Mahomes (KC), Devante Adams (GB), DK Metcalf (SEA), Alvin Kamara (NO), Aaron Rodgers (GB) 

Predicted Winner: Alvin Kamara (NO)

Kamara has been outstanding this season. Kamara is one of the best receiving backs in the league and through ten games has more receiving yards than rushing yards. He can do it all. Kamara plays a very large part in the Saints’ offence and is a workhorse. This award is very hard to determine, but I think Kamara has been the most consistent and excels on many different aspects of the game. Through ten games his stats are the following:

Rushing

Receiving

Kamara shows no signs of slowing down and barring no injuries he is on pace to win offensive player of the year. He is the most consistent candidate and runs hard. Dalvin Cook has been injured and missed a couple of games this season and in my opinion will not win the award.

Defensive Rookie of the Year

Candidates: Antoine Winfield (TB), Chase Young (WAS), Patrick Queen (BAL), Isaiah Simmons (ARI)

Predicted Winner: Chase Young (WAS)

Defensive rookie of the year is a hard award to predict this year. The Washington Football Team chose defensive end Chase Young with the second overall pick and he has been spectacular for their defence. Coming out of Ohio State, Young was touted as a generational pass rushing talent that you only see about once every 5-10 years. He has proved that this season. He plays in the worst division in the NFL maybe even the worst division EVER and has had a large impact putting the Football Team in first place in the division. Young’s stats through 10 games are the following:

He has done this as a rookie. Young has an incredibly high ceiling and he will only get better as he gains more experience in the league. I think Chase Young will be the defensive player of the year.

Offensive Rookie of the Year

Candidates: Justin Herbert (LAC), Joe Burrow (CIN), Mekhi Becton (NYJ), Tua Tagovailoa (MIA)

Predicted Winner: Justin Herbert (LAC)

This award will not even be close. Prior to Joe Burrow’s injury it was a hard battle that would have gone down to the final game, but unfortunately Burrow suffered a massive knee injury. Justin Herbert has started nine games and is on pace to be the best rookie quarterback EVER. Coming into the draft many analysts thought Herbert would be the next bust in the NFL. He has proved them all wrong and is establishing himself as a stud in the league. Herbert has kept the Chargers within one score in every single game this season. The Chargers have blown many many leads, but in my opinion it is not Herbert’s fault. That is on the coaches and their conservative play calling when up by 2-3 scores. We will look back on Herbert’s rookie campaign and wonder why this guy didn’t go first overall in the draft, rather sixth overall and the third QB taken. Herbert has the most 3+ touchdown games of any rookie quarterback ever, and has won offensive rookie of the week seven times, tying the record for second all-time. Herbert’s stats are the following through nine starts:

As a Chargers fan I am extremely excited to see Herbert progress and improve under a new coaching staff. He will be a top 3-5 QB in the league in 5 years or less.

Comeback Player of the Year

Candidates: Alex Smith (WAS), Ben Roethlisberger (PIT), Cam Newton (NE)

Predicted Winner: Alex Smith

Alex Smith suffered a gruesome injury in 2018 and almost lost not only his leg, but his life. His football dreams were crushed and many thought he would never come back. Smith was determined to heal his leg and play in the NFL again. Smith was given the starting position  this season due to the benching of Dwayne Haskins, and an injury to Kyle Allen. Washington currently sits atop the NFC East and has a legitimate shot at the playoffs. Alex Smith’s work ethic and perseverance is admirable and there is no reason why he would not win Comeback Player of the Year. A timeline of his injury and recovery can be found here.

Coach of the Year

Candidates: Mike Tomlin (PIT), Brian Flores (MIA), Sean McDermott (BUF)

Predicted Winner: Mike Tomlin (PIT)

Mike Tomlin has never had a losing record in fourteen seasons as the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach. That is impressive. Winning in the NFL is extremely hard, but Tomlin has consistently won at LEAST eight games a season. This season he has led his team to a 10-0 record and remains the only unbeaten team. By the season’s end the Steelers will have the best record in the NFL and he deserves Coach of the Year for not only this season, but his consistency over the years.

Most Valuable Player (MVP) 

Candidates: Patrick Mahomes (KC), Russell Wilson (SEA), Josh Allen (BUF), Kyler Murray (ARI)

Predicted Winner: Patrick Mahomes

Russell Wilson looked like the unanimous MVP through the first half of the NFL season and lead them to a 5-0 record despite having an abysmal defence. Since then his production has dwindled, allowing other candidates to catch up. The one candidate that has impressed and racked up unbelievable numbers is Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes won the award in 2018 after an impressive season throwing for 50 touchdowns. Last season he led his team to the Superbowl and is leading the campaign to become back-to-back champions. This season he has become to fastest player to reach 100 career passing touchdowns. The Chiefs are 8-1 and Mahomes’ stats are very similar to his 2018 stats setting him up nicely to win his second MVP award. He is on pace to finish the season with 48 touchdowns and less than 5 interceptions. Mahomes also is a very consistent quarterback and he is capable of maintaining this kind of production. His stats through ten games are the following:

Here are his highlights from last season to get a glimpse of what he is capable of.

I'd love to hear what YOU think! Send me a DM on instagram here, or contact me directly here with your thoughts and predictions.

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William W Thomas

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