The NFL awards show is coming right around the corner now that we have a Super Bowl matchup set in place. These awards are always heavily anticipated and sometimes could surprise us if we aren’t ready. We are going to dive deeper into each of these awards and give our thoughts on who deserves to win each of them. Starting off with the best one.
The Most Valuable Player award is a very close race. Aaron Rodgers is slightly in the lead given how he led the Green Bay Packers to the best record in the league. Unfortunately, he had some COVID-19 related drama that allegedly has made voters not like him. Outside of him, Tom Brady would be the only other one with a real shot at winning the award given how dominant he has been. Don’t be surprised to hear other players like Joe Burrow, Jonathan Taylor, or Cooper Kupp either. At the end of the day, I expect Rodgers to still win it.
Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year
Next is the Defensive Player of the Year. Last year, everybody thought that TJ Watt was robbed. This year, he is the leading candidate, and I don’t think anybody deserves it more. The Dallas Cowboys rookie linebacker Micah Parsons is right behind him, but it isn’t often you get to see a rookie win this prestigious award. Aaron Donald is obviously up there as well, but voter fatigue is likely to catch up to him.
Then comes the Offensive Player of the Year award. This is probably the toughest choice of them all. Cooper Kupp and Jonathan Taylor are tied in the current odds to win. Kupp was the flat-out best receiver in the league and is about to play in the Super Bowl. He had a historic season that was unmatched in the past. Taylor on the other hand helped the Indianapolis Colts get one game out of playoff contention after a 0-3 start. However, he missed the postseason, and it will likely be the reason he doesn’t get the edge. Taylor’s season was a bit more impressive, but Kupp’s team performed ten times better and he was near 2,000 receiving yards.
Coach of the Year
Coach of the Year is up next. If you had asked this question a few weeks ago, the clear answer would be Mike Vrabel. Unfortunately, the Tennessee Titans were knocked out in the first round, which may sway some public opinion. Still, he should be leading the charge with Zac Taylor and Matt LaFleur closely behind. Taylor took the Cincinnati Bengals to a Super Bowl after placing last in their division a year ago. LaFleur took the Packers to the best record in the NFC. This is a very close race, but I’ll stick with Vrabel to win, nobody has done more with their star players all missing tremendous amounts of time than him.
Comeback Player of the Year is the final major award planned to be given out. I think this one isn’t even a close race anymore. Joe Burrow and Dak Prescott were neck and neck throughout the season. Both quarterbacks had themselves an incredible season despite suffering major injuries the previous season. However, Prescott and the Cowboys had a few pretty bad weeks and their season ended in just the Wild Card Round. On the other hand, Burrow took the Bengals from just a few wins the season before and led them into the Super Bowl with strong stats to back him up. Burrow might even sweep the voting.
*The NFL Honours will be announced on Thursday February 10th at 9pm in the US – which will be from 2am Friday the 11th UK time.