NFL Awards Predictions 2022: Multiple First Time Winners?

 The Super Bowl is just within a few days, but before we get there, we will finally get to find out which players/coaches took home the most prestigious awards in the sport. What a season it was and there were some amazing candidates for each award. Some of the awards races are much tighter than others, only a few I'd say are pretty much locked in. Let's get into it. Even for awards with a clear winner, I will mention the top runner up as well!

Offensive Player of the Year

The Winner: Cooper Kupp, Wide Receiver, Los Angeles Rams
2021 reg. season statline: 145 receptions, 1,947 yards, 16 TDs receiving

One of the award locks in this honors show has to be Cooper Kupp taking home his first Offensive Player of the Year. This award has pretty much belonged exclusively to non-QBs for the last few years and it should stay that way with the season Kupp just had. Kupp was easily the best WR in the NFL as he seemingly effortlessly achieved the rare "Triple Crown" by leading NFL receivers in the 3 major receiving categories. This will go down as one of the best WR seasons EVER, and Kupp deserves the hardware to show for it.

The Runner-Up: Jonathan Taylor, Running Back, Indianapolis Colts
Statline: 332 carries, 1,811 yards, 18 TDs rushing | 40 receptions, 360 yards, 2 TDs receiving

There was a point in the season where many not only saw Taylor as the OPOY, but also the potential MVP. What a crazy Sophomore season he had. He quickly went from the mid-tier of NFL RBs to the best one in the league without a question. While the Colts disappointingly fell just short of the post-season, the reason they were even close was due to Taylor. This was one of the rare instances where an RB put his offense and overall team on his back and led them. JT combined for over 2,000 scrimmage yards along with 20 TDs. He's just two years in, can't wait to see how he continues. Maybe he gets OPOY next year...

Defensive Player of the Year

The Winner: TJ Watt, Edge Rusher, Pittsburgh Steelers
Statline: 22.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 7 pass deflections, 64 total tackles

This HAS to finally be the year Watt gets his long awaited DPOY. I've been on the TJ Watt train for the past 3 years as I think he deserved to win the honor the last two years and was shocked to see him upset twice in a row. He simply can't be denied this time after the season he had. In just 15 games, Watt tied the NFL record for sacks in a single season (Michael Strahan's record). The rate that he got to the QB was otherworldly. Watt also tallied an elite 5 forced fumbles to go with 7 pass bats at the line and 64 total tackles. I've never seen one defensive player create as big of an impact as Watt does. The Steelers had multiple wins where he was the sole reason they won the game. This HAS to be his turn to win the award.

The Runner-Up: Darius Leonard, Linebacker, Indianapolis Colts
Statline: 122 total tackles, 8 forced fumbles, 4 INTs, 8 pass deflections

Nicknamed "The Maniac", Darius Leonard continues to get better and better by the year. If not for TJ Watt's historic season, I truly would have voted for Darius Leonard to take home the top defensive honor. What a year from the former DROY. The major stat that pops out to you is the league leading EIGHT forced fumbles. You almost will never see a guy with that many in one season. Leonard has revitalized and rejuvenated the old "Peanut Punch" move, and it has been wildly effective for him. Leonard is the stout leader of this top 5 ranked Colts defense, and without him, they would be just terrible. Leonard does not get the respect he deserves and he won't win DPOY this year, but I really hope he gets one in the future!

Offensive Rookie of the Year

The Winner: Ja'Marr Chase, Wide Receiver, Cincinnati Bengals
Statline: 81 receptions, 1,455 yards, 13 TDs receiving

Chase was the clear favorite since a good week 1 performance, and he stayed strong the whole year, and will probably be a rare unanimous winner of the honor. We just witnessed Chase have the best season for a rookie WR ever in terms of stats, but also probably impact too. The addition of Chase to this Bengals team was the main component that pushed them over the edge from a terrible team to a team on the verge of winning its first Lombardi trophy. Chase is the next big deep threat and will be one of the best WRs in the NFL for the next decade.

The Runner-Up: Mac Jones, Quarterback, New England Patriots
Statline: 3,801 yards, 22 TDs, 13 INTs passing

Not many would have expected Mac Jones to have been the best rookie QB, even if NFL scouts were quick to say he was the most pro ready. Jones exceeded many expectations as he led the Patriots back to the playoffs as a rookie. There was a time where the Pats looked like the best team in the NFL when they went on their crazy win-streak, and Jones was getting a lot of love. Sure, he cooled off a little after the torrid mid-season, but as a wildly effective rookie QB, Jones is definitely the runner-up OROY.

Defensive Rookie of the Year

The Winner: Micah Parsons, Outside Linebacker, Dallas Cowboys
Statline: 84 total tackles, 13 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 3 pass deflections

Just like Chase, Parsons was the clear winner of his ROY award. Just like Chase, Parsons had one of the best rookie seasons ever. Dallas went from a bottom 5 defense to a top 5 defense in one season, and Parsons is the main underline. The versatile backer was able to lineup everywhere for Dallas and did so wildly effectively. While he's built like a classic linebacker in the modern NFL era, he was able to still rush the passer better than almost ANYONE in the entire NFL. As a rookie LB. He is a stud and a lock for the DROY.

The Runner-Up: Jevon Holland, Safety, Miami Dolphins
Statline: 69 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 INTs, 10 pass deflections

I am a HUGE fan of Jevon Holland. He is criminally underrated and while most would probably put one of the elite rookie CBs in this runner-up spot, I can't look past Holland. Just by looking at the pure stats, Holland was one of the best safeties in the entire NFL, not just rookies. The stats don't even do the full justice, despite how good they were. His impact on this elite Dolphins' defense was astounding. The times he would make his big plays were in the biggest moments. He may just be the next safety in that sort of Jamal Adams/Derwin James versatile prototype. The Dolphins found themselves a star in the second round.

Comeback Player of the Year

The Winner: Joe Burrow, Quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals
Statline: 4,611 yards, 34 TDs, 14 INTs passing | 2 TDs rushing

Joe Burrow has obviously taken the world by storm during his post-season run for the ages, but these awards are based off of the regular season, in which he was still nearly as dominant. Coming off of a torn ACL, there was a lot of doubt on Burrow going into his second season. How would he respond from the major injury behind such a bad O-line? His coaching staff and offense was all inexperienced? This and that blah blah blah, none of it mattered to Joe Shiesty. Burrow silenced every doubter with his insane second season. The end of the season run especially ensured his spot to win the award. He was simply the hottest player in the NFL. If not for a cold mid-season, Burrow might have just won league MVP. What a comeback season for Joe Burrow...and it isn't over yet!

The Runner-Up: Nick Bosa, Edge Rusher, San Francisco 49ers
Statline: 15.5 sacks, 52 total tackles, 4 forced fumbles, 1 pass deflection

It looked like Nick Bosa was running away with this award at the mid-season, before Joe Burrow "burrowed" his way back into the competition. Coming off a torn ACL, Nick Bosa looked better than he ever has in his third season. Not only was he a main contender for CPOY, he was definitely a top 5 candidate for DPOY as well, and maybe will even receive a few votes there. The Niners got back to their ways of winning behind a dominant defense, which was led by none other than Bosa. He was one of the leading sack men in the NFL with his whopping 15.5, and is proving why he was the no. 2 pick in the draft a few years back. 

Coach of the Year

The Winner: Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals

Surprisingly, Zac Taylor is not the betting favorite to take home this award. I feel like he has it pretty much locked up. He surely would have if the voting took place during the post-season, due to the run to the Super Bowl the Bengals took, but even for the regular season alone, I believe Taylor deserves to, and will win his first COY award. Taylor has been amazing in terms of shifting the culture from losing to winning in Cincinnati during his first few seasons. Even when they were losing, Taylor still had his players playing for each other. Now they have gone from a bottom 5 team to potential Super Bowl champs in one year. While Joe Burrow deserves a lot of the credit, so does head man Taylor who also built an amazing coaching staff around him.

The Runner-Up: Mike Vrabel, Tennessee Titans

Vrabel is the odds-on favorite to win this award, but I still see it going to Taylor. He is definitely one of the few runner-ups here that has a real shot of actually moving to first place. Vrabel lead an oft-injured Tennessee Titans team to the AFC's no. 1 seed. No one saw that coming, even when they held the top spot with just a few weeks to go. It was a true shocker that this was the top team (record-wise) in the AFC, and you have to give the energetic Vrabel most of the credit as he had this team succeeding even with stretches of all of their best players being out.

MVP

The Winner: Aaron Rodgers, Quarterback, Green Bay Packers
Statline: 4,115 yards, 37 TDs, 4 INTs passing | 3 TDs rushing

As much as I hate Aaron Rodgers as a person, he is a damn good football player. Before last season, who would have thought that the 37+ year old would have back-to-back MVP seasons in him at this point in his career? While I wouldn't say he was AS crazy good and far above the pack as he was in 2020, he was nearly unstoppable still anyway. Rodgers tossed an elite 37 TDs to only 4 picks. That is one of the best TD:INT ratios we've ever seen. Just 4 picks was the least among starting QBs but he also happened to be top 5 in TDs which shows how impressive that is. His Packers were also the no. 1 seed in the NFC with a 13-4 record behind the arm of Rodgers. He also added 4,115 passing yards which was top 10 as well. Rodgers is set to win his 4th MVP award.

The Runner-Up: Tom Brady, Quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Statline: 5,316 yards, 43 TDs, 12 INTs passing | 2 TDs rushing

As much as I want Tom to ride off into the sunset following another MVP, I don't see it happening. In a way, the race is somewhat close enough where if Brady had announced he was going to retire after the season before the end of the regular season, it may have swayed the voters in his favor. Brady led the NFL in both passing yards and passing TDs at age 44 which is indescribably insane. The 12 picks are what kills him in the end as Rodgers was able to throw so many fewer. Again, there's still a chance Brady wins the award, and I think he would have if he announced his retirement before the post-season. Even if he gets second-place, that is crazy considering he is 44-years old and retired after THAT good of a season.

P.S.
For those who care, I have Jonathan Taylor winning Fantasy Player of the Year, and Dan Quinn as Assistant Coach of the Year...