So the 2019-20 NFL Honors Ceremony has come and went, which means that the eight awards that I blogged about, along with others, have been handed out.
However, I can only speak on the eight that I did indeed blog about, due to my knowledge of them. And with that being said, here are my reactions to all eight winners via the chart below:
| Award | Player Predicted | Winner | Reaction |
| MVP | Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens | Jackson | He was my prediction for my January 29 NFL Honors prediction entry. And based on the dominant regular season that he had, no other player except for maybe Michael Thomas and Derrick Henry were as deserving as him. |
| Offensive Player Of The Year | Jackson | Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints | Speaking of Thomas, his season was somewhat overlooked, due to Jackson Mania. And given how Jackson performed this season, I thought that he would sweep the MVP award and this award this season. However, Thomas’ single-season record of 149 receptions is completely hard to overlook, thus making him the first wide receiver since Jerry Rice to win this award. So while I got this wrong, I can’t fault this award going to Thomas. |
| Defensive Player Of The Year | Marlon Humphrey, Cornerback, Ravens | Stephon Gilmore, CB, New England Patriots | Humphrey jumped out at me more, but he did benefit from playing in a deep and talented group of cornerbacks this season. Gilmore, on the hand, was by far New England’s best defensive player, as evidenced by being tied for the league lead with six interceptions and his ability to neutralize the opponent’s best wide receiver, despite what DeVante Parker did against him in Week 17. Gilmore would have been my third choice here, because I feel like Tyrann Mathieu is more deserving of this award, based on his impact for the Kansas City Chiefs defense. Especially from Week 11 of this season and onward. |
| Offensive Rookie Of The Year | A.J. Brown, WR, Tennessee Titans | Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals | Brown was a key component to a player two slots from now and was the rare rookie wide receiver to have 1,000 yards or more receiving. And of course, he did this on a Titans team that was one win shy of Super Bowl 54. Murray, on the other hand, put up decent numbers on a Cardinals team that improved by two wins, but finished last in the NFC West. The trend of young quarterbacks taking the league by storm is why I can see Murray winning this award, but Brown’s contributions on a conference runner-up are way more eye-popping. |
| Defensive Rookie Of The Year | Nick Bosa, DE, San Francisco 49ers | Bosa | Maxx Crosby had 10 sacks as a rookie, but raw sack numbers never supersede a rookie’s impact on the defensive side of the ball. Just ask Dwight Freeney and Aldon Smith, with the former losing out to Julius Peppers and the latter losing out to Von Miller. Bosa finished with one less sack than Crosby, but his impact on the San Francisco defense both met and exceeded expectations. |
| Comeback Player Of The Year | Ryan Tannehill, QB, Titans | Tannehill | A player that was expected to back up Marcus Mariota, Tannehill gave life to a Titans team that was 2-4 after Mike Vrabel switched from Mariota to him. The results? A 7-3 record, a career-low six interceptions, 22 touchdown passes in his 10 starts, and one game shy of Super Bowl 54. Given how unlikely Tannehill’s season was, he is absolutely deserving of this award. |
| NFL Head Coach Of The Year | John Harbaugh, Ravens | Harbaugh | A league-best 14-2 record finally gives Harbaugh an award that he was long overdue to win. |
| NFL Assistant Coach Of The Year | Steve Spagnuolo, Defensive Coordinator, Chiefs | Greg Roman, Offensive Coordinator, Ravens | The strides that Spagnuolo’s unit made this season even without past key names (Justin Houston, Eric Berry, Dee Ford) are a big reason why the Chiefs are one game away from football immortality. However, Roman’s whole body of work this season is why he has this award instead of Spagnuolo, thus why I agree with Roman winning it. |
Well, those are my reactions to the winners of the 2019-20 NFL Honors awards.
Tune into Blogasbord, Volume 1 for my reaction to the players that got selected for 2020 Hall Of Fame enshrinement.