During the 2018-19 NFL season, there was one prediction that I forgot to blog about, which was that season’s NFL Honors ceremony. And as to why I forgot to do as such, well 1) I had a lot of movie assessments to deal with, 2) I had a lot of Art Infliction assignments to do in general and 3) I was honestly disgusted by the fact that the New England Patriots made it to Atlanta (the spot for Super Bowl 53) to eventually win it all last season.
But thanks to the Tennessee Titans dethroning the Patriots, along with way more load management this year, I’ve decided to indeed blog my prediction for the 2019-20 NFL Honors.
Now I’m not familiar with most of the categories for the NFL Honors ceremony, so please bear with me if I don’t have high school coach of the year award or NFL.com Fantasy Player Of The Year award included, as I’m not really familiar with the overall criteria in handing out those awards. Plus, I can’t bring myself to predict who will win the Walter Payton NFL Man Of The Year award, as I feel all players up for that award are all deserving of it. So instead, I’ll blog about the awards that I’m familiar with, which you can see via the chart below:
| Award | Player | Reason |
| MVP Award | Lamar Jackson, Quarterback, Baltimore Ravens | Jackson was a virtuoso this season, by leading the league in touchdown passes with 36, along with surpassing Michael Vick for most rushing yards in a single season by a quarterback. Plus, he played the biggest part in the Ravens having an NFL-best 14-2 record this season. |
| Offensive Player Of The Year Award | Jackson | 36 touchdown passes with seven more on the ground and 1,206 rushing yards (sixth most in the league) are all reasons why that it’s almost impossible to give this award to anyone else. |
| Defense Player Of The Year Award | Marlon Humphrey, Cornerback, Ravens | Stephon Gilmore would have been my pick for this award. But after what Devante Parker did to him in a crucial Week 17 game for the Patriots against the Miami Dolphins, I have to go with the third-year cornerback out of Alabama. Especially with his knack for making game-changing plays. Just ask the Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and Gilmore’s Patriots because you’ll see what I mean. |
| Offensive Rookie Of The Year | A.J. Brown, Wide Receiver, Tennessee Titans | Getting 1,000 or more receiving yards as a rookie is not common these days. Heck, the Johnsons (Andre and Calvin), Larry Fitzgerald and Julio Jones didn’t have such statistical outputs as rookies and they are all very likely Canton bound. The same can also be said about Jerry Rice, the greatest wide receiver of all-time. Despite finishing 24th in receiving yards (1,051) this season, Brown came on strong Weeks 12 through 17, as he posted four games of 100 or more receiving yards on a Titans team that surged into the postseason. Josh Jacobs finished 8th in rushing yards with 1,150 as a rookie running back with the Oakland Raiders, but his team didn’t get to the playoffs. But Brown’s did and impressive rookie statistical output on a winning team supersedes impressive rookie statistical output on a losing team, thus me picking Brown over Jacobs for this award. |
| Defensive Rookie Of The Year | Nick Bosa, Defensive End, San Francisco 49ers | Maxx Crosby had more sacks (10) as a rookie than Bosa’s 9.0. But again, it comes down to winning teams and Bosa edges out Crosby in that category. Bosa has by far been the best rookie defensive player this season and winning this season’s DROTY award would make him the fourth defensive rookie picked second overall to win it since the 2002-03 season. The others? Julius Peppers, Von Miller and Ndamukong Suh. |
| Comeback Player Of The Year | Ryan Tannehill, Quarterback, Titans | Jimmy Garoppolo coming back from a torn left ACL to pass for 27 touchdowns and 3,978 yards on a 49ers team that finished first in the NFC with a 13-3 record gives him a strong case for this award. However, the spark that Tannehill provided the Titans Week 7 and beyond is hard to overlook. Especially how maligned that he was during his time with the Miami Dolphins, thus making the Texas A&M alum my pick for this award. |
| Head Coach Of The Year | John Harbaugh, Ravens | Matt LaFleur winning 13 games as a rookie head coach with the Green Bay Packers and Kyle Shanahan coaching his team into Super Bowl 54 a season after the 49ers finished 4-12 are both hard to pick against. However, Harbaugh and his 14 wins as a head coach in the regular season is even harder to pick against, thus the best coach in Ravens history being my pick for this award. |
| Assistant Coach Of The Year | Steve Spagnuolo, Defensive Coordinator, Kansas City Chiefs | Overall, the Chiefs finished 17th in total defense this season. But that’s a dramatic improvement from 31st last season. Plus, they have been an asset from Week 11 onward, as they have allowed only 15.5 points per game, including their two postseason wins against the Houston Texans and the aforementioned Titans. Spagnuolo has played the biggest part in that, as he has put his players in positions to succeed way more than his predecessor, Bob Sutton, did. Spagnuolo’s work as Kansas City’s defensive coordinator is on par with his 2007 season as defensive coordinator with the New York Giants, thus him being my pick for this award. |
Well, those are my picks for those eight NFL honors.
Tune in on Super Bowl Sunday (February 2) to see if I was right or wrong.