Hosted by Snoop Dogg, NFL Honors will be conducted on Thursday, February 6th, just days before the Super Bowl. With the big game just around the corner, it’s time to look at the finalists for each NFL award. Predicting the winners through analysis, plinko online, or just your gut feeling is always exciting and this year’s field of players for each award is stacked. NFL Honors is always something to look forward to as the season comes to an end and the majority of award finalists to choose from will be tough this year.
Most Valuable Player
- Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
- Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
- Jared Goff, QB, Detroit Lions
- Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens
- Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
The NFL MVP is the most prestigious individual award that a player can be given. For the 2024 season, you can make a legitimate case for each one of these players to win the award.
Saquon Barkley, the only non-QB finalist, rushed for 2,005 yards, becoming only the ninth player in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season. Joe Burrow leads all quarterbacks in almost every notable statistical category. Jared Goff led his team to 15 wins while throwing for 4,629 yards (second-most) and 37 touchdowns (fourth-most).
Josh Allen threw for fewer yards and touchdowns than the other three quarterbacks but still threw for 3,731 yards with 28 touchdowns but also ran for 531 yards and 12 touchdowns, which is just one less rushing touchdown than Barkley. Lamar Jackson has had an even better statistical season than his previous two MVP seasons, setting career-highs in passing yards (4,172), passing touchdowns (41), and passer rating (119.6). He also finished with 915 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.
With it being a QB-centric award, Barkley is out and Burrow failed to make the playoffs so he’s out as well. It will come down to a close race between Jackson and Allen. Jackson has better numbers and has done it all but Allen has done more with less and beat Jackson head-to-head in the regular season. It’s so close you could even try a Plinko slot demo to determine the winner.
Winner: Josh Allen
Offensive Player of the Year
- Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
- Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens
- Derrick Henry, RB, Baltimore Ravens
- Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
- Ja’Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
Burrow, Jackson, and Barkley also are finalists for NFL Offensive Player of the Year. Added are two players who’ve had unbelievable seasons as well, Derrick Henry and Ja’Marr Chase.
Henry was beck-and-neck with Barkley for parts of the season, placing second in rushing yards (1,921) while being tied for first in rushing touchdowns (16) and first among running backs in yards per attempt (5.9). Chase had a historic season for Cincinnati, winning the triple crown among receivers by ranking first in receptions (127), receiving yards (1,708), and receiving touchdowns (17).
As mentioned, Barkley became only the ninth player in league history to rush for over 2,000 yards and could’ve had even more if he played in week 18, even potentially breaking the single-season rushing record.
Winner: Saquon Barkley
Defensive Player of the Year
- Zack Baun, LB, Philadelphia Eagles
- T.J. Watt, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers
- Myles Garrett, DE, Cleveland Browns
- Trey Hendrickson, DE, Cincinnati Bengals
- Patrick Surtain ll, CB, Denver Broncos
This award is filled with defensive monsters. Last season, Myles Garrett won the Defensive Player of the Year award and is up for it again. He was second in sacks with 14 (also had the most tackles for loss with 22) but trailed Trey Hendrickson, who had the most with 17.5. T.J. Watt followed both of them with 11.5 and came in second with 19 tackles for loss while having the most forced fumbles with six. Zach Baun was among the leaders in tackles while 11 of those were for losses. He also had five forced fumbles and added in 3.5 sacks.
Surtain was unbelievable and probably the best corner in the league this season. He allowed just 35 receptions for 306 receiving yards while covering other teams’ best wide receivers all season. He also only allowed a 59 percent completion percentage and a 55.6 quarterback rating for opposing quarterbacks while also having four interceptions.
It may come down to Watt and Surtain. Watt had an unavailable season yet again and is the best defensive player in the league but his numbers dropped off just a little towards the end of the season, although still great. That might end up mattering here.
Winner: Patrick Surtain ll
Offensive Rookie of the Year
- Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders
- Bo Nix, QB, Denver Broncos
- Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants
- Brian Thomas Jr., WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
- Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas Raiders
Historic numbers were put up on offense from these rookies. There’s a lot to be excited about for the future of the league just from this group alone. Bo Nix had a slow start but he got more comfortable and led the Denver Broncos to the playoffs for the first time in eight years, finishing 12th in passing yards (3,775) and sixth in passing touchdowns (29).
Like Nix, Jayden Daniels also led his team to the playoffs. He did it through the air by throwing for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns while breaking the NFL rookie record for completion percentage (69 percent). Daniels also did it on the ground by having 891 rushing yards, which was also a rookie record.
All three receivers were top ten in receiving yards, while Brain Thomas Jr. was top 10 in receiving touchdowns (1,282), and Malik Nabers (109) and Brock Bowers (112) were top 10 in receptions. In fact, Bowers broke the all-time tight end rookie record with his 112 catches.
This rookie class has a bright future in the NFL, but the consensus seems to be the impressive and consistent season of the number two overall pick of the Washington Commanders.
Winner: Jayden Daniels
Defensive Rookie of the Year
- Cooper DeJean, CB, Philadelphia Eagles
- Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Philadelphia Eagles
- Chop Robinson, LB, Miami Dolphins
- Jared Verse, LB, Los Angeles Rams
- Braden Fiske, DE, Los Angeles Rams
The Philadelphia Eagles have been highly successful on defense this season and a big reason why has been because of Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell. In 9 starts (16 games overall), DeJean has recorded 51 tackles with 6 pass defenses and a forced fumble. However, his teammate did start in all 16 games and tallied 46 tackles and 12 pass defenses. On top of that, he allowed only one touchdown in coverage.
The Los Angeles Rams also had a pair of rookies on defense that took over as well with linebacker Jared Verse and defensive end Braden Fiske. Fiske led all rookies with 8.5 sacks and had 44 tackles (10 for loss) while also forcing two fumbles and recovering two. Verse was all over the stat sheet as well, totaling 66 tackles (11 for loss) to go with two pass defenses two forced fumbles, and 4.5 sacks. Then you have Chop Robinson with the Miami Dolphins, who had six sacks with seven tackles for loss and four pass defenses.
Verse has been the front-runner to win the Defensive Player of the Year award for a few weeks now but a couple of others are not very far behind in the race.
Winner: Jared Verse
Comeback Player of the Year
- Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
- Sam Darnold, QB, Minnesota Vikings
- J.K. Dobbins, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
- Christian Gonzalez, CB, New England Patriots
- Damar Hamlin, S, Buffalo Bills
You could give the Comeback Player of the Year award to any of these guys and it would be justified but one stands out above all. After playing in just one game in 2023 due to an Achilles injury, J.K. Dobbins came back determined to prove himself when he was healthy and he did that by rushing for 905 yards in 13 games as the lead back.
Unfortunately, his season got cut a little short because of a knee sprain. Christian Gonzalez is also returning from an injury that kept him out in all but four games in 2023. He totaled 59 tackles and 11 pass defenses with two interceptions. Damar Hamlin was runner-up to the award last season after his health scare and is a finalist yet again this season as he had 89 tackles with two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Before signing with the Minnesota Vikings, Sam Darnold went from team to team in nothing more than a backup role. He threw for 3,000 yards once in his career (barely) and never threw 20 touchdowns in a season. It looked like he was fizzling out until he grabbed the ball in Minnesota. With the Vikings, he threw for 4,319 yards with 35 touchdowns. He earned himself a nice little contract for next season.
Then there’s Joe Burrow, who won the quarterback triple-crown by leading the league in completions (460), passing yards (4,918), and passing touchdowns (43) after coming back from a wrist injury that cut his 2023 season short. If it wasn’t for that fact, Darnold might run away with the award but Burrow also had a good chance to win MVP if the Bengals made the playoffs.
Winner: Joe Burrow
Coach of the Year
- Dan Campbell, HC, Detroit Lions
- Kevin O’Connell, HC, Minnesota Vikings
- Sean Payton, HC, Denver Broncos
- Dan Quinn, HC, Washington Commanders
- Andy Reid, HC, Kansas City Chiefs
Each one of these coaches has done a phenomenal job with their teams this season. Sean Payton led the Denver Broncos to 10 wins and a playoff berth with a rookie QB and Dan Quinn also led his team to the playoffs with a rookie QB but had 12 wins his first season there after the franchise had just four a year ago.
Kevin O’Connell and Dan Campbell led the best division in football with the Minnesota Vikings having 14 wins while the Detroit Lions had 15 and the number one seed. Andy Reid also had 15 wins and the number-one seed.
What Quinn and Payton did with rookie quarterbacks at the helm is deserving of the award. The Lions having an even better record despite injuries is very impressive and Andy Reid is the best coach in the NFL. But what O’Connell did with Darnold under center and no expectations whatsoever is very impressive.
Winner: Kevin O’Connell
Assistant Coach of the Year
- Joe Brady, OC, Buffalo Bills
- Vic Fangio, DC, Philadelphia Eagles
- Brian Flores, DC, Minnesota Vikings
- Aaron Glenn, DC, Detroit Lions
- Ben Johnson, OC, Detroit Lions
There’s a reason why each team that’s represented here had 13 or more wins. These five coordinators are considered some of the best at their job.
Under Joe Brady in 2024, the Bills’ offense placed ninth in both passing and rushing while second in total offense and helped Allen an MVP betting favorite. The only team offense above the Bills was the Detroit Lions, which was run by Ben Johnson. He’s one of the most creative minds in the game, leading the league in scoring offense and coming up with every trick play in the playbook to walk down the field and score.
On defense, the Lions were led by Aaron Glenn. His defense went down with injury after injury yet was able to lead them to fifth in rushing defense and seventh in scoring defense. Rival DC Brian Flores led the Vikings’ rushing defense to the second-ranked unit and the fifth-scoring defense while being middle of the pack in passing defense. Vic Fangio’s defense in Philadelphia topped them both. In fact, he topped every team as the Eagles had the number one passing defense accompanied by the 10th-ranked rushing defense, totaling the number one defense in the NFL.
It’s the number one offense vs the number one defense for this award and while defense might win championships, it might not for this award.
Winner: Ben Johnson
Main Image: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
