With the NFL season more than halfway over, NFL fans have a good gauge of how this season is going. We kind of know what teams are making a playoff push, we know the teams tanking for a top draft pick, and what players are doing really well for their teams. With that being said, here are my mid-season NFL award predictions. I will be discussing MVP (most valuable player), OPOY (offensive player of the year), DPOY (defensive player of the year), OROY (offensive rookie of the year), DROY (defensive player of the year), CPOY (comeback player of the year) and COY (coach of the year).
MVP: Lamar Jackson
Although a rather basic pick, I do think Lamar could potentially get his 3rd career MVP and his 2nd consecutive MVP. Lamar is 2nd in the league in passing yards with 2,669 (only behind Joe Burrow). He is tied for first in passing touchdowns with Burrow and Baker Mayfield with 24 while only throwing 2 interceptions so far this season. He has a quarterback rating of 123.2, which is the highest in the NFL. Not to mention, he leads all quarterbacks in rushing yards with 538. He is leading the powerhouse Ravens to a 7-3 record and is completely lighting up the NFL. The main reason I believe it will be Lamar is due to the fact that he is on pace to do much better than his MVP season of last year. He already has the same amount of passing touchdowns, and only needs 1,000 more passing yards to beat his mark from last year. He has a better QB rating and completion percentage. If last year’s performance earned him MVP, I don’t see why this one wouldn’t.
OPOY: Derrick Henry
Yes, I have the Ravens duo winning both MVP and offensive player of the year. It’s safe to say Derrick Henry chose the right team to go to this offseason, as he is completely lighting it up. He already has more than 1,000 rushing yards (1120) which is the most in the NFL. He also has 12 rushing touchdowns, another league-high. Him and Lamar have carried this offense, and are a scary duo for teams to see in the playoffs. If Henry does not win, I would bet either Barkley or Chase to get it over him depending on how the rest of their seasons continue.
DPOY: Trey Hendrickson
This pick may be one of my more outlandish picks, as the average NFL fan would probably pick TJ Watt. However, I feel Try Hendrickson is having a great season, and should be in more of these DPOY talks. He leads the league in sacks with 11, as well as tackles for loss with 12 (tied with Greg Rousseau). Although the overall tackle numbers are not as strong as Watt’s, Hendrickson is leading this Bengals’ defense who go against strong opponents week after week. Another dark horse pick I would make would be Xavier Mckinney, who leads the league in interceptions with 6 (tied with Kerby Joseph).
OROY: Jayden Daniels
A pretty obvious choice in my opinion, Daniels has led a surprising Commanders team to a 7-3 record, which gives them 2nd in the NFC East. Daniels leads all rookie quarterbacks in passing yards with 2,147 and is 2nd among rookies in passing touchdowns with 9. He has a QB rating of 101.7, also leading all rookies. He is also 2nd in the NFL among all QBs in rushing yards with 464, only behind Lamar Jackson. With his performance so far, the Bears must be frustrated they picked the wrong guy at #1 overall.
DROY: Jared Verse
Jared Verse has had a phenomenal season for the Rams so far. He has accumulated 4.5 sacks, as well as an impressive 44 total pressures on 236 pass rush attempts. He has a high PFF grade of 82.5, proving how lethal he has been this season. The Rams’ defense has needed him this season in order to stay in many of the close games they have been a part of this season, as that team tries to find their footing and make a push for the playoffs.
CPOY: Kirk Cousins
After sustaining a season-ending injury last season, and switching teams, Kirk Cousins has made a huge comeback, leading his Falcons to a 6-4 record. He is 3rd in the NFL in passing yards with 2,634 and is tied for 4th in the NFL in passing touchdowns with 17. At the beginning of the season, I thought Aaron Rodgers had this award on lock. But with his poor performance, Cousins has swooped in and taken a strong hold on this award.
COY: Dan Campbell
Dan Campbell is my personal favorite coach in the NFL, and he has done a great job of leading the Lions to an impressive 8-1 record. He has been in the coach of the year discussion for a few years now, but if the Lions continue this success, I think he will finally be able to take home the award.
There you have it, my 2024-2025 NFL award predictions. There is a very likely chance that these are all wrong, but who knows? Maybe my ball knowledge will show through at the end of the season.
