It’s time to do our weekly check on the races for the NFL’s major awards for players and coaches. As always, we factor in the most recent results. But this is a cumulative watch, where we consider what has happened since the start of the season and also look ahead to what might happen the rest of the season.
This week, Russell Wilson, Christian McCaffery and Sean Payton are among the fastest risers. Here’s a look at our weekly Awards Watch.
Most Valuable Player
Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks
Wilson has jumped into the discussion for this award for the first time this season. Early on, he was playing very efficiently, but wasn’t getting a lot of attention. But, after his performance in last week’s win against the Rams, he’s getting tons of attention. Against Los Angeles, Wilson completed 73.9 percent of his passes for 268 yards and four touchdowns. When you look back at all his numbers, Wilson has been having pretty close to a perfect season. He has completed 73.1 percent of his passes for 1,409 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has yet to throw an interception and his passer rating is 126.3. Not bad for a guy who plays for a team whose coaches love to tout their running game. Plus, the Seahawks are 4-1. MVPs usually come from teams that win a lot and Wilson’s chances seem to grow by the week.
Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers
It’s difficult for a non-QB to win the MVP. But, if anyone is going to have a shot at it, it’s going to be McCaffrey. In Cam Newton’s absence, he’s been carrying the Panthers. In Sunday’s win against Jacksonville, he rushed 19 times for 176 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught six passes for 61 yards and a touchdown. McCaffrey is the most versatile back the league has seen in a long time. On the season, he has 587 rushing yards and six touchdowns. He also 31 catches for 279 yards and a touchdown. He’s a legitimate candidate at the moment, but he needs the Panthers to pile up some wins. He also needs to stay healthy and that could be a challenge because the Panthers are using him so much.
Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs are coming off their first loss of the season (to Indianapolis) and Mahomes is coming of one of his least-productive games of the season. He did throw for 321 yards, but only one touchdown (low by his standards). In fact, that’s Mahomes’ only touchdown pass over the last two games. His completion percentage had dipped into the upper-50s in each of the last two games. But Mahomes, who was MVP last year, remains the favorite to repeat. Just look at his numbers. He’s thrown for 1,831 yards and 11 touchdowns. He still hasn’t thrown an interception.
Offensive Player of the Year
Deshaun Watson, WR, Houston Texans
Watson is coming off his best game of the season. In a win against Atlanta, he completed 84.8 percent of his passes for 426 yards and five touchdowns. That’s enough to put him solidly in consideration for Offensive Player of the Year and on the fringes of MVP consideration. For the season, Watson has thrown for 11 touchdowns with just one interception and his passer rating is 115.9. He also has run for three touchdowns. For Watson to get serious consideration for either award, he needs to keep playing like he is and the Texans need to win 11 or 12 games.
Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers
Jones has emerged as one of the league’s best all-around running backs. He’s coming off the best game of his career, rushing for 107 yards and four touchdowns and catching seven passes for 75 yards in a victory against Dallas. Jones is a workhorse back and is averaging 3.9 yards per carry. If he can become a little more explosive and get that average up, he’ll become a serious candidate for Offensive Player of the Year.
Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints
Thomas leads the league with 543 receiving yards on 45 catches. He had his best game of the season in a win against Tampa Bay, catching 11 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns. Thomas’ numbers are impressive on the surface. But look beyond the surface and they’re even more impressive. He’s doing all this while often facing double teams. More importantly, he’s doing most of this without injured quarterback Drew Brees. Thomas has helped make backup Teddy Bridgewater look very good and the Saints are 4-1. Thomas’ numbers could get even better when Brees returns.
Defensive Player of the Year
Devin McCourty, S, New England Patriots
In the win against the Redskins, McCourty was held without an interception for the first time this season. Still, he leads the league in interceptions and he’s playing for an undefeated team. He still needs to pile up some more interceptions. If he does, he’ll be a serious candidate for this award because the two guys ranked in front of him this week are playing for mediocre teams and it’s hard to win a league-wide award when you’re on a team that isn’t a big winner.
Myles Garrett, DE, Cleveland Browns
Garrett is second in the league with seven sacks. That gives him 20.5 since the start of the 2018 season. He had one sack in the loss to San Francisco. He also is playing the run pretty well as he’s made 15 tackles on the season.
Shaquil Barrett, LB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In the loss to New Orleans, Barrett failed to record a sack for the first time this year. But we’re still keeping him in the lead for this award based on what he’s done overall. He leads the league with nine sacks. He also has three forced fumbles and an interception. Barrett is no longer a secret, so teams will devote more blocking attention to him. He’s going to have to step up his game even more if he’s going to win this award.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals
Murray began the season as the leading candidate for this award. But he dropped off this list last week. He’s back on this list after playing a very efficient game in getting his first NFL victory (a win against Cincinnati). His 253 passing yards were average, but he didn’t throw an interception. He also ran for a touchdown. It also is important to note that Murray had good pass protection for the first time this season. He was sacked only once, after being dropped 20 times in his first four games.
Daniel Jones, QB, New York Giants
Jones recorded his first loss (against the Vikings) as an NFL starter, but didn’t play poorly. He threw for 182 yards with one touchdown and one interception. But he needs better protection from the offensive line going forward. Minnesota sacked him four times.
Gardner Minshew, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars
The legend of Minshew continues to grow even though the Jaguars los to Carolina. But Minshew still put up good numbers, throwing for 374 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. The sixth-round draft pick has thrown for 1,279 yards, nine touchdowns and just one interception on the season.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Brian Burns, EDGE, Carolina Panthers
Burns makes his debut on this list after getting off to a fantastic start. In the win against Jacksonville, he had three tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. This guy is helping make up for the retirement of Julius Peppers and has 3.5 sacks on the season.
Nick Bosa, DE, San Francisco 49ers
In the best game of his young career, a win against Cleveland, Bosa had four tackles, two sacks and forced a fumble. If he can get his sack total up to double digits by the end of the year, he could easily win this award.
Devin Bush, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Not only is the first-round pick a tackling machine (45 on the season), but now he’s starting to come up with big plays. In the loss to Baltimore, Bush had eight tackles, which is right about his norm. But he also recorded his first career interception and also was credited with one pass defensed.
Coach of the Year
Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers
In LaFleur’s first season, the Packers are off to an impressive start. They’re 4-1 and coming off an impressive win against Dallas. LaFleur and has staff have been doing a solid job. They’re going with balance and not asking quarterback Aaron Rodgers to carry the team. Rodgers has been efficient with six touchdowns and only one interception, but he’s getting plenty of help from the running game and the defense.
Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints
Payton has been one of the best coaches in the league since his arrival in New Orleans in 2006. But you can make an argument he’s doing his best coaching job ever this year. That’s because he’s been doing it without injured quarterback Drew Brees. But Payton, an offensive genius, has found a way to make his offense continue to work with backup Teddy Bridgewater. The Saints are 4-1 and Brees should be back relatively soon.
Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers
So what if none of the teams the 49ers have defeated (Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Cleveland) currently have winning records? The 49ers are undefeated. That’s quite an accomplishment for a coach who began the season on the hot seat. Yeah, the schedule is going to get tougher, but Shanahan has his team headed in the right direction.
Pat Yasinskas has covered the NFL since 1993. He has worked for The Tampa Tribune, The Charlotte Observer and ESPN.com and writes for numerous national magazines and websites. He also has served as a voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
