The NFL awards are just over two weeks away as the season nears closer and closer to the Super Bowl. Votes have alredy been submitted for the NFL awards for the 2024 season but the winners won't be annoucned until just before the big game. Ongoing debates have continued on who is the deserving winner of the MVP award-Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson-as well as other key awards like Defensive Player of the Year. With the NFL Honors creeping up, I picked all of my choices for this year's NFL award winners.
Coach of the Year: Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings
O’Connell will likely win this award by a landslide, and for good reason. The expectations were low for the Vikings heading into 2024. I mean, extremely low. Their preseason projected win total on BetMGM was just 6 ½ games, the lowest projected win total in the NFC North.
However, they proved everybody wrong, finishing with a 14-3 record, NFC North runner-up and one win away from the No. 1 seed in the NFC. They won eight games by one score.
The lack of enthusiasm stemmed from major free agency departures. Minnesota lost long-time starter and Pro Bowl QB Kirk Cousins and edge rusher Danielle Hunter among others. The absence of Cousins cast plenty of doubt on the team’s potential and a question mark under center.
His replacement, Sam Darnold, has flourished in year one in Wes Phillips and Kevin O’Connell’s offense. He’s completely revived his career after bouncing around the league on the heels of being drafted No. 3 overall in 2018. Darnold has passed for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns with 12 interceptions. Having All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison helps, but Darnold has proved his success is more than just a result of his supporting cast.
Minnesota has also boasted one of the better defensive units in the league. The Vikings allowed the second-fewest rushing yards per game in the regular season, giving up 93.4 yards rushing to opponents. They also ranked fifth in the fewest points allowed per game, giving up 19.5 PPG. The Vikings finished towards the league's top in sacks, tied for fourth-most, headlined by Andrew Van Ginkel with 11 ½ and Jonathan Greenard with 12.
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Quinyon Mitchell CB, Philadelphia Eagles
Jared Verse of the Rams is the current favorite to win this award and while his stats look more impressive–4 ½ sacks, 66 tackles and two forced fumbles–Mitchell has been the best defensive rookie in the NFL this season.
The play of Mitchell and fellow rookie Cooper DeJean turned one of the league’s worst secondaries a season ago into arguably the best in 2024. The Eagles allowed just 174.2 passing yards per game this season, the best in the NFL. In 2023, they allowed 249.4 passing yards per game, the fifth-most in the league. Philadelphia also allowed the sixth-fewest passing touchdowns this year at only 22. That is 13 fewer than they gave up in 2023.
Mitchell played a huge role in those numbers and Philadelphia’s success. As mentioned, the individual numbers won’t wow you. He finished the regular season with 46 total tackles and 12 pass breakups but no interceptions. But that’s a result of playing defensive back, the stats don’t blow you away but the impact is felt.
In man coverage this season, Mitchell was targeted on only 13.2% of snaps, the lowest of any rookie cornerback in the last five years according to Next Gen Stats and Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Mitchell has done more than just hold his own against the best receivers in the NFL. He has shut them down.
When covering the following group of receivers, he has allowed less than 35 receiving yards: Ja’Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb, Mike Evans, Drake London, Terry McLaurin, Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr., Chris Olave and Christian Watson.
In his Week 11 matchup with McLaurin, Mitchell was aligned with him on 80% of his routes. He was not targeted a single time when covering the Commanders’ star receiver and was targeted just once in the entire game according to Next Gen Stats.
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Jayden Daniels QB, Washington Commanders
Another runaway award winner, Daniels had one of the most impressive rookie seasons in league history. The Commanders’ preseason projected win total was just 6 ½ games but the play of Daniels led them to a 12-5 record and the No. 6 seed in the NFC.
The 2024 No. 2 overall pick was second among rookies in passing yards, throwing for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns. His running ability lived up to the hype too. His 891 yards on the ground was good for second across rookies along with his six rushing touchdowns.
Daniels’ rookie campaign came with plenty of jaw-dropping moments. His game-winning Hail Mary against the Bears sent the NFL into a frenzy and his Week 15 fourth-quarter comeback against the Eagles was the latest installment in Daniels’ rookie year.
Defensive Player of the Year: Andrew Van Ginkel OLB, Minnesota Vikings
Currently, T.J. Watt and Patrick Surtain II are the leading odds favorites to win this award according to FanDuel. But I believe Minnesota’s Andrew Van Ginkel has been the most impactful defensive player in the NFL this season.
Leading one of the better defenses in the league, Van Ginkel has been used in several different ways.
His pass rush stats jump out at you the most, as he’s tied for the eighth most sacks in the NFL at 11.5. He’s also racked up 79 total tackles (50 solo) and one forced fumble. Further, he has 49 total pressures and 19 QB hits.
What makes those numbers truly impressive though, is the number of snaps played in coverage versus his snaps as a pass-rusher.
Van Ginkel has totaled only 414 pass rush snaps according to Pro Football Focus, which ranks 28th in the NFL. As of Week 11 of the regular season, he had played 133 coverage snaps. The next highest among outside linebackers at that time was 82 (according to Matthew Coller of Sports Illustrated).
As a result, Van Ginkel has posted career highs with two interceptions on the season, both returned for a touchdown. He also has six pass breakups.
Van Ginkel has accomplished a feat that no other defensive player has since 1999. He is the first player since then to record two pick sixes, 10 sacks or more and 15 tackles for loss or more (Vikings.com).
While Watt and Surtain–and others–are the bigger name-value picks and have had great seasons, nobody has been more impactful in more ways than Andrew Van Ginkel has in 2024.
Offensive Player of the Year: Saquon Barkley RB, Philadelphia Eagles
Another no-brainer, Barkley was incredible for the Eagles this year, nearly breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record.
Barkley finished with 2,005 rushing yards, just the ninth 2,000-yard rushing season in NFL history. His 15 total touchdowns ranked seventh in the NFL, just behind Derrick Henry and Ja’Marr Chase, the two other main contenders for this award.
He gave the Eagles another element to their offense this season, taking pressure off Jalen Hurts and the passing game. Philadelphia ranked No. 1 in the NFL in rushing attempts per game and rushing play percentage (55.7%). Some of those numbers are inflated by Hurts’ dual-threat ability but Barkley carried the ball a career-high 345 times this year.
Most Valuable Player: Josh Allen QB, Buffalo Bills
The MVP race this season has been one of the tightest battles in recent memory. But more importantly, it’s also been one of the most exciting.
Both Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen have blown us away with their performances and mind-boggling stats on the way to leading their teams to the No. 2 and 3 seeds in the AFC respectively. The two leading candidates went head-to-head in the AFC divisional round with Buffalo coming out on top, 27-25. If the score was any indicator itself, the game did not disappoint.
While some might have takeaways from the playoff battle between the two regarding the MVP debate, it’s important to remember that it is a regular season award. The votes have already been submitted and the MVP has already been named, just not to the public.
If I did have an MVP vote, I would have selected Josh Allen.
Allen has been the most valuable player in football this season. After the losses the Bills had this offseason, Allen had arguably his best year as a pro yet and secured a top-two seed in his conference. He also led the Bills to an AFC East title, which they secured on DECEMBER 1, IN WEEK 13!
Allen recorded 40 total touchdowns and over 4,200 total yards in the regular season with just one Pro Bowl player in his supporting cast. I mentioned that he excelled even with the departures from Buffalo this offseason. Those departures included All-Pro receiver Stefon Diggs and receiver Gabe Davis on offense.
During Diggs’ tenure with the Bills, he brought in 445 catches from Josh Allen for 5,372 yards and 37 touchdowns. Gabe Davis posted 163 catches for 2,730 yards and 27 touchdowns during his time with Allen.
Even with both of those players leaving, Allen threw for 28 touchdowns, 3,731 yards and had the FEWEST turnovers AND sacks in a season in his career.
His leading receiver this season was Khalil Shakir, who was the third and sometimes fourth option in Buffalo when Diggs and Davis were still around. Shakir had a career year this season, yet neither he nor any of the other Bills receivers reached 1,000 yards.
Allen posted all of those impressive passing numbers while the Bills shifted to a more run-focused offense this season. His pass attempts were the fewest in his career since his second season in the NFL when he finally started all 16 games. Further, the Bills had the fifth-highest rushing play percentage in the league this year at 47.9% (TeamRankings.com).
But Allen’s impact as a runner was felt as well. He rushed for 531 yards and 12 touchdowns, the second-most rushing touchdowns he has scored in a season. Outside of Allen, the Bills were led by James Cook, who barely cracked the 1,000-yard mark with 1,009. Cook also added 16 touchdowns on the ground.
Finally, Allen has beaten the best teams in the NFL this season while carrying the Bills.
He defeated both No. 1 seeds in the NFL, Kansas City and Detroit. In those two games combined, he totaled: 624 passing yards with three passing touchdowns and 123 rushing yards with three rushing touchdowns.
The award is titled the “Most Valuable Player” for a reason. When debating who was the most valuable player in the league this season, look no further than Josh Allen.
All stats were recieved from ESPN, NFL.com and TeamRankings
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