Each year, the NFL crowns a few significant players with significant titles. These range from Rookie of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and more. Of course, the season isn’t over yet, so these players haven’t been named.
Now, whether we end up 100% right or not is another question. Still, we’ll take a moment to look at each of these awards and find the candidate we think is best suited. We’ll also include some of their statistics and their current odds to win. A few players that we’ve included in our early predictions might be a shock. So, sit tight and enjoy our early predictions for the NFL Awards.
Rookie of the Year: A Former National Championship Winner
As we take a look at the favorites for this category, one player sticks out. Don’t get us wrong, JaMarr Chase has had an incredible season and has the best odds (-250). However, more often than not, a quarterback is given the title of Rookie of the Year. There wasn’t a better rookie quarterback the entire year than New England QB Mac Jones. Who’s currently in the playoffs.
The voters might take into account how he performs in the playoffs though. This is where Mac Jones could lose this award to JaMarr Chase. However, with even one playoff win, we believe the award is his. He’s had an incredible season, throwing for over 3,800 yards and leading his team to a ten-win season. Winning ROTY will be just a starting point to what he’ll do in the NFL.
Offensive Player of the Year: Two Really Great Candidates
There are currently two players tied for the best odds to win Offensive Player of the Year. On one side, you have Cooper Kupp in the NFC. Kupp had an incredible regular-season, putting up 1,947 yards, first in receiving yards in the NFL. The person who came in second place (Justin Jefferson) was three-hundred yards behind at 1,616. Kupp is currently a -110 favorite to win.
Tied with him at -110 odds is the running back Jonathan Taylor. Taylor accumulated 1,811 rushing yards this season, but his team missed the playoffs. We think the real difference between these two is the success of their teams. Considering Los Angeles was able to grab a playoff spot, we’ll take Cooper Kupp -110 to win OPOTY. Although Taylor is a great option too.
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Defensive Player of the Year: This One Might Shock You
At the beginning of the year, Aaron Donald had the best odds to win this award. Now, he’s fallen back to the number three spot with +1600 odds. The current leader is T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who is -1450 to win this. With such incredible odds, it wouldn’t make sense to not pick him, right? Well, call us crazy because we have another incredible defensive player in mind.
Micah Parsons is our pick to win Defensive Player of the Year for the 2021 season
As a rookie, Parsons has made an instant impact on the Dallas Cowboys. He has 13 sacks on the season, ranking 6th in the NFL in his first year. He also has three forced fumbles and 64 solo tackles. He’s been a nightmare for opposing teams and has the second-best odds at +950.
Whoever Wins, It’s Been an Incredible Season
Regardless of whether the players we chose won these awards, they had a great year. Mac Jones is a rookie quarterback leading his team in the playoffs. Cooper Kupp can already hang his hat on the fact that he’s accumulated nearly 2,000 receiving yards. Micah Parsons can rest easy knowing that the Dallas Cowboys are happy with their 2021 draft pick.
As hard as it is for players to separate themselves in the NFL, these players did. They proved that they belong among the best of the best and two of them are rookies. As the season comes to a close, we can look back and appreciate just how incredible it’s been.
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