Austin Loring’s Way Too Early NFL Awards Predictions

It’s the time of the year when we try to predict the award winners for this upcoming season. These picks will most likely turn out to be horrible by week five of the upcoming NFL season, but let’s give it a go. Obviously, all of these picks are made in the circumstances that there are no injuries, but as we know, it seems every year more and more star players are getting injured during the season.

Most Valuable Player (MVP): Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals have quietly built up an even more dangerous offense than they have had these past few seasons. The Bengals were able to keep wide receiver Tee Higgins and acquired tight end Mike Gesicki and running back Zack Moss this offseason to bolster the offense even more.

Burrow was just starting to heat up from a slow start last season before his unfortunate injury on Thursday Night Football versus the Baltimore Ravens. This Bengals team was able to finish above .500 with a backup quarterback leading the charge in the back half of the season.

Notable pickups in the draft like Alabama wide receiver Jermaine Burton and Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims will be great young talent with Burton being a great third option at the wide receiver options and Mims being able to learn from veteran tackles like Orlando Brown Jr. and Trent Brown.

The ferocity of the AFC North this season, it is apparent that the Bengals and Burrow need to ball out to have a chance of getting out of the bloodbath that is the AFC, and I think Burrow can and will do exactly that. Burrow’s competitors in the league have dwindled, with quarterbacks like Josh Allen and Justin Herbert losing a lot of their receiving weapons, which could cause a down tick in their production this season.

Offensive Player of the Year (OPOY): Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings

Jefferson was still able to produce a 1,000 plus yard season while missing seven games and coming back to play with Nick Mullens at quarterback. It does not matter if J.J. McCarthy or Sam Darnold throws to him, Jefferson will produce every game that he plays in.

The breakout of rookie wide receiver Jordan Addison last year, it has created another playmaker teams must cover besides tight end T.J. Hockenson and Jefferson. Jefferson is still the number one wide receiver in the league, standing above some amazing players that could easily have similar seasons to him statistics wise.

I see Jefferson coming back this season with a chip on his shoulder and wanting to show the league and analysts why he should still be considered the best receiver in the game today.

Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY): Maxx Crosby, DE, Las Vegas Raiders

The obvious picks for this award are Pittsburgh Steelers T.J. Watt, Cleveland Browns Myles Garrett and Dallas Cowboys Micah Parsons, but I thought why not go with the dark horse from last year’s finalists.

The Raiders will probably be a middle of the road team this year with a lackluster roster with few star players on the roster. Crosby, however, has been consistently one of the top performing defensive players in the league the past few years. Crosby finished last year with 14.5 sacks, 55 solo tackles and two forced fumbles. The Raiders defense was bright spot last year for the team being able to carry an offense that was trying to mesh with a rookie quarterback in Aidan O’Connell.

If the team can take a step forward and reach the playoffs with the progress Crosby has been showing, it could result in a career high year for him in all statistical categories.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Arizona Cardinals

I do not see any of the rookie quarterbacks having breakout seasons like C.J. Stroud did last year for the Houston Texans. However, with Harrison’s skillset I could see him producing a season similarly to Puka Nacua’s rookie campaign last year with the Los Angeles Rams.

We all know that the competition will be between the top three picks of this year’s draft, but it would be great to see a rookie other than a quarterback win the award for a change.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Terrion Arnold, CB, Detroit Lions

The age of star rookie cornerbacks has started in the NFL and with two years in a row of each draft class having outstanding rookie talent right off the bat, I see it continuing this year with Arnold in my opinion being the best of the bunch. Arnold’s playstyle fits perfectly with the way the Lions expect their cornerbacks to play, with an emphasis on press man coverage.

I see Arnold following in the footsteps of recent star cornerbacks like Sauce Gardner, Devon Witherspoon, Christian Gonzalez, Trent McDuffie and many more. Other contenders for this award could be Minnesota Viking’s edge rusher Dallas Turner and Los Angeles Rams edge rusher Jared Verse.

Comeback Player of the Year: Aaron Rodgers, QB, New York Jets

This is no debate because there really is not any other competition to Rodgers besides Atlanta Falcon’s quarterback Kirk Cousins who experienced a similar injury, but later into the season.

As long as Rodgers plays mostly a full season, he will easily earn this award solely because of the story behind Rodgers situation. It would be cool to see a player like Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson get it, but it would not really make sense since he played very few games his rookie season and Rodgers story was more well known.

Coach of the Year: Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions

This is finally the year that Campbell should win the Coach of the Year award. Campbell has been snubbed the past two seasons, especially last season after all the accomplishments he was able to do for this Lions team.

The team may have high expectations, but that should not matter because Campbell deserves at least one coach of the year award due to his efforts in bringing this franchise out of what felt like a millennium of heartbreak and sadness.