Way Too Early 2024 NFL Awards Predictions

Now two weeks into training camp, and with the first NFL preseason game having already been played, the 2024 regular season is right around the corner. While it is still way too early to decide the winners of each NFL award, it’s always fun to speculate which player will end up winning each one. Some names are more common than others when talking about which player deserves which award, but there are plenty of guys flying below the radar at the moment; leading to a lot of controversy. These are some predictions for every major individual award this season.

most valuable player: Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo bills

This may sound crazy to a lot of people, but there’s an explanation behind this pick. Josh Allen has been at the top of the MVP odds for the last four or so years. However, with other quarterbacks in the league such as Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, his name is often lost in the amount of talent that the NFL has to offer. What also doesn’t help Allen’s MVP case is the fact that he doesn’t have a lot of playoff success; as he’s never won a Super Bowl, or better yet, an AFC Championship.

The good thing about the MVP award is that a player’s regular season success is able to outweigh whatever hiccups they have during the playoffs; as seen from Lamar Jackson’s 2023-24 campaign. This just means that as long as Allen is able to have a great regular season, then the award should be his for taking. The only problem is that not a lot of people have faith in Allen’s surrounding cast. Coming out of an offseason where Buffalo let go of multiple fan favorites, such as veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs, there is a lot of doubt about whether or not Allen can continue to carry this team.

However, Allen is still in a great situation at the moment. With the team now deciding to go in the direction of “wide reciever by committee”, this takes a lot of pressure off of Allen, as he doesn’t have to make his elite receiver (Diggs) constantly happy. Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel, and tight end Dalton Kincaid are “veterans” (said loosely because Kincaid is only going into his second season) who are going to be immediate “safety blankets” for Allen, while it is said that Buffalo’s 2024 second-round pick, Keon Coleman, is already becoming Allen’s favorite target during training camp. If Coleman is able to live up to his hype he might have a shot at the winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.

The Buffalo Bills may not look like much on the surface, but everything that Allen needs is there. Maybe this new approach by Buffalo’s front office will prove to be what their franchise quarterback needed all along. Allen is without a doubt a top three QB in the NFL; he just needs to have that “one complete season”, and he’ll win his first MVP trophy. There is a good chance that he’ll do it as an underdog this year.

Head coach of the year: Demeco Ryans, Houston Texans

The Houston Texans had one of the quickest rebuilds in recent sports memory. Going from a record of 3-13 during the 2022-23 season and selecting second in the 2023 NFL Draft, to going 10-7 and winning the AFC South the very next season is no easy feat. Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud’s elite play was a big reason for Houston’s success last season, but DeMeco Ryans’ coaching ability is what really brought this team together. His energy and “modernized coaching style” proved to be just what this team needed.

Granted, Ryan has only coached the Texans for one season so it’s a little hard to judge if this is an “outlier year”, and if the Texans are going to return to their 3-13 season level of play that everyone saw two years ago. Nonetheless, Ryans showed a lot of promise in his first season, and it’s extremely hard to see the Texans not remaining at their current form.

With new acquisitions made over the offseason such as wide receiver Stefon Diggs, running back Joe Mixon, and edge rusher Danielle Hunter, this team is absolutely loaded on every level. With Ryans and Stroud both entering their second year with the team, the chemistry is going to continue to grow. It should not shock a lot of people if Houston ends up being put in the “Super Bowl contender” category midway through this upcoming season. If the Texans live up to their hype, Ryans is bound to get the Head Coach of the Year Award.

Offensive player of the year: Ceedee lamb, WR, Dallas cowboys

There are other obvious picks at the wide receiver position for this award, such as Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill, and Ja’Marr Chase; for good reason because all of those players are phenomenal. However, all of the guys listed are going to be splitting targets with other receivers on the field. That’s not the case with CeeDee Lamb.

Sure, the Dallas Cowboys have other weapons on the team such as Brandin Cooks and tight end Jake Ferguson, but their depth ends there. That means that Lamb is going to be the primary target for Dak Prescott come every single game day. The now fifth-year receiver was able to put up 135 catches for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, while he was a nominee for the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year Award. Those stats came as Dallas’ offense looked better than what is expected out of them this season. That means that if everything goes “according to plan” within the team’s facility, then the NFL community might be looking at the next 2,000-yard receiver.

With Lamb being the heart and soul of the Cowboys’ offense, it’s not going to be hard to get the ball in his hands. As long as he’s on the team, Dallas is going to be a really good team in the NFC (at least during the regular season).

Defensive player of the year: T.J. Watt, DE, PittsburgH Steelers

T.J. Watt was snubbed of the Defensive Player of the Year Award last season; that much is obvious. He is by far the most dominant player on the defensive side of the ball now that Aaron Donald retired, and it’s not much of a debate. Watt has 96.5 sacks in the seven seasons that he has played in the NFL, while he has also missed a lot of playing time with injury.

Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns won the award last season, but 2024-25 might have to be reserved for Watt. Credited that Garrett had 14 sacks last season, and is up to 88.5 sacks in seven years, but Watt had the better season and has been snubbed of this award on numerous occasions. Watt won back in 2021, as his 22.5 sack season was one of the best performances by a pass rusher in league history. He was also a finalist in 2019, 2020, and now 2023, but he’s never been able to make it over the “hump” of winning more than one.

If Watt can have another season of 15+ sacks, then he should be the Defensive Player of the Year Award winner. He has been snubbed of a second for too long now, and with another trophy added to his collection come the night of the NFL Honors, he’ll be one away from catching up to his older brother, J.J. Watt; who was also displeased about T.J. not winning the award last year.

“Everybody is great. I’m not saying that anybody else is not great. I’m just simply looking at the literal facts, and it still just boggles my mind (that T.J. did not win the Defensive Player of the Year Award).”

— J.J. Watt via the "Pat McAfee Show"

Everyone understands how dominant J.J. was in his prime, but we might be looking at an even better prime right now. It should be a stellar year out of Watt, now that he’s coming back to prove a point this season.

Offensive rookie of the year: Caleb Williams, QB, Chicago bears

It’s extremely rare that the first overall pick gets the luxury of an elite supporting cast right off the bat. Caleb Williams, who was selected first in the 2024 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, is one of the few.

Multiple quarterbacks in the league had to find their game while being in below average situations; sometimes even terrible situations. Former first overall picks, such as Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals and Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals, know this all too well. Yet, they were able to find success in the NFL, that has been relatively long term. While both Arizona and Cincinnati have been trying to build around those quarterbacks for the last few years, Chicago has done the opposite. They already have the team built in order for their rookie QB to come in and have an immediate impact.

With wide receivers such as D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, and incoming rookie Rome Odunze, Chicago has one of the best receiving trios in the NFL. Add in Cole Kmet and Gerald Everett, the team’s tight end duo, as well as running back D’Andre Swift, and this offense is complete across the board.

Williams was projected to be the number one pick in the draft since last offseason, and it’s not by accident. At Southern California, Williams made plays on the football field that only guys like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen could replicate in an actual game. If Williams can do the same thing in the NFL, given the supporting cast that he has on offense, Chicago could make the playoffs for the first time since 2020; and Williams will end up winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Similar to how Houston found “their guy” in C.J. Stroud, the same thing is almost bound to happen in Chicago.

defensive rookie of the year: Dallas turner, DE, Minnesota vikings

With the 17th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings got an absolute steal as they selected edge rusher Dallas Turner out of Alabama. As multiple reports came out during draft week that Turner would likely go inside the top 10, he was able to fall all the way back to 17; where Minnesota then traded up from pick 23 in order to get him.

Turner is following in the footsteps of another great Alabama edge rusher, Will Anderson Jr., who was selected with the third pick of last year’s NFL Draft. Anderson Jr. went on to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, and was one of the main reasons as to why the Houston Texans’ defense took such a big jump last season. So why would anyone believe that Dallas Turner can’t do the exact same thing for the Vikings?

Minnesota’s defense is pretty lackluster this year to say the least; outside of newcomer Turner. With Danielle Hunter leaving the team during the offseason, that opens the door for Turner to be the best player on the Vikings’ defensive unit, and he hasn’t even played a snap in the NFL. Players who are already polished on the professional level coming out of college are not easy to find, but that seems to be the case with Turner.

He may not have been the first pass rusher taken off the board in the draft, but it would be pretty surprising if he didn’t end up being the best one. His upside is incredible, as he’s already on his way to being the main building block for the future of this team’s defense.

Comeback player of the year: Joe burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals

While most of the NFL world would say that Aaron Rodgers is the obvious lock for Comeback Player of the Year, Joe Burrow is not far behind. Burrow missed seven games last season due to a wrist injury that happened against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11. It was at that point where Jake Browning came in as the starter and finished out the season for the Bengals.

Burrow is a premiere quarterback in this league, as he’s already had to deal with coming back from a major injury before. He was the winner of the 2022 Comeback Player of the Year Award when he returned from his rookie year ACL injury, and then went on to win the AFC Championship the very next season. He is, at the very least, a top four quarterback and he’s going to showcase that once again this season.

With guys on this team like Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, it should be easy for Burrow to pick up where he left off last season; before the injury. The fifth-year quarterback said that their shouldn’t be any setbacks during training camp with his injury, and NFL fans’ should be hoping that what he said is true. Football is better when Burrow is playing, and when that happens, Cincinnati is a force to be reckoned with.

Once again, these are just predictions and subject to change once the regular season starts. When some of these players actually start playing football, it will be a lot easier to decide who should get which award. Until that time, everyone can only speculate who is going to perform at the highest level this year. This should be an action-packed NFL season, to put it mildly.