Yeah, I know I’m late to the ball game here. The 2018 NFL Awards were handed out the night before the Super Bowl. That was a busy weekend, and it was followed up with several days of internet outage at the SoBros HQ. Still, better late than never – I wanted to weigh in on the awards.
MVP: Patrick Mahomes
Mahomes also won Offensive Player of the Year…but the MVP came in dominant fashion, getting 41 of the 50 votes. And, really, it makes sense. The remaining nine votes went to Drew Brees, but no one had the same impact in 2018 as Mahomes, plain and simple.
50 touchdowns is rare air in NFL history. But, if you look at the eye test, Mahommes was just a game changer. They’ll be playing the no-look pass for all of eternity…at least it feels that way. Mahomes took the lead in the MVP race early in the season and never looked back.
Defensive Player of the Year: Aaron Donald
Now, we know – if you’re going to be the best, you have to train with knives. That’s it. That’s the secret. But, in all seriousness, Donald is on his own planet when it comes to playing defense. It’s his second consecutive DPOTY award, and there’s no signs of slowing down.
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Saquon Barkley
I’m surprised it was as close as it was between Barkley and Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. No doubt that Mayfield had an impressive rookie year and sure does look like the foundation of the future in Cleveland moving forward. But, Barkley was a dynamic offensive weapon who immediately put himself in the upper echelon of NFL play-makers. We’re talkin’ about a class of backs like Todd Gurley and Ezekiel Elliott. Mayfield simply didn’t get to that level in 2018 – Barkley was the easy choice to me.
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Darius Leonard
To me, this one was between Leonard and Chargers safety Derwin James, but Leonard was 1000000% the right call to make. As a fan of the Tennessee Titans, I do not look forward to watching Leonard play for the next decade.
Coach of the Year: Matt Nagy
It’s the only I gripe I somewhat have. I think Anthony Lynn should’ve been the call here. If not Lynn, then definitely Frank Reich. Nagy would’ve been third on my list. That’s not an indictment of the Bears coach – I just feel as though Lynn has been underrated since he took the helm in Los Angeles. And, the job Reich did in Indianapolis this year was beyond commendable. It certainly looks like he played a larger part in that 2017 Eagles Super Bowl Championship than he was initially given credit for.
Comeback Player of the Year: Andrew Luck
Yeah – pretty cut and dry here. Luck reminded us of the old Luck in 2018. Given how bizarre his injury was, how little we knew about it, and how much time he missed, there were people speculating that he would be done with football at one point! Not only did he come back….he came back in a big way. No one else came close.
In short, yeah – it’s all chalk on my end. The voters got it right. Even with my gripe for Coach of the Year, I don’t think Nagy necessarily didn’t deserve the award. It was a close field and could’ve been any number of guys. So, I guess what I’m trying to say is….I’m sorry if you came here for hot takes. You won’t get any real argument from me.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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