IT’S awards season! Before we dive into Super Bowl LII we will find out the recipients at the end of season award honour show on Saturday night. So of course, I’m making my own predictions for who will take home the mainstream trophies, but I’ve included a handful of other honours to mix things up. Much like the NFL, all these awards are regular season orientated so you won’t see any links to Stefon Diggs’ touchdowns below.

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Comeback Player of the Year:
Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers

Honourable Mention: Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
COMING back from an ACL injury and posting seven games of 100+ yards is super impressive. Allen finished third in the entire NFL for total receiving yards and led the league from Week 10 with 845 yards. His consistent connection with Philip Rivers was a large reason that the Chargers remained in the playoff hunt for as long as they did. Take a bow Keenan.

Defensive Rookie of the Year:
Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans Saints

Honourable Mention: Tre’Davious White, Buffalo Bills
THIS award is probably the most debated one in the league. Honestly, you can make a case for both Lattimore and White as the best defensive first-year pro and it’s tough to pick a clear winner. Considering the revival of New Orleans defense and how big a role Lattimore played in their success I’m giving him the nod, but I could easily be swayed.

Image from theadvocate.com

Offensive Rookie of the Year:
Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints

Honourable Mention: Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs
BACK-to-back Saints rookies are in line for honours and this time the race isn’t as close. Alvin Kamara delivered arguably the most exciting rookie campaign ever as he totalled over 1,500 scrimmage yards and become one of the most explosive, dynamic players in the league. Kareem Hunt was on track to run away with the award (pun intended), but after he stalled, Kamara emerged as the clear-cut winner.

Coach of the Year:
Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams

Honourable Mention: Mike Zimmer, Minnesota Vikings
IF this was an entire season award then McVay and Zimmer would probably be re-ordered. However, lucky for the Rams boss it’s only a regular season honour and after what may have been the biggest single-season offensive turnaround in NFL history, there’s no denying who deserves the top honour here.

Defensive Player of the Year:
Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams

Honourable Mention: Calais Campbell, Jacksonville Jaguars
THIS one was tough, only because Calais Campbell had such an amazing season. I could dive heavily into the numbers and stats, but let’s get one thing straight. Not only is Aaron Donald the best defender in the league, he might be the best player period. He exerts an insane amount of pressure on quarterbacks and kept OC’s up at night in nervous sweats for the entire 2017 season. Campbell was great and benefitted by playing in an incredible defensive unit. Aaron Donald is a one-man wrecking ball.

Image from therams.com

Offensive Player of the Year:
Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams

Honourable Mention: Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers
AS a Todd Gurley owner in fantasy I saw first hand how ridiculous his numbers were throughout the 2018 season. Leading the league in yards from scrimmage (2,203) and total touchdowns (19) the man was flat out unstoppable. I’m all in on the buzz for Gurley as an MVP candidate as well, but at the end of the day, I think the OPOY award is a fine accolade for his awesome season.

Most Valuable Player:
Tom Brady, New England Patriots

Honourable Mention: Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles
BRADY has been ‘LeBron-ed’ in the past, with voters bored of voting for the same player over and over again and as a result, he only owns two regular season MVP awards. A lot of other candidates fell by the wayside (Brown, Wentz) or weren’t as dominant over the entire 16 week season (Gurley). As a result, Brady gets his third crown and it’s muchly deserved.

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NOW that all the formal awards are out of the way it’s time to hand out some fun ones! I hated to stay so vanilla with my award picks, but there were pretty clear winners in most of the categories. For these unofficial awards though, opinions may vary.

Touchdown Celebration:
Duck, Duck, Goose (Minnesota Vikings)

HONOURABLE mention to the Chiefs sack race, but I loved this one.

Game of the Year:
Seattle Seahawks vs. Houston Texans (41-38) Week 8

THE NFL can be a cruel cold place sometimes. After Watson blew up against the Seahawks near the middle of the season we were unfairly robbed of the second half of his rookie campaign. A non-contact ACL tear came after he threw for over 400 yards and four scores on the Legion of Boom’s turf in an awesome duel with Russell Wilson. The Seattle stud threw for 452 yards and four scores of his own in the epic match.

Blooper of the Year:
Marcus Cooper Fumble vs. Pittsburgh Week 3

COOPER committed a cardinal sin on his own 1-yard line to end the first half of their Week 3 match against the Steelers. After recovering the blocked field goal, he seemed destined to waltz into the end-zone and push the score to 21-7. The only problem was he didn’t have as much separation as he first thought from Vance McDonald, who was able to make a play and etch Cooper’s name into unwanted territory.

Play of the Year:
Tyreek Hill touchdown vs. Dallas Week 9

THERE are tons of other plays that I’ve seen in play of the year compilations. This Tyreek Hill TD makes the list purely based on its uniqueness. Hill caught the ball on the 42-yard line with blockers in front of him and many thought that the half would end after he tried to make a move and was tackled. Well, he made a move alright, virtually going untouched into the end zone to end the half.

Play of the Year if you’re a Bills fan

I’M just gonna leave this here…Until next time!

Peace ✌