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The Associated Press has announced the finalists for the NFL’s regular season awards for the 2023 season. There are eight total awards voted on by The Associated Press, including the upcoming NFL Honors Most Valuable Player award. There are a total of five finalists for this prestigious award, led by Lamar Jackson, who is considered the favorite to win.
The winner will be announced on February 8th, just before Super Bowl V next Sunday. The show will be broadcast live on CBS and NFL Network, as well as streamed on Paramount+.
The finalists for each award are:
best player
Jackson is the presumptive favorite to win the award, and it will be the second time in his career that he has been named MVP. He helped lead the Ravens to his AFC’s No. 1 seed, and he did it by defeating several Super Bowl contenders during his final month of the year. In addition to his career-high 3,678 yards passing and a 67.2 passing percentage, Jackson continued to carve up defenses with his legs, rushing for 821 yards and five touchdowns. He may be the favorite to win, but it will be interesting to see who comes in second place behind him.
Defensive Player of the Year
Browns pass rusher Myles Garrett is currently considered the favorite to win the award, but the competition is fierce. That being said, Cleveland’s star led arguably the best unit in the NFL in 2023. He also finished the year with 42 tackles, 30 quarterback hits and 14 sacks. Pittsburgh’s TJ Watt will likely have the biggest competition, as he leads the league with 19 sacks.
Offensive Player of the Year
Offensive Player of the Year awards are typically given to skill position players, as the MVP award essentially serves as a “top quarterback” honor. McCaffrey is mentioned as his MVP finalist, so it would make sense for him to be the winner here. The Niners led the NFL with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and 21 total touchdowns, helping San Francisco secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Tyreek Hill is probably his biggest competition and looked like he was winning the prize on the inside track when he was on pace to surpass 2,000 receiving yards in points this season. However, while he falls short of that total, he still leads the league with 1,799 receiving yards, so this award will likely go to McCaffrey.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Again, these awards have a quarterback bias, so CJ Stroud is likely the favorite to win among these finalists, and for good reason. The Texans rookie had a sensational first year in the league, tying the record for most passing yards in a game by a rookie (470) and most passing touchdowns in a game (5). Additionally, Stroud led the Texans to an AFC South title and a playoff victory. While Stroud is more than deserving of this award, especially after the Rams wideout broke single-season rookie records for receptions (105) and receiving yards (1,486), Nacua was a close second.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
It’s been a disappointing year for the Eagles as a whole, but Jalen Carter has been a bright spot. The rookie defensive lineman recorded 33 tackles and six sacks this season, mostly from inside, and is a leading candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Will Anderson Jr., who led the Texans to the playoffs and totaled seven sacks and 45 tackles in 15 games, is also in contention for the award.
Comeback Player of the Year
CPOY is a difficult award because it can be parsed in many different ways. Is this meant to honor players who have returned from injury? Or do we reward players who bounce back after a year or two of slump? Broadly speaking, it concerns the former. Damar Hamlin, the Bills safety who was able to return to the field after suffering cardiac arrest at the end of last season, has been the frontrunner for the award all season. Hamlin is deserving and likely to win the award, but with Joe Flacco coming off the street to lead the Browns to the playoffs, he’s making a belated bid for the award.
Coach of the Year
- Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions
- John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens
- Demeco Ryans, Houston Texans
- Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers
- Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns
You can’t go wrong with these coaches as they put together great seasons. Stefanski is now the heavy betting favorite. The main reason for that is because he was able to lead the Browns to the playoffs even though he had to start five different quarterbacks throughout the year. Dan Campbell and DeMeco Ryans are also being considered after leading their respective teams to district titles.
Assistant Coach of the Year
- Ben Johnson, Detroit Lions
- Mike McDonald, Baltimore Ravens
- Todd Monken, Baltimore Ravens
- Jim Schwartz, Cleveland Browns
- Bobby Slowik, Houston Texans
It will be very interesting to see how this award develops. Mike McDonald might get a nomination here, as the Ravens’ defense is one of the top units in the NFL in many categories, which helped them secure the No. 1 seed. That being said, the work that both Ben Johnson and Bobby Slowik have done on the Lions and Texans offenses this season has been great, and it’s surprising to see them listed as top head coaching candidates this season. It’s not something you should do.
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