Last night, they handed out the various NFL regular-season awards, as determined by a group of 50 members of the media.
For some strange reason, the Associated Press has given me one of the votes. In the interests of full and complete transparency, here’s my ballot for all of the AP regular-season awards.
Each ballot consists of our top three for all categories except MVP, which expands from three to five.
MVP
1.Lamar Jackson, Ravens.
2. Christian McCaffrey, 49ers.
3. Josh Allen, Bills.
4. Dak Prescott, Cowboys.
5. Tyreek Hill, Dolphins.
This was a no-brainer. Lamar won it the night he went to San Francisco and beat the Lions and called me Mike Florist/Flores (which I deserved). Lamar cemented it by throwing five touchdown passes the following weekend against the Dolphins, clinching the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Coach of the year
1. DeMeco Ryans, Texans.
2. Kevin Stefanski, Browns.
3. Matt LaFleur, Packers.
I felt vindicated on this one when the Texans pummeled the Browns in the playoffs. What Ryans did was amazing. No one expected the Texans to make it to the playoffs. For the Browns, Stefanski’s case was hampered by the fact that the offense (his specialty) was more of a liability than a strength for a defense-heavy team.
Assistant coach of the year
1, Jim Schwartz, Browns.
2. Todd Monken, Ravens.
3. Dan Quinn, Cowboys.
Of all the big-name defensive coordinator hires from a year ago, Schwartz quietly stepped in for the Browns and immediately installed a system that got the most out of its best player, and that made all the other great players even better.
Comeback player of the year
1. Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers.
2, Damar Hamlin, Bills.
3. Joe Flacco, Browns.
This is always the hardest award to peg, because there’s no rule or even guidance as to what the player is coming back from. Many thought that Hamlin would clinch it the moment he suited up and played. But he didn’t play very much in 2023. Mayfield came back from two lost years (one to injury, and one to circumstance) to be the guy he was becoming in 2020. Of the three on my ballot, he’s the only one with a chance to land on a future ballot in a different category (like MVP).
Defensive player of the year
1. T.J. Watt, Steelers.
2. Myles Garrett, Browns.
3. Antoine Winfield, Jr., Buccaneers.
Garrett was phenomenal but at the end of the day sacks are sacks and Watt had too many more to ignore. I gave Winfield the third spot because: (1) he deserved it; and (2) it was ridiculous that he didn’t make the NFC Pro Bowl Games roster.
Offensive player of the year
1. Christian McCaffrey, 49ers
2. Tyreek Hill, Dolphins.
3. Lamar Jackson, Ravens.
McCaffrey is one of the most consistently unstoppable offensive weapons we’ve seen in years. Still, but for the December ankle injury, Hill likely would have gotten the first-place vote.
Defensive rookie of the year
1. Kobie Turner, Rams.
2. Devon Witherspoon, Seahawks.
3. Joey Porter, Jr., Steelers.
Kobie Turner didn’t appear on 23 of 50 ballots, at all. I was torn between Will Anderson (the eventual winner) and Porter for third place. Someone made a strong case to me that Porter at least deserved a little recognition for his ability to play and to make an impact on a very good Pittsburgh defense as a rookie.
Offensive rookie of the year
1. C.J. Stroud, Texans.
2. Puka Nacua, Rams.
3. Sam LaPorta, Lions.
I was leaning Nacua until Stroud lit up Lucas Oil Stadium on the last Saturday night of the season. In the old days of one vote per award, I would have split mine between Stroud and Puka.