In some ways, this NFL season was as typical as any we’ll ever see. Kansas City and Green Bay won their respective divisions. Aaron Rodgers threw a lot of touchdowns, Gronk spent much of the season Gronking, Aaron Donald was amazing, and Baker Mayfield made a ton of commercials.
In another way, it was a season unlike any in a long time. The 17-game schedule threw everyone for a loop, and then COVID made fantasy football impossibly difficult. Gridiron warriors like Russell Wilson and Derrick Henry finally got hurt. Four of the five first round quarterbacks disappointed. And we had some of the most ignominious coaching changes in both Las Vegas and Jacksonville that we’ve seen in many years.
Most Valuable Player
Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
This wasn’t your usual year in regards to the MVP award. No one stood out head and shoulders over the rest. We didn’t have Patrick Mahomes’ 50 touchdown campaign or Lamar Jackson destroying the league as he did in 2019. As good as Cooper Kupp and Jonathan Taylor were, non-QBs simply don’t make the play-to-play impact of quarterbacks.
From a statistical standpoint, the race will come down to Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady (with Joe Burrow making a strong but too late push). Rodgers has taken his game to another level the last two seasons, and he’s the odds-on favorite to earn his second consecutive MVP award (and fourth total) at age 38.
Rodgers threw 37 touchdown passes to just four interceptions, a TD:INT ratio we only ever see from Rodgers. He led the NFL in passer rating (111.9), QBR (68.8), and ANY/A (8.00), and he did this despite having a revolving door of No. 2 wide receivers behind all-world talent Davante Adams. Even with a missed game due to COVID, Rodgers still led Green Bay to 13 wins and the top seed in the NFC.
Offensive Player of Year
Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams
The Offensive Player of the Year award is traditionally seen as the best non-QB from the offensive side of the ball. While Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers won the NFL MVP awards, the last two years, it was Michael Thomas and Derrick Henry who won the OPOY awards.
There are essentially two main candidates for this year’s award. Jonathan Taylor swept the running back statlines, while Cooper Kupp won the receiving Triple Crown. Taylor’s 1,811 rushing yards topped the NFL by a staggering 552 yards over Nick Chubb, while his 18 rushing touchdowns was three more than any other runner. As a receiver, Taylor added 40 catches for 360 yards, giving him 2,171 scrimmage yards and 20 total touchdowns, both figures league leading totals.
Kupp’s season was just as special in its own way – he took his game to an entirely new level. His 145/1,947/15 statline swept the receiver board with Kupp missing the single-season record for receptions by just two and yards by 17. Extended season or not, what Kupp did was remarkable in its own right and even more sensational when factoring in the season-ending injury to Robert Woods that sent more double teams Kupp’s way.
You can’t go wrong with either player, but the exclusivity of Kupp’s receiving Triple Crown and his assault on the record books gives him this award.
Defensive Player of Year
Aaron Donald, DT, Los Angeles Rams
Aaron Donald has reached the LeBron James part of his career in which we know he’s the best defensive player (some may say player) in football, and thus, the Defensive Player of the Year award typically becomes an opportunity to recognize another great player.
T.J. Watt will win this award, and his record-tying 22.5 sacks is an all-time great season. But make no mistake, Donald is still the better player. He started all 17 games, racked up 12.5 sacks and four forced fumbles from an interior defensive line position, and rated as Pro Football Focus’ top defensive player for the sixth consecutive season.
And check out this graphic by ESPN’s Seth Walder:
Updated defensive tackle chart!
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) January 5, 2022
Double team rate pass rushing as a defensive tackle (x) by pass rush win rate as a defensive tackle (y).
I'll say the same thing I say every time: Aaron Donald is ridiculous.
(ESPN / NFL Next Gen Stats) pic.twitter.com/H15tc7eoR4
Offensive Rookie of Year
Ja’Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
We’re only one season in, but this year’s rookie class is looking strong from the offensive side of the ball. Mac Jones was the only quarterback to stand out in year one, but a slew of players had promising debut campaigns: Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith, Creed Humphrey, Rashawn Slater, Kyle Pitts, Najee Harris, Javonte Williams, and Penei Sewell.
The offseason debate of whether Cincinnati should take Ja’Marr Chase or Penei Sewell is still a reasonable debate, but it’s difficult to see Sewell as having made the immediate impact on the Bengals that Chase did. After a preseason filled with drops, Chase exploded onto the NFL scene, catching a touchdown in each of his first three games and finishing 2021 with a rookie record 1,455 receiving yards to go with 13 scores.
Chase showed the ability to take over a game, like he did against Kansas City with Cincinnati’s season on the line. Chase disappeared for too many stretches, but still posted more 200-yard receiving games as a rookie than Hall of Famer Randy Moss did in his career.
Defensive Rookie of Year
Micah Parsons, LB, Dallas Cowboys
Say what you want about Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys, but this organization can flat out draft players. Micah Parsons is the latest in a core of young talent that also includes CeeDee Lamb and Trevon Diggs.
Parsons was drafted to be your traditional off-ball linebacker, but injuries to DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory thrust Parsons into an edge rusher role for the first time in his career – and the results were as stellar as you can imagine.
Parsons finished with 13 sacks, three forced fumbles, 30 QB hits, and the second-highest pressure percentage (22.1%) in the NFL. It’s rare for a rookie to wreck so much havoc, but Parsons was the exception.
Coach of Year
Mike Vrabel, Tennessee Titans
The Coach of the Year award is typically reserved for the coach who exceeded preseason expectations by the most.Andy Reid going 12-5 is another line on a future Hall of Fame resume, but everyone expected Kansas City to dominate in 2021.
Kliff Kingsbury and Zac Taylor were probably on the hot seat entering this season, and both secured playoff spots. Mike Tomlin coaxed a postseason berth from a team with a quarterback who should have retired two years ago. Bill Belichick rebounded from his first porous season in two decades to make the playoffs with a rookie QB. Rich Bisaccia took over a 3-2 Las Vegas team when Jon Gruden was fired and kept the ship upright en route to January ball.
But no one was more deserving of the award than the criminally underrated Mike Vrabel, who took a Tennessee team that set an all-time record for players used in a season and earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Losing Derrick Henry to a broken foot in Week 8 was a massive blow, but Vrabel also dealt with injuries to Pro Bowl wide receivers A.J. Brown and Julio Jones.
Even so, this Tennessee team beat Buffalo, Kansas City, Indianapolis twice, New Orleans, and San Francisco this year. They’re battle-tested and tough – and they get the Big Dog Henry back for the postseason.
Comeback Player of Year
Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
ACL tears aren’t what they used to be. While once seen as potentially career-ending injuries, NFL players typically return within 9-12 months in today’s game, often showing no ill effects.
What makes Joe Burrow’s comeback so impressive though are several factors. The injury he sustained was not just a torn ACL, but a hit that sustained a torn ACL, MCL, damage to the PCL, and a torn meniscus. Not only did Burrow make a full return to football just nine months later, but he started every game before sitting in Week 18 – and that was because Cincinnati had already clinched the AFC North.
Along the way, Burrow led the league with a 70.4 completion percentage and 8.9 yards per attempt while throwing 34 touchdown passes. The trio of Ja’Marr Chase/Tee Higgins/Tyler Boyd was great for Burrow’s passing game, but left the offensive line a below-average unit that resulted in Burrow being sacked an NFL-high 51 times. It’s not ideal to have your 25-year-old franchise quarterback take so many hits, but the fact that Burrow survived it all behind that line is remarkable.
Breakout Player of Year
Cordarrelle Patterson, RB, Atlanta Falcons
While not an official NFL award, this should be one. Right? It’s not designed to award rookies but more players who took a significant leap forward from the level in which they had previously performed. With that in mind, can you get a better fit for the award than Cordarrelle Patterson?
What a career the former Minnesota Vikings first round pick has had. Patterson entered the NFL in 2013 as the 29th overall pick; after eight seasons for four teams, Patterson had established himself as a world-class kick returner but very little of an offensive threat. And then this year happened.
Patterson was one of the most versatile multidimensional backs in the league, leading the team in rushing yards (618), total yards from scrimmage (1,166), and total touchdowns (11). He was the first RB since Todd Gurley in 2017 to post a 500/5 rushing line with 50 receptions on at least 10 yards per catch.
Patterson had a game in which he caught three touchdowns – a feat Julio Jones never accomplished in Atlanta. He scored multiple touchdowns three separate times. And he did this for an offense that was without star wide receiver Calvin Ridley for the majority of the season.
Most Disappointing Player
Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants
Three years ago, Saquon Barkley was the revelation of the National Football League, a 21-year-old superstar running back fresh off a 261/1,307/11 line and poised to become the face of the sport. Now? Barkley looks washed up. There doesn’t seem to be much left from the once-great running back, who defied conventional wisdom by going No. 2 overall in the 2018 draft.
Barkley had just 593 rushing yards and two scores in 2021. He averaged a paltry 3.7 yards per carry. He didn’t top 64 rushing yards until Week 17. To be fair, he was rehabbing from last season’s ACL injury, but then again, Barkley is always returning from sort of injury. It was his inconsistent and unspectacular season that prevented this dubious award from going to Trevor Lawrence.
Special Teams Player of Year
Justin Tucker, K, Baltimore Ravens
Another non-award that should be an award would go to Justin Tucker, the game’s best kicker and maybe the greatest kicker of all-time. The 2021 season saw Tucker go 32 for 32 on extra points and convert a league-leading 94.6 percent of his field goals.
In typical Tucker fashion, he made all six of his 50+ yard field goals and 19 of 21 (95%) over 40 yards. And the most amazing part? He kicked a 66-yard walkoff field goal to beat the Detroit Lions in Week 3.
Kickers don’t usually make the Hall of Fame, but Tucker is trending towards being a lock.
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