NFL Awards Watch: Last Week For Players To Make Cases For MVP, Top Rookies And More

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Welcome to NFL Awards Watch, my weekly column that takes a look at the five major awards handed out in the NFL: MVP; Offensive and Defensive Player Of The Year; and Offensive and Defensive Rookie Of The Year.

JONATHAN HUTTON NFL AWARDS WATCH ARCHIVE

Patrick Mahomes is the favorite to win MVP with one week remaining on the NFL regular season schedule, while the rookie awards have tight competition entering Week 18. Let’s get to it:

NFL Awards Watch: Week 17

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Patrick Mahomes and Kenneth Walker III. (Getty Images)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs 

He's passed for over 5,000 yards this season, becoming just the third quarterback to eclipse the mark for a second time in his career. The other two? Tom Brady and Drew Brees. Mahomes also reached 40 touchdown passes in a season for the second time in his career.

Two More To Consider:

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

WR JUSTIN JEFFERSON, Minnesota Vikings

He was held to one catch for 15 yards on five targets in Sunday’s loss to Green Bay, but Jefferson continues to hold down the top spot for the league’s top offensive award. He’s been outstanding throughout the season with 124 catches for 1,771 yards and eight touchdowns. 

JUSTIN JEFFERSON REACTS TO BEING SHUT DOWN BY JAIRE ALEXANDER, BEING HIT WITH THE GRIDDY

Two More To Consider:

OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

RB KENNETH WALKER III, Seattle Seahawks.

K9 has been excellent in Seattle and needs 64 yards and one rushing TD to finish with 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns in his debut season. The last three running backs to have those numbers in a rookie season were Jonathan Taylor, Saquon Barkley and Ezekiel Elliott. Taylor and Barkley both won this award. Elliott finished second to his quarterback Dak Prescott. Walker has produced these numbers despite not entering the starting lineup until Rashaad Penny was placed on Injured Reserve in mid-October.


Two More To Consider:

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

DE NICK BOSA, San Francisco 49ers

Here are the players with at least 17 sacks and more than 40 quarterback hits in a single season since 2006: J.J. Watt (2012, 2014, 2015) and Aaron Donald in 2018. Both players won Defensive Player of the Year honors following each of those seasons. Most recently against the Raiders, Bosa delivered a key pressure in overtime to force an interception that set up the game-winning field goal in overtime.

Two More To Consider:

DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

CB SAUCE GARDNER, New York Jets

The Jets lost and will miss the playoffs, but Gardner shined in Week 16 with four pass breakups against the Seahawks, with two of the four coming while matched up on D.K. Metcalf. He leads the NFL with 20 passes defensed while being a cornerback several NFL offenses avoid throwing at altogether.

Two More To Consider:

Jonathan Hutton is the host of OutKick 360 and writes weekly about NFL awards. Follow Hutton on Twitter.

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Jonathan Hutton is the host of OutKick 360 which breaks down all the latest sports headlines every day from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET. Hutton joined OutKick in January of 2021 after nine years as co-host of Midday 180 on 104.5 The Zone, the second highest rated local sports show in the United States. He is well recognized in the Tennessee sports community and spent 16 years on the Tennessee Titans Radio Network, serving as the Gameday Host, sideline reporter, among other roles. Hutton also does television play-by-play for the TSSAA state football and basketball championships on the NFHS Network as well as a freelance sports anchor for WTVF-TV NewsChannel in Nashville. Hutton is a Tennessee native.