1. Most Valuable Player- Todd Gurley: What a season this guy had for the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams. I don’t think they win their division and make the playoffs without Todd Gurley on the field. He finished his 2017 campaign with 1,305 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns along with having an impact as a receiver and recording 64 receptions, 788 yards receiving and six touchdowns. He’s a hard and physical runner with the ability to run north and south and all of that may be true, but he also has the ability to show his speed and sprint to get into open space. He shows tremendous poise while on the field and it really takes a lot to rattle him up. When he doesn’t get his yards, he stays cool, calm and collected and things begin to open up for him. Two games of his really stand out to me this season. The first was when the Rams played Seattle in Seattle and he just ran all over the Seahawks defense and had the 12th man silent and the following week when they played the Tennessee Titans and he finished with 276 yards from scrimmage (118 rushing, 158 receiving) and two receiving touchdowns. What a season he had and I think he will become the first nonquarterback to win the award since Adrian Peterson in 2012-13.
2. Most Improved Player- Jared Goff: This was a no-brainer for me. When he was selected first overall in 2016, he didn’t start until the second half of the 2016 season and the Rams didn’t win a single game. This year was much different. With a new head coach who just happened to be an offensive mastermind, Jared completed 62 percent of his passes, 3,804 yards passing and 28 touchdown passes and he showed exactly why the Los Angeles Rams took him first in the 2016 NFL Draft. Increasing your touchdown passes from five one season to 28 the next season and throwing the same amount of interceptions in both seasons (seven) is absolutely remarkable and he can only get better from here. The Rams have themselves a franchise quarterback it looks like.
3. Offensive Rookie Of The Year- Alvin Kamara: At one time, this award had Kareem Hunt’s name written all over it, then he began to struggle. Then came Deshaun Watson and he tore his ACL. When the Saints decided to trade Adrian Peterson to the Arizona Cardinals, it was hands down the best thing that could’ve happened because it allowed this young player to come in and have an immediate impact and that’s exactly what Alvin Kamara did. He was used the same way as Darren Sproles and Reggie Bush were, but he could make an impact in both the running game and receiving side of things. He helped shape up the Saints offensive philosophy and provided more of a balance and he also helped take a ton of pressure off of Drew Brees. He finished his rookie season with 1,554 yards from scrimmage and 14 total touchdowns.
4. Defensive Rookie Of The Year- Marshon Lattimore: The minute I saw him playing for the Ohio State Buckeyes while he was in college, I knew he was going to be a special player. There are a ton of young cornerbacks in the league now if you think about it. You have Xavier Rhodes, Jalen Ramsey, Marcus Peters and you can also add Marshon Lattimore to that group as well. One of the Saints defensive coaches even stated that this kid has the same potential that Darrelle Revis entered the league with. His impact on the Saints was just as big as his teammate, Alvin Kamara, but on the defensive side of the football. He helped them make the kind of strides on defense that made the Saints a legitimate contender in the NFC. He shut down receivers on a weekly basis and established himself as one of the top young cornerbacks in the game.
5. Offensive Player Of The Year: Todd Gurley– This award would be given to Carson Wentz or Antonio Brown if they don’t get injured (I know Antonio came back for the playoffs, no need to remind me) but I can’t think of another guy to give this too other than Todd Gurley who finished the season with 2,093 total yards from scrimmage and his 19 total touchdowns as I mentioned up top making his case to win MVP, both of which led the NFL.
6. Defensive Player Of The Year- Calais Campbell: For many years, this award was so predictable and we automatically knew who it would go too. J.J. Watt dominated and won three of these in four years and last year, Khalil Mack won it. There were a few guys that were in the running for it this year, Chandler Jones was extremely overlooked especially since he led the league in sacks with 17 and Aaron Donald is always in the running and he will get one soon, trust me. This year, it’s going to Calais Campbell and I will back my answer up. With the talent stacked up in Jacksonville, Campbell’s presence really influenced the Jaguars defensive line and he’s helped turn Yannick Ngakoue into a star. Calais was the mayor of “Sacksonville” and finished the 2017 season with 14.5 sacks.
7. Coach Of The Year- Sean McVay: Whoever thought that an inexperienced 31-year-old head coach who was once an offensive coordinator would come in and take an offense who ranked last in scoring offense to first all in one season and the Rams are the first team in NFL history to do that. Sean did all of this without changing his quarterback or running back this year, the two major positions. All he added was a veteran offensive tackle in Andrew Whitworth and made a trade to acquire Sammy Watkins from the Buffalo Bills. He helped guide the Rams to their first division title and playoff appearance in 14 seasons. The last time the Rams saw the postseason, Marshall Faulk was still an active player and the Rams were still playing in St. Louis.
8. Comeback Player Of The Year- Keenan Allen: Say it with me, you better have game if you have two first names and the potential was always there for him, he just always had a tough time staying healthy and this year, he was primarily the reason why the Los Angeles Chargers were able to regroup after a 0-4 start and what he did over the second half of the season was simply incredible. He also made NFL history when he became the first receiver to record ten receptions and 100 yards receiving in three straight games. That’s something that Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin, Julio Jones nor Antonio Brown ever accomplished.
