• Lamar Jackson poised for second MVP honor: The Ravens’ star quarterback is having a career year as a passer.
• Myles Garrett continues to dominate: The Browns’ top edge defender has wreaked havoc on opposing offenses.
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Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes
There’s still half of the 2023 NFL season to go, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start looking at who is putting themselves in position for some individual postseason hardware. There are seven major awards we’re looking at here, from MVP to Coach of the Year.
Here is PFF’s 2023 midseason awards list.
MVP: QB LAMAR JACKSON, BALTIMORE RAVENS
The Buffalo Bills‘ Josh Allen or the Kansas City Chiefs‘ Patrick Mahomes have cases here, too. We would go with Jackson right now, though. The 2019 unanimous NFL MVP is having a better passing season than he did in that historic year. He ranks third in the league with an 86.6 PFF passing grade, leads all quarterbacks in rushing by more than 100 yards and makes life incredibly difficult for opposing linebackers when they have to deal with him and a dominant Ravens running back room.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: WR TYREEK HILL, MIAMI DOLPHINS
Hill is on pace for 2,030 receiving yards this season, which would set an NFL record. It will be interesting to see if he can continue to have enough splash games to make that a reality, with 716 of his 1,075 yards coming in four games. His 3.95 yards per route run average leads all players to see at least 10 targets, as does his 93.1 PFF receiving grade.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: EDGE MYLES GARRETT, CLEVELAND BROWNS
There have been games this season, most notably against the Indianapolis Colts, where Myles Garrett has kept the Browns in the game essentially by himself. His 94.6 PFF pass-rush grade is the best of any player in the NFL through the first half of the season, and his four forced fumbles are tied with Trent McDuffie for the most in the league. A one-man wrecking crew, he has the chance to produce one of the best seasons of all time in 2023.
OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: QB C.J. STROUD, HOUSTON TEXANS
The second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Stroud is looking every bit the part of a franchise quarterback in his debut season with the Houston Texans. His 79.0 PFF grade ranks 11th among quarterbacks after eight games. His 14 touchdown passes are tied for seventh most in the league, while his 2.4% turnover-worthy play rate is tied for 10th lowest at the position, among those with 100 or more dropbacks.
DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: DI JALEN CARTER, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
The Eagles have managed Carter's workload, keeping him at 251 snaps through eight games, but he has already shown flashes of the high-level play that made him a top-10 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Carter has earned an 87.9 PFF pass-rushing grade, registering 29 total pressures, including five sacks, from 204 pass-rushing snaps and adding a forced fumble. It’s unlikely that he’s going to slow down anytime soon based on his usage, so don’t be shocked if he runs away with this award.
COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR: S DAMAR HAMLIN, BUFFALO BILLS
Snap counts and production aside, the fact that Hamlin has returned to football after going into cardiac arrest on the field last season makes this an easy call.
Hamlin doesn’t have any snaps on defense this year, playing 18 special teams snaps in Week 4 against the Miami Dolphins, but his mere presence in the sport continues to be an incredible story.
COACH OF THE YEAR: DAN CAMPBELL, DETROIT LIONS
Coming off a bye this week, Dan Campbell has the Detroit Lions at 6-2 after eight games. Jared Goff has the fourth-highest PFF passing grade in the NFL, Aidan Hutchinson is threatening to break into the elite tier of edge rushers in the NFL and the team continues to roll. The Lions bounced back from their worst loss of the season to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7 with a comfortable win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 8. All eight remaining games of their schedule are winnable, giving them a shot at being the top seed in the conference, which would almost certainly lock up this award for Campbell.
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