Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, who’s had fewer than 60 yards rushing in two of his past three games, has been knocked off his perch as the NFL’s most dominant offensive player. The Offensive Rookie of the Year battle has expanded from two players to three over the past few weeks, while the DROY competition remains open with roughly a month and a half left in the regular season.
Welcome to another edition of “NFL Honors Watch,” where I pick a leading candidate for each of the major awards. As our NFL MVP Stock Watch already has you covered for the most prestigious honor, this series focuses on the other major on-field awards: Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Offensive Rookie of the Year, Defensive Rookie of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and Assistant Coach of the Year.
Here are my leading candidates for each of those awards ahead of Week 13:
Taylor was penciled in here for most of the year, but his quiet showing in Kansas City on Sunday — 66 scrimmage yards and no touchdowns — coupled with Smith-Njigba’s continued record pace has given the Seahawks star an opening to claim OPOY down the stretch.
Seahawks star Jaxon Smith-Njigba is on pace to have a record-setting season for receiving yards. (Photo by David Crane/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
The third-year receiver broke Seattle’s single-season record for receiving yards last week against Tennessee, doing so in just 11 games. Smith-Njigba’s 167 receiving yards against the Titans not only marked a season-high, but also the eighth time this season that he has surpassed 100 yards receiving. He’s had at least 90 receiving yards in all but one game this season.
The former Ohio State star leads the league in receiving yards (1,313), receiving yards per game (119.4) and yards per target (12.3). His 80 receptions place him in a three-way tie for second place.
Smith-Njigba is currently pacing for an NFL-record 2,029 receiving yards for the season.
Due to Cleveland’s struggles, Garrett might be having the quietest DPOY-level season in recent league history. But with 18 sacks through 11 games, the perennial All-Pro edge rusher has already surpassed his previous career high and is on pace to shatter the NFL single-season record of 22.5 set by Michael Strahan (2001) and T.J. Watt (2021).
The 29-year-old Garrett has 13 sacks in Cleveland’s past four games alone — that’s as many as the No. 2 player on the leaderboard, Giants linebacker Brian Burns, has for the entire season. The 2023 Defensive Player of the Year, Garrett also paces the NFL with 26 tackles for loss, seven more than No. 2 Maxx Crosby.
The OROY race has been a two-man battle between Bucs receiver Emeka Egbuka and Colts tight end Tyler Warren for most of the year, but McMillan has entered the picture and arguably taken the lead.
The eighth overall pick by Carolina, McMillan has three touchdowns and 165 receiving yards over the past two games, including a 130-yard outburst against Atlanta in Week 11. The former Arizona star, who leads all rookies with 783 receiving yards, is pacing for more than 79 receptions and 1,100 receiving yards.
Emmanwori, the 35th overall pick, has played a key role in the success of Seattle’s elite defense. Among qualified defenders, the ex-South Carolina star leads all rookies in forced incompletions (7) and pass breakups (6), according to Pro Football Focus. Emmanwori also has a quarterback hit and four tackles for loss in eight games, including five starts. He tied a season-high with six solo tackles against the Titans on Sunday.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and Lions edge Aidan Hutchinson are in the conversation, but McCaffrey leads the charge. The Niners star running back remains on pace to surpass 1,100 yards both rushing and receiving.
The three-time Pro Bowler leads the league in rushing attempts (217), receptions (81), touches (298) and scrimmage yards (1,581).
Coach of the Year: Patriots HC Mike Vrabel
Under Vrabel, who’s in his first season leading the Patriots, New England has more wins (10) than it had in the previous two seasons combined (8) — with five games left on the schedule. The Pats are currently the No. 1 seed in the AFC. They haven’t ended a season with the No. 1 seed since 2017.
Assistant Coach of the Year: Rams DC Chris Shula
After holding the Bucs to seven points on Sunday, Shula’s unit enters Week 13 as the NFL’s top scoring defense (16.3 points allowed per game). It’s all the more impressive considering the unit doesn’t have many players who are recognizable to casual fans outside of edge rusher Jared Verse.
L.A.’s defense is deep and fundamentally sound on all three levels. The Rams are second in takeaways (20) and red-zone efficiency (42.9% touchdown rate allowed), and fourth in third-down efficiency (35.3%).
Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.
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