The Associated Press has revealed the finalists for the regular-season awards for the NFL’s 2023 campaign. In all, there are eight awards the AP voted on that are up for grabs at the upcoming NFL Honors, highlighted by Most Valuable Player. That prestigious award has a total of five finalists, headlined by the presumptive favorite to win it in Lamar Jackson.
The winners will be announced on Feb. 8 right before Super Bowl LVIII that upcoming Sunday. The show will air live on CBS and NFL Network as well as stream on Paramount+.
Here’s a look at the finalists for each award:
Most Valuable Player
Jackson is the presumptive favorite to win this award, which would be the second time in his career that he’s been named MVP. He helped lead the Ravens to the No. 1 seed in the AFC and did so while taking down several Super Bowl contenders over the final month of the year. On top of passing for a career-high 3,678 yards and registering a 67.2 completion percentage, Jackson continued to gash defenses with his legs, rushing for 821 yards and five touchdowns. While he may be the favorite, it will be interesting to see who places second behind him.
Defensive Player of the Year
Browns pass rusher Myles Garrett is the current betting favorite to win this award, but there is stout competition. That said, the Cleveland star did lead a unit that was arguably the best in the NFL in 2023. He also finished the year with 42 tackles, 30 quarterback hits and 14 sacks. Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt is arguably his biggest competition after he led the league with 19 sacks.
Offensive Player of the Year
With the MVP award effectively serving as a “top quarterback” accolade, Offensive Player of the Year is typically reserved for skill-position players. With McCaffrey mentioned as an MVP finalist, it would stand to reason that he will be the winner here. The Niners back led the NFL with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and 21 total touchdowns, which helped San Francisco secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Tyreek Hill is probably his biggest competition and seemed to have the inside track on the award when he was on pace to exceed 2,000 receiving yards at points this season. However, with him falling under that total — but still leading the league with 1,799 receiving yards — this award is likely McCaffrey’s to lose.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Again, there is quarterback bias in these awards, so C.J. Stroud…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CBSSports.com Headlines…