Wide Left Awards: MVP, Players of the Year, Rookies of the Year and All-Pro Teams
The year-end awards are always a mess. Why not add to that mess with my own awards? We’ve done that, with eight individual awards, two All-Pro Teams and a rookie team.
The season is over, so it’s time for awards. I’ve compiled my award winners for eight common NFL awards and multiple All-Pro teams in order to maximize the number of people angry at me.
Most of this list was decided before the Week 18 games. Though the season was not technically over, the fact that a good number of the most competitive teams were anticipated to rest their starters means that there wasn’t going to be much change in evaluating the performances of individual players.
So let’s get started with the MVP award and move down.
Most Valuable Player: Myles Garrett, EDGE Cleveland Browns
I’ve already made my case for why I think we should expand our understanding of the MVP award beyond picking a quarterback. Had there been a quarterback this year that was clearly heads and shoulders above the rest of the players at the other positions, I would have considered picking them.
But this year, Myles Garrett looked far and away like the best player in the league. Garrett neither leads the league in sacks nor in pass rush pressures. Before Week 18, T.J. Watt from the Pittsburgh Steelers and Trey Hendrickson from the Cincinnati Bengals tied for that lead with 17.0 each.
Instead, Garrett ranks fifth (as of Week 17) with 14.0 – with a sackless streak in the middle of the season cratering his candidacy for the season-end sack crown. He also ranked fifth in the league I pressures during that span with 29, including a whopping 11 pressures against the Chicago Bears.
But, importantly, Garrett enabled his teammates like almost no other edge rusher in the NFL.
Through 17 weeks of NFL play, he ranked third in double-team rate and second in pass-rush win rate. It is difficult to compare a player like Garrett to a player like Parsons, who exceeds him in both categories, but it is important to note that the Cowboys induce double-teams for Parsons in ways beyond just his stunning skill level.
Garrett surpasses Parsons in run stops and has been one of the best run defenders at his position. As a result of his play, the Browns lead the league in forced interception-worthy plays, per FTN Fantasy.
They rank third in opponent pressure rate and are first in the NFL in completion rate allowed, completion rate allowed under pressure, completion rate in a clean pocket, completion rate in zone coverage, completion rate in man coverage, completion rate against play-action, completion rate against standard dropbacks and completion rate on deep passes.
It's not just the passing game where they excel. They are second in “stuff rate,” which is runs stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage and ranked top ten in both run success rate and run EPA per play allowed – despite not having the personnel on the field to consistently stop the run.
It would be too much to attribute the performance of the Browns defense overall to one player, even one as talented as Garrett. But it’s no mistake that in the season Garrett is receiving more attention than ever, the Browns happen to have the best defense in the NFL.
Hon. Mention: Micah Parsons, EDGE Dallas Cowboys; Tyreek Hill, WR Miami Dolphins; Lamar Jackson, QB Baltimore Ravens; Trent Williams, OL San Francisco 49ers
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