(Image via alamy.com)
Staff Writer: Tom Dunford
Email: tdunford@umassd.edu
If there is one thing that this series has taught us so far, it’s that when it comes to the NFL, anyone can win on any given Sunday. Nothing is consistent in this league, and that has been seen time and time again.
With that said, the third-quarter edition of our season awards for the 2023 NFL season is here, and without further ado, let’s begin.
MVP (Most Valuable Player) AND OPOY (Offensive Player Of The Year): Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins Wide Receiver
This is a two-for-one special.
The term Most Valuable Player seems to be lost within the NFL world. Since 2012, the MVP award has been given to the league’s best quarterback instead of player. But in 2023, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill has the chance to change this narrative that it’s a QB award and take home both the league’s MVP and OPOY.
The NFL single-season record for receiving yards is currently held by Calvin Johnson, who had 1,964 receiving yards in the 2012 season.
Tyreek Hill is currently on pace for 2,098 receiving yards and shows no signs of slowing down. The future Hall of Fame wideout has 93 receptions, 1,481 receiving yards, and 12 receiving touchdowns.
The Miami Dolphins have cruised to a 9-3 record, sitting atop the competitive AFC conference, and it’s all thanks to Tyreek Hill and the record-breaking trajectory he is on.
DPOY (Defensive Player Of The Year): Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys Linebacker
Do you know why Micah Parsons tends to be feared by every opposing team’s quarterback?
Could he be a 6’3, 245 lbs. monster that can run a 4.39 40-yard dash? Could it be that he is a human wrecking ball that was able to rep 225 pounds on a bench press nineteen times? Or is it that, despite all odds, he seems to be improving every season?
No, the real reason why Parson is feared is that he is the Dallas Cowboys’ very own wild card, and they utilized him everywhere on the field.
Micah Parsons has obtained 23 solo tackles, 11.5 sacks, and a forced fumble in all twelve of Dallas’ games this season. Not only is it in the box score, but it is also visible just how much of a difference maker Parsons is to this Cowboys defense. He can play middle linebacker, be an edge rusher, and even be a cornerback if worse comes to worst.
Micah Parsons is the boogie man, continuously keeping opposing offensive coordinators up at night.
OROY (Offensive Rookie Of The Year): CJ Stroud, Houston Texans Quarterback
Everything discussed in the Torch’s previous NFL Awards: Mid-Season Edition article stands. CJ Stroud is the real deal, and if you or a loved one is a Carolina Panthers fan, please know it is okay to be downright disgusted with your organization’s incompetence for passing on this gem.
In twelve games with the Houston Texans, Stroud has managed a completion percentage of 63.4%, totaling 3,540 yards, and has managed 20 throwing touchdowns. The Ohio State product has lifted a mediocre Houston Texans team to a dominating 7-5 record, and they are within one game of being atop the AFC South.
He is the key to the Texans success for now and many years to come.
DROY (Defensive Rookie Of The Year): Jalen Carter, Philadelphia Eagles Defensive Tackle
We said it once, we’ll say it again: How did Georgia product Jalen Carter fall into the laps of one of the best teams in the NFL?
Jalen Carter, who sits at 6’3 and a whopping 314 lbs., has taken the NFC by storm. He has taken an already outstanding defensive core and elevated it. In eleven games with the Eagles, Carter has 26 total tackles, 4 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles. It is almost impossible for opposing offenses to run the ball up the middle without Jalen Carter making a game-changing play.
The Eagles sit atop the NFC East with a 10-2 record, and with the help of future DROY Carter and this shutdown squad, they look to make another Super Bowl run.
COTY (Coach Of The Year): Shane Steichen, Indianapolis Colts
Speaking of the Philadelphia Eagles, let’s talk about their former offensive coordinator and current head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Shane Steichen.
This man has suffered a tremendous amount of bad luck and unfortunate events. For starters, it was up in the air if star running back Jonathan Taylor would even play this season. But they keep winning.
The Colts drafted boom-or-bust quarterback Anthony Richardson, who played incredibly well before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in week five. But they keep winning.
Three-time All-Pro linebacker Shaquille Leonard had asked to be released following a lack of usage. And yet, they keep winning.
The Indianapolis Colts, despite everything thrown at them, sit second in the AFC South and one game back of leading the division, and it’s clear the culture and mindset of the team changed for the better once Shane Steichen was hired.
They continue to win and adapt, which is more than a team could ever ask a coach to ensure.