August 18, 2017,  Football  No comments

This past offseason has been an exciting one. Draft picks such as Deshaun Watson and Leonard Fournette are looking to make their anticipated debuts or players like Desean Jackson and Brandin Cooks looking to make impacts on new teams.

I will begin by giving my prediction of Offensive Rookie of the Year. I think that Deshaun Watson will eventually be a solid starting quarterback in this league but he will not start the season as QB1. I believe that Leonard Fournette will win the 2017 ROY. Coming out of the SEC, he has clearly shown that he has the physical attributes to handle the NFL being a strong, athletic guy capable of being a 3-down back. I believe the Jaguars will have to rely on the run game heavily this season with obvious struggles at the quarterback position and I like Fournette to rush for 1,000+ yards and anywhere from 6-10 TD’s.

Defensive Rookie of the Year was an easier pick in my opinion. Jamal Adams, Myles Garret, and Reuben foster should have great years but I think that TJ Watt will have a great season for the Steelers. Yes, it is preseason but he has shown great success and that he can hold his own at the pro level. The younger Watt brother can get around 10 sacks with a healthy 2017 and in the future, possibly put up numbers comparable to his brother.

Next is Defensive player of The Year. I believe that this award is a toss-up between the same 3-4 people. I think that after having an injury-prone 2016, I think that Luke Keuchly will rebound and come back better than ever. He had over 100 tackles in just 10 games last season so pending injury, the sky is the limit for him. I would like to think 150 tackles and 6 sacks are reachable number for the elite linebacker.

Comeback player of the Year will be JJ Watt. Jordy Nelson bounced back this season after missing the entire 2015. Watt only played in 3 games last season and being one of the league’s top pass rushers, the Texans missed his presence on their defense. As long as he is back to 100% by week 1, I believe he will be up around 20 sacks again this season as he has been in years past.

Lastly, we have MVP. This is clearly the most popular award to hear about and is typically given to a quarterback. I believe this trend will continue this season but will go to a younger guy that may be a surprise to some. I believe that Jameis Winston will win the 2017 NFL MVP. Winston showed great improvement by increasing his completion % with more attempts in his second year and throwing 6 more touchdowns. He is quickly rising up the ranks among his peers and after adding Desean Jackson on the other side of Mike Evans, the Bucs clearly have one of the most dangerous WR Duos in the league. OJ Howard out of Alabama may have been their best addition this off season though. He is a big, athletic, and extremely gifted tight end that I believe can become one of the best at the position sooner rather than later in this powerful offense. I believe Winston will throw for over 4,500 yards and 40 TD’s this season while leading the Buccaneers to a division title.