Who Are the Touchdown's 2019 Offensive Player of the Year Nomination?
The offensive player of the year award is always a strange one. Arguably the award could probably go to the MVP most years, if they reside on the offense. However, in that case the award would be meaningless, and therefore, this award has somewhat become a trophy for the MVP runner up at times. In 2019, we do have at least two players who have really thrown their hat in the ring to be a non-quarterback offensive player of the year. Let’s take a look who three of our writers have chosen as their nominees for this year’s award.
Simon Carroll: Michael Thomas
But the numbers don’t tell the full tale. The former Buckeye simply cannot be stopped by defensive backs. On 185 targets this year he has just three drops, replacing DeAndre Hopkins as the most reliable wideout in the NFL. His ability to garner just inches of separation on short to intermediate routes allows Brees to get the ball out quickly and keep the chains moving. And whilst he doesnt possess elite speed those deep sideline passes are always corralled.
Tyler Arthur: Christian McCaffrey
With a career high in both categories, the Panthers Superstar running back Christian McCaffrey finished the season with 1,387 yards rushing and 1005 yards receiving. His incredible 2,392 yard season is the HIGHEST in the league, and second-place Nick Chubb is over 500 yards behind. McCaffrey’s involvement in the offense is evident when looking at his production, but the 116 receptions – as a running back – is insane. Oh, and he’s scored 19 touchdowns on top of that. Run CMC’s 2019 campaign has run about as close as you can get to an MVP-calibre season as a non-quarterback and I think he’s deserving of recognition in the form of the OPOTY award, as he has produced at an elite level, even on a struggling offense.
Ben Rolfe: Lamar Jackson
Lamar Jackson is probably not winning this award, because he is almost certainly winning MVP. However, my belief is the MVP award should go to the player that had the biggest impact on his teams fortunes, and while Jackson has been great, I gave the award to Ryan Tannehill in our MVP selections. In that same article, our other writers made the case why Jackson deserves at least some personal silverware this season.
Despite not playing Week 17, Jackson finished with over 3,000 passing yards and 1,200 rushing yards. He totalled 43 total touchdowns, 36 through the air and seven on the ground. Interestingly, he only had two game winning drives and one fourth-quarter comeback despite winning 13 games as a starter. Those numbers perfectly emphasise why OPOTY is the award for Jackson.
Image credit: Ben Rolfe – The Touchdown