With 272 regular-season games in the books, most NFL fans are ready to move on to the playoffs. But before we do (with MMQB staff playoff predictions coming Thursday), let’s take one final look back at 2023 to dish out the hardware.
The MMQB’s 10-person panel has voted for our choices to win MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Offensive Rookie of the Year, Defensive Rookie of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year and Coach of the Year. Our writers and editors all submitted a top-five ballot for every award, resulting in five points for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote, etc.
Full results for all seven awards are listed below.
Our voters:
Albert Breer, senior NFL reporter
Conor Orr, senior writer
Gilberto Manzano, staff writer
Matt Verderame, staff writer
Greg Bishop, senior writer
Michael Rosenberg, senior writer
Andrew Brandt, business of football columnist
John Pluym, managing editor
Mitch Goldich, editor
Claire Kuwana, editor
Patrick Smith/Getty (Stroud); Michael Owens/Getty (Garrett); Rob Carr/Getty (Jackson); Diamond Images/Getty (Stefanski)
MVP
1. Lamar Jackson: 50 points (10 firsts)
T-2. Tyreek Hill: 24 points (2 seconds, 4 thirds, 1 fourth, 2 fifths)
T-2. Christian McCaffrey: 24 points (3 seconds, 2 thirds, 3 fourths)
4. Dak Prescott: 23 points (3 seconds, 2 thirds, 2 fourths, 1 fifth)
5. Brock Purdy: 14 points (1 second, 1 third, 2 fourths, 3 fifths)
T-6. Josh Allen: 4 points (1 second)
T-6. Matthew Stafford: 4 points (1 third, 1 fifth)
T-8. Patrick Mahomes: 2 points (1 fourth)
T-8. C.J. Stroud: 2 points (2 fifths)
T-8. Trent Williams: 2 points (1 fourth)
11. Penei Sewell: 1 point (1 fifth)
Lamar Jackson took over late in the season as the betting favorite, and he was the unanimous choice on our staff after leading the Baltimore Ravens to the AFC’s top seed. This would be his second career MVP. Lest you worry our entire exercise is mired in groupthink, this was the only award with a unanimous winner. Below him, two non-QBs tied in second place, before the parade of playoff quarterbacks took most of the remaining points, including rookie C.J. Stroud, who appeared on two ballots. Finally, one ballot included two offensive linemen, which tends to happen most years at this site.
Offensive Player of the Year
T-1. Tyreek Hill: 44 points (5 firsts, 4 seconds, 1 third)
T-1. Christian McCaffrey: 44 points (4 firsts, 6 seconds)
3. CeeDee Lamb: 24 points (6 thirds, 2 fourths, 2 fifths)
4. Puka Nacua: 11 points (1 third, 4 fourths)
5. Dak Prescott: 9 points (1 first, 1 fourth, 2 fifths)
6. Brock Purdy: 8 points (1 third, 2 fourths, 1 fifth)
7. Lamar Jackson: 3 points (1 third)
8. Trent Williams: 2 points (1 fourth)
T-9. A.J. Brown: 1 point (1 fifth)
T-9. James Cook: 1 point (1 fifth)
T-9. Breece Hall: 1 point (1 fifth)
T-9. Raheem Mostert: 1 point (1 fifth)
T-9. Amon-Ra St. Brown: 1 point (1 fifth)
Tyreek Hill and Christian McCaffrey tied once again, this time for first place in our Offensive Player of the Year voting. Ties for major awards can often feel unsatisfying, but this at least came about in an interesting way: with Hill garnering one more first-place vote, but McCaffrey pulling even because one voter bumped the Dolphins’ receiver down to the third place. Dak Prescott received a first-place vote, despite appearing on only four of 10 ballots. Prescott’s top wideout, CeeDee Lamb, easily came in third, followed by rookie Puka Nacua. In all, 13 players appeared on at least one ballot, the most of any award we voted on, with seven players appearing on just one ballot. That includes Lamar Jackson, our unanimous MVP, who garnered a mere third-place vote from the same voting body for this award.
Defensive Player of the Year
1. Myles Garrett: 48 points (8 firsts, 2 seconds)
2. Micah Parsons: 34 points (2 firsts, 4 seconds, 1 third, 2 fourths, 1 fifth)
3. T.J. Watt: 27 points (2 seconds, 5 thirds, 1 fourth, 2 fifths)
4. Maxx Crosby: 13 points (2 seconds, 1 third, 1 fourth)
T-5. Kyle Hamilton: 9 points (2 thirds, 1 fourth, 1 fifth)
T-5. Roquan Smith: 9 points (1 third, 3 fourths)
7. DaRon Bland: 4 points (2 fourths)
T-8. Nick Bosa: 2 points (2 fifths)
T-8. Danielle Hunter: 2 points (2 fifths)
T-10. Josh Allen: 1 point (1 fifth)
T-10. Patrick Queen: 1 point (1 fifth)
Moving to the defensive side of the ball, Myles Garrett was a clear winner with eight voters listing him first and the other two voters putting him second behind Micah Parsons. Parsons collected enough points to take second place, ahead of NFL sack leader T.J. Watt. Three different Ravens appeared on the list, including Kyle Hamilton and Roquan Smith, who finished tied for fifth, and Patrick Queen, who got one fifth-place vote. DaRon Bland, who set an NFL record with five pick-sixes this season, appeared on two ballots.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
1. C.J. Stroud: 49 points (9 firsts, 1 second)
2. Puka Nacua: 41 points (1 first, 9 seconds)
3. Sam LaPorta: 21 points (4 thirds, 4 fourths, 1 fifth)
4. Zay Flowers: 16 points (2 thirds, 3 fourths, 4 fifths)
5. Jahmyr Gibbs: 10 points (2 thirds, 1 fourth, 2 fifths)
6. Rashee Rice: 5 points (2 fourths, 1 fifth)
T-7. Jayden Reed: 3 points (1 third)
T-7. Bijan Robinson: 3 points (1 third)
T-9. De’Von Achane: 1 point (1 fifth)
T-9. Jordan Addison: 1 point (1 fifth)
This award was a runaway, with C.J. Stroud picking up nine first-place votes and a second-place vote after leading the Texans to the AFC South title in his rookie season. All 10 voters had Stroud and Puka Nacua in their top two spots, before things opened up below them. Five different players earned third-place votes: Sam LaPorta, Zay Flowers, Jahmyr Gibbs, Jayden Reed and Bijan Robinson.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
1. Jalen Carter: 42 points (4 firsts, 4 seconds, 2 thirds)
2. Devon Witherspoon: 37 points (4 firsts, 2 seconds, 2 thirds, 1 fourth, 1 fifth)
3. Will Anderson Jr.: 24 points (2 seconds, 3 thirds, 3 fourths, 1 fifth)
T-4. Brian Branch: 19 points (1 first, 1 third, 4 fourths, 3 fifths)
T-4. Kobie Turner: 19 points (1 first, 1 second, 2 thirds, 2 fourths)
6. Joey Porter Jr.: 7 points (1 second, 3 fifths)
T-7. Jordan Battle: 1 point (1 fifth)
T-7. Byron Young: 1 point (1 fifth)
It was much harder for our staff to pick a defensive rookie than an offensive rookie. Four different players received first-place votes, with Jalen Carter and Devon Witherspoon nabbing four each. Carter took home the award, doing a little better further down the ballot. The other first-place votes went to Brian Branch and Kobie Turner, though their totals came in behind that of Will Anderson Jr., who picked up more top-three votes.
Katie Stratman/USA TODAY Sports
Comeback Player of the Year
1. Damar Hamlin: 49 points (9 firsts, 1 second)
2. Joe Flacco: 35 points (6 seconds, 3 thirds, 1 fourth)
3. Baker Mayfield: 29 points (3 seconds, 5 thirds, 1 fourth)
4. Matthew Stafford: 15 points (1 first, 1 third, 2 fourths, 3 fifths)
5. Kyler Murray: 9 points (3 fourths, 3 fifths)
6. Tua Tagovailoa: 6 points (1 third, 1 fourth, 1 fifth)
7. Breece Hall: 3 points (1 fourth, 1 fifth)
8. John Metchie III: 2.5 points (1 fourth, 0.5 fifths)
9. Tony Pollard: 1 point (1 fifth)
10. Foster Moreau: 0.5 points (0.5 fifths)
This award has been much discussed this season, with most fans expecting Damar Hamlin to win it for returning to the field this season after going into cardiac arrest during a game in Week 16 of the 2022 season. Hamlin won nine first-place votes from our panel, with the final top vote going to Matthew Stafford. Joe Flacco won second place for coming off the couch to go on a five-game heater with the Browns. Baker Mayfield earned three second-place votes and finished in third, thanks to his bounce-back season for the Buccaneers. One voter split their fifth-place vote between Texans receiver John Metchie III, who missed the ’22 season with leukemia, and Saints tight end Foster Moreau, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma this past offseason. (Metchie appeared on one other ballot as well.)
Coach of the Year
1. Kevin Stefanski: 43 points (4 firsts, 5 seconds, 1 third)
2. DeMeco Ryans: 41 points (4 firsts, 5 seconds, 1 fifth)
3. John Harbaugh: 21 points (1 first, 4 thirds, 2 fourths)
4. Shane Steichen: 15 points (1 first, 3 thirds, 1 fifth)
5. Dan Campbell: 13 points (1 third, 2 fourths, 6 fifths)
6. Mike Tomlin: 8 points (4 fourths)
7. Sean McVay: 6 points (1 third, 1 fourth, 1 fifth)
8. Kyle Shanahan: 2 points (1 fourth)
9. Mike McDaniel: 1 point (1 fifth)
This was one of our tightest races, with Kevin Stefanski and DeMeco Ryans both earning four first-place votes and five second-place votes, and the difference between them settled by a lone down-ballot vote. Ryans fell to fifth on one voter’s ballot, giving our award to Stefanski, who also won the NFL’s real award three seasons ago, the last time he led the Cleveland Browns to the playoffs. John Harbaugh and Shane Steichen also received first-place votes, and Steichen came in fourth despite the Indianapolis Colts falling a game short of the playoffs. Dan Campell appeared on nine ballots.
