Top Player: Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs)
Losing Tyreek Hill hasn't slowed down Mahomes in the slightest. In fact, he's arguably playing his best football since his MVP campaign back in 2018 and could be adding another one to his trophy case if he keeps playing at this level. Mahomes has scored multiple TD's in all but 1 game so far, used Hill's departure as a reason to spread the ball around more-which has led to him posting a career-best 66.2 CMP% and overcome some injury woes and poor play from his defense that have caused them to have regularly play from behind to lead the Chiefs to a 6-2 start-which is tied with Buffalo for the best record in the AFC.
Honorable Mentions: Josh Allen (Bills), Jalen Hurts (Eagles), Tyreek Hill (Dolphins)
Top Offensive Player: Tyreek Hill (Dolphins)
Hill has worked exceptionally hard since he got to Miami to prove that Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes weren't the driving forces behind his success in Kansas City by upping his dynamism to the point where he can be relied onto to embarrass defenses on any route at any level of the field. The results of Hill's go-to, Swiss Army Knife status on the Dolphins offense? A league-leading 1,104 YDS and 76 receptions, which unsurprisingly has put him on pace to become the league's 1st ever 2,000 YD receiver. Making this 9-game eruption even crazier is that he's done it while playing with 3 different QB's (Tua Tagovailoa, Teddy Bridgewater, 2022 7th round pick Skylar Thompson) and having to make some crazy adjustments to make catches that he didn't have to do nearly as much when he had a big-armed, accurate QB in Mahomes throwing to him. Hill's efforts to make NFL history down the stretch will be a fun thing to watch, but regardless of what ends up happening during his final 8 regular season games, his career resume has already received a tremendous boost.
Honorable Mentions: Travis Kelce (Chiefs), Nick Chubb (Browns), Cooper Kupp (Rams)
Top Defensive Player: Micah Parsons (Cowboys)
Watching Parsons continue to wreck opposing offenses while playing hurt over the past month may be the strongest piece of evidence to date that he's the next generational defensive player. He's been limited to 30 or so snaps per game since sustaining a groin injury in the early stages of a Week 5 game versus the Rams and yet his productivity hasn't slowed in the slightest-as he's registered 4 sacks, 5 QB hits, 4 TFL's, 2 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery that was returned for a TD since suffering the injury during that 4-game span. Now that he's had some time to heal during the Cowboys bye this past week, Parsons could be in line for an even better 2nd half of the season-which is absurd to say about a guy that's currently ranked 4th in the league in sacks, tied for 6th in TFL's and tied for 8th in QB hits.
Honorable Mentions: Myles Garrett (Browns), Chris Jones (Chiefs), Quinnen Williams (Jets)
Top Offensive Rookie: Chris Olave (Saints)
Given how Kenneth Walker III has played since replacing the injured Rashaad Penny as the Seahawks starting running back during their Week 5 game versus the Saints, he feels like he's on track to ultimately win OROY as long as he stays healthy. But since Walker III didn't do much at the start of the year, Olave gets the nod at the halfway point. The Ohio State product has gracefully transitioned to the pros-hauling in 37 receptions for 547 YDS and 2 TD's in 7 games (he'll play his 8th game tonight against the Ravens) all while having to play with 2 different QB's (Andy Dalton, Jameis Winston) and deal with the added pressure of suddenly being thrust into #1 receiver role after vets Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry both went down with injuries early in the year.
Honorable Mentions: Kenneth Walker III (Seahawks), Dameon Pierce (Texans), Breece Hall (Jets)
Top Defensive Rookie: Sauce Gardner (Jets)
There were 5-10 corners in the 2022 NFL Draft class that were billed as potential lockdown corners. The only one that's actually flashed that potential in the league so far is Gardner. Teams have held Gardner's feet to the fire early by targeting him 46 times through 9 games (tied for 14th most in the league) and he's been undaunted by the challenge-allowing only 20 catches while breaking up 13 passes and hauling in a pair of INT's. Getting that level of play from a rookie corner is practically unheard of and it speaks volumes of the confidence, fluidity and discipline that Gardner already plays with.
Honorable Mentions: Tariq Woolen (Seahawks), Jaquan Brisker (Bears), Jack Jones (Patriots)
Top Comeback Player: Geno Smith (Seahawks)
We all owe Geno Smith an apology. Nobody outside of the Seahawks organization or the Smith family viewed Geno as anything more than the failed former Jets starting quarterback turned average career backup that Pete Carroll had put in charge of leading the Seahawks tanking efforts so they could land Russell Wilson's real replacement in the 2023 draft. What we've gone onto to learn is that turns out that Smith himself is Wilson's worthy successor. Smith has shown tremendous poise, accuracy and intelligence under center while having great success (2,199 YDS/ 15 TD's/4 INT/73.1 CMP%/107.2 QBR/196 Rushing YDS/1 TD) running the same offense that Wilson couldn't get off the ground last year as he's led the Seahawks to a division-leading 6-3 start. Smith's start to the 2022 season is the kind of the improbable underdog story that makes sports great, and I'll be rooting hard for him to keep rolling for the rest of the year.
Honorable Mentions: Saquon Barkley (Giants), Travis Etienne (Jaguars), Christian McCaffery (Panthers/49ers)
Top Coach: Brian Daboll (Giants)
What Daboll has done with the Giants in his 1st year on the job is nothing short of astonishing. Their roster was believed to be among the weakest in the league coming into the season and that's largely proved to be the case as they've struggled to get even consistently above average play from players not named Saquon Barkley, Andrew Thomas, Dexter Lawrence, Leonard Williams or Adoree' Jackson. Instead, this team has won games by hanging around, playing hard and taking advantage of their opponents' mistakes and that's a complete testament to Daboll. He's gotten a level of buy-in from this group in a blatant rebuilding year that his predecessors Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge never earned during their respective 2-year tenures as Giants HC. Their ugly blowout road loss to the Seahawks ahead of their Week 9 bye indicates that their days of overachieving could be numbered and even if the losses start to accumulate, ownership should take this against all odds 6-2 start as a sign that they made a great hire and give Daboll the talent he needs to really start cooking as a head coach this offseason.
Honorable Mentions: Nick Siranni (Eagles), Robert Saleh (Jets), Pete Carroll (Seahawks)
All-Pro Teams
Quarterback
1st team: Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs)
2nd team: Josh Allen (Bills)
Running Back
1st team: Nick Chubb (Browns), Josh Jacobs (Raiders)
2nd team: Derrick Henry (Titans), Saquon Barkley (Giants)
Wide Receiver
1st team: Tyreek Hill (Dolphins), Cooper Kupp (Rams)
2nd team: Stefon Diggs (Bills), Jaylen Waddle (Dolphins)
Tight End
1st team: Travis Kelce (Chiefs)
2nd team: Mark Andrews (Ravens)
Tackle
1st team: Andrew Thomas (Giants), Tristan Wirfs (Buccaneers)
2nd team: Laremy Tunsil (Texans), Ryan Ramcyzk (Saints)
Guard:
1st team: Joel Bitonio (Browns), Chris Lindstrom (Falcons)
2nd team: Joe Thuney (Chiefs), Kevin Zeitler (Ravens)
Center
1st team: Creed Humphrey (Chiefs)
2nd team: Connor Willams (Dolphins)
Defensive End:
1st team: Myles Garrett (Browns), Maxx Crosby (Raiders)
2nd team: Nick Bosa (49ers), Trey Hendrickson (Bengals)
Defensive Tackle
1st team: Chris Jones (Chiefs), Quinnen Williams (Jets)
2nd team: Jeffrey Simmons (Titans), Aaron Donald (Rams)
Outside Linebacker
1st team: Micah Parsons (Cowboys), Matthew Judon (Patriots)
2nd team: Za'darius Smith (Vikings), Von Miller (Bills)
Inside Linebacker
1st team: DeMario Davis (Saints), Bobby Wagner (Rams)
2nd team: Matt Milano (Bills), T.J. Edwards (Eagles)
Cornerback
1st team: Darius Slay (Eagles), Patrick Surtain II (Broncos)
2nd team: Jalen Ramsey (Rams), Jamel Dean (Buccaneers)
Safety
1st team: Minkah Fitzpatrick (Steelers), Talanoa Hufanga (49ers)
2nd team: Derwin James (Chargers), Eddie Jackson (Bears)
Kicker
1st team: Jason Myers (Seahawks)
2nd team: Nick Folk (Patriots)
Punter
1st team: Tommy Townsend (Chiefs)
2nd team: Ryan Stonehouse (Titans)
Updated Playoff/Super Bowl Predictions:
AFC:
1.Chiefs
2.Bills
3.Ravens
4.Titans
5.Dolphins
6.Jets
7.Bengals
Wild Card:
Bills over Bengals
Ravens over Jets
Dolphins over Titans
Divisional Round:
Chiefs over Dolphins
Bills over Ravens
Conference Championship:
Chiefs over Bills
NFC:
1.Eagles
2.Vikings
3.49ers
4.Buccaneers
5.Cowboys
6.Seahawks
7.Giants
Wild Card:
Vikings over Giants
49ers over Seahawks
Cowboys over Buccaneers
Divisional Round:
Eagles over Cowboys
49ers over Vikings
Conference Championship:
Eagles over 49ers
Super Bowl:
Chiefs over Eagles
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