OPOY CANDIDATES

- Stanley Parks, QB – WAS (223/346 [64.5%] passing, 4,131 yards, 31/15 TD/INT, 117.7 Rate; 16 rushes, 26 yards, 1TD)

Parks and the Washington offense is the definition of vertical passing. With two speedy stars on both wide outs, Parks just had to sit back and watch his guys run away from defenders, which they did very well. He was well on his way to earning that MVP until an injury in Week 14 ended his season. Now the voters must decide if those 13 weeks will warrant enough consideration for the award.

- Eric Haskins, QB – BAL (210/294 [71.4%] passing, 3,718 yards, 28/13 TD/INT, 128.7 Rate; 34 rushes, 157 yards, 4TDs)

Haskins, in his 4^th season, has increased his completion percentage in every consecutive season to the point where he is on top of the league in both completion % and QB rating. The knock on him? With so many stars on the offense, are his stats just a product of a great team around him?

- Derek Carr, QB – DET (266/374 [71.1%] passing, 3,262 yards, 18/6 TD/INT, 107.7 Rate; 49 rushes, 242 yards, 1 TD)

Carr is the combination of Haskins and Parks. He is similar to Haskins in that he is one of the best in the league at taking care of the football. Like Parks, his season too was cut short due to injury, suffering an injury in Week 15. He won’t put up huge passing numbers, but he will be efficient and get you that “W”.

- Pappas Hubbard, HB – BAL (238 carries, 1,155 yards [4.9 YPC], 14 TDs; 33 catches, 409 yards, 2 TDs)

Hubbard, Dalvin Cook, and Jordan Howard have been fighting week in and week out for the rushing title, and it may come down to week 17 to crown the winner. With rushing stats all fairly similar, Hubbard is leading the pack in overall TDs. Downside? See Haskins, Eric.

- Dalvin Cook, HB – MIN (223 carries, 1,118 yards [5.0 YPC], 10 TDs; 36 catches, 476 yards, 4 TDs)

Cook has been a 1,000+ yard, 10+ TD rusher in almost all of his seasons in the league. He is the reason this team is 7-7, not 3-11. He does it all for the team, but unfortunately it hasn’t been enough to keep the Vikings near the top, as they are fighting for that last playoff spot in the NFC.

- Rashawn Brockers, WR – WAS (72 catches, 1,798 yards [25.0 AVG], 15 TDs)

Brockers, like Cook, is nothing new to these stats. He is likely to record his third 1,800+ yard receiving mark of his young career and has at least 10 TDs in 6 consecutive seasons.

- John Ross, WR – NYJ (60 catches, 1,470 yards [24.5 AVG], 14 TDs)

Ross has found a home in New York, where he has proven he can be a WR1. While under-utilized in CIN, the Jets took the fastest man in the league and let him know he was going to be the vocal point in their passing offense. With 32.8% of the teams receptions and 56% of their receiving TDs, the 28 year old speedster is finally showing his early 1^st round pick potential.

DPOY CANDIDATES

- Francis Bedell, OLB – TB (35 tackles, 23 sacks, 1 FF)

Bedell put together the greatest 5 game streak from a defensive player, racking up 17 sacks in his first 5 games with his new team. He has since cooled off, and an injury in week 13 has shut him down for the remainder of the season.

- Myles Garrett, DE – CLE (43 tackles, 22 sacks, 1 FF)

Garrett is the heart and soul of this Browns defense, but this is nothing new. He has recorded 15+ sacks in all 7 seasons he has been in the league.

- Dakota Parkey, OLB – BAL (33 tackles, 20 sacks, 2 FF, 1 FRec, 2 INT, 1 TD)

Parkey, in his 3^rd season, has recorded his third consecutive 20+ sack season. This year he was tasked with playing more coverage as well, which has resulted in 2 INTs as well.

- Jameel Gilbert, DE – WAS (36 tackles, 20 sacks, 3 FF, 1 FRec)

Gilbert was a decent role player in his first few season, but after being traded to WAS he has found his groove. After his 26 sack season last year, he has followed that up with another 20 sack season this year.

- Leron Phillips, FS – DEN (47 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 FF, 2 FRec, 15 INTs, 7 TDs)

Phillips was a 1^st round pick who entered the league looking like a potential bust. With 26 INTs and 10! TDs in the last 2 seasons, he has shown that some players just need a few seasons to get up to speed with the game.

- Jordan Fulton, MLB – MIA (56 tackles, 4 sacks, 5 FF, 8 INTs)

With some questionable off-season moves, the Dolphins decided to restructure their team. One of which was drafting a MLB late in the first, who has shown he is ready to shine and lead this defense at just 22 years old.

- Darron Lee, MLB – NYJ (68 tackles, 1 sack, 2 FF, 1 FRec, 6 INTs, 2 TDs)

Lee, on the other hand, is in his 8^th season with the Jets and is Mr. Consistent on this defense. He does it all, and finds his way to the ball on almost every play. He is in contentions for leading the league in tackles, while also trying to get turnovers on every play.