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We’re very close to NFL awards season. In fact, after the conclusion of the regular season Sunday night following the Lions-Vikings clash to determine the NFC North winner, voters will cast their ballots, and we’ll discover the NFL MVP, Offensive Player of the Year etc. at NFL Awards in early February.
In the spirit of awards season, I’ve created my own set of awards for the youthful ones in the NFL.
Here are the 2024 NFL Young Player Awards, hardware given to only first or second-year players.
(Any reference to a player as “young” in this article is a reference to a first or second-year pro.)
Steadiest Offensive Role Player
I’m starting with a stretch, because Kraft enters the final week of the regular-season tied for second on the Packers with 46 receptions. He is fourth in targets, which in my head, made him eligible for this “role-player” award. The former Jackrabbit from South Dakota State has transformed into a giant, cheese-curd devouring monster in Green Bay, as no first- or second-year tight end has forced more missed tackles (14) than Kraft this year.
He’s only dropped two passes while securing the catch on three of his four contested-catch opportunities. Amazingly, Kraft is doing all this not solely as a lumbering, underneath target who snags footballs from Jordan Love in the flat and bulldozes defenders. He also has four receptions on throws made 20-plus yards downfield, only one fewer than Brock Bowers.
Kraft was a moose on a sugar rush after the catch at the FCS level, and he’s become that type of maniac in the NFL during his breakout 2024 campaign.
Steadiest Defensive Role Player
They say you never forget a draft crush. No one actually says that, but I believe it — and I adored Ojomo as a disruptive interior rusher from Texas from the 2023 class. I’ll never quite understand how he wasn’t selected until the seventh round, and as his name sat atop my “best available” list for a long time on Day 3, I should’ve known Howie Roseman, the world’s greatest defensive line admirer, would pick him even after selecting Jalen Carter in Round 1.
Of course, when teams face the Eagles, they’re dealing with the Georgia North in the middle with Carter and Jordan Davis. And there are are marquee names like Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, and Bryce Huff. Ojomo’s made the most of the little opportunities he’s provided given Philadelphia’s staggering front four depth. He’s registered 26 pressures on 242 pass-rush snaps (10.7% pressure rate), and anything in the double-digits for a defensive tackle is excellent. Roseman uncovered another gem on his defensive line and did so in the final round of the 2023 draft.
Most Elusive Running Back
Irving was wildly elusive at Oregon, and he was wildly elusive in his rookie season for the Buccaneers. Shocking, right? Totally not. Irving was so darn efficient as a runner, Tampa Bay’s coaches had no choice but to make him the club’s feature back midway through the season.
He was one of three first- or second-year backs to reach 50 missed tackles force through Week 17. He did it on 188 carries. Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson had 58 and 61, respectively, and did so on 227 and 276 carries. Irving isn’t the fastest member of his running back class nor the dude with the longest broad jump or highest vertical, yet he’s ridiculously difficult to corral in space or in tight quarters on classic inside runs.
Irving is also leading all young runners in missed tackles force (20) on receptions.
Most Dynamic Receiver
I originally had Zay Flowers as my selection here. And I want to give him the props he’s earned. He’s been every bit as dynamic as Nabers. In a few measurable ways, more dynamic, actually. But then I remembered who Flowers has throwing him the football and who Nabers has throwing him the ball. I made the switch.
Nabers somehow eclipsed 100 catches and 1,000 yards with Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, Tommy DeVito and Tim Boyle at quarterback for the Giants, on a team without a clear No. 2 threat at receiver. Incredible. Plus, Nabers finished tied for second in missed tackles forced (18) among young receivers and had six receptions on throws made 20 or more yards downfield. He also converted on nearly 50% of his contested-catch opportunities. Nabers exemplified what it means to be a dynamic young wideout. His play transcended the quarterback quality he was given, and that’s even a rare feat for a veteran.
Most Effective Pass Rusher
Verse is the favorite to win NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, and he should win with award because of how devastating he’s been to opposing offensive lines, particularly as an pass rusher.
And this hasn’t simply been a “good for a rookie” season from the Rams first-year pro. Verse enters Week 18 fourth in the NFL among all edge rushers in pressures with 75. Forget that he only has 4.5 sacks. The former Florida State outside rusher has given nightmares to offensive coordinators every single week. That 15.7% pressure rate is no joke on nearly 500 rushes.
I got serious Khalil Mack vibes on film watching Verse at the early stages of last year’s pre-draft process. His immense point-of-attack strength, relentless motor and pass-rush moves have been very Mackian this season.
Sturdiest Pass Blocker
Johnson, the first offensive lineman picked in the 2023 NFL Draft, dusted off a mediocre at best — and at times flat-out disappointing — rookie campaign to emerge as a pass-blocking stud for the Cardinals. On 515 pass-blocking snaps to date, he surrendered a mere 23 pressures of Kyler Murray, and protecting a mobile, scramble-happy quarterback is always a challenge for an outside blocker, because a textbook block, with hands inside the shoulder pads, can morph into a hold in a heartbeat.
While Arizona ultimately fell short of the NFC playoffs, the franchise clearly took a step forward, and Johnson’s stability at left tackle was a underrated reason why. He never allowed more than three pressures in a single game and had two outings in which he completely blanked the opponent. At 6-foot-6, close to 320 pounds and not yet 24 years old, the future is extraordinarily bright for Johnson in the desert.
Biggest Playmaking Defensive Back
The football world moves significantly faster in real life, so an occurrence on the field five years ago feels like two decades. I mention this because I think many of us had forgotten just how tremendous Stingley was in 2019, as a true freshman in the SEC at LSU. That year, he was a first-team All-American with six interceptions and 15 pass breakups. And he reminded all of us of his elite-level capability this season on Houston’s defense.
After Sauce Gardner had outplayed him in their first two seasons, Stingley reclaimed the title of best cornerback from the 2022 class with five interceptions and 17 pass breakups, earning him this award. I was more concerned with ball production than anything when choosing a winner here, but I do think it’s worth noting Stingley has allowed a catch rate of 45.8% on a whopping 83 targets in his coverage area to date this season. He should be an All-Pro.
Most Improved Offensive Player
Where in the world did this Bryce Young come from? Because the current iteration of the No. 1 overall pick from 2023 is nothing like the quarterback who played as a rookie and started the 2024 campaign before getting benched.
Young sat for a few weeks behind Andy Dalton and reemerged a completely different passer. Young enters Week 18 third in the NFL in Big-Time Throw rate at 6.4% trailing only Anthony Richardson (6.8%) and Josh Allen (7.1%). That is mind-boggling, especially when vividly remembering how abysmally Young played as a rookie. His BTT rate was 3.2% in 2023. And Young improved across the board. His sack rate dipped from 10.5% to 7.6% in his second season. His yards-per-attempt average from 5.5 to 6.1. And his Turnover-Worthy Play rate sunk from 3.3% as a rookie to 2.7%.
I thought Young was completely toast. He proved me completely wrong from Week 8 on this season. Easy selection here.
Most Improved Defensive Player
Diaby was miscast as mostly an end in three-man fronts at Louisville, which limited his outside pass-rushing opportunities. We never really got a sense for how impactful he could be as a classic EDGE.
Now, in a more traditional edge role with the Buccaneers, he’s become the most ferocious outside rusher on the team. Diaby has gone from 30 pressures on 342 pass-rushing snaps in 2023 (8.7% pressure rate) to 61 pressures entering Week 18 on 416 pass-rush snaps (14.6% pressure rate). The freaky athlete who’s 6-foot-3 and 260-plus pounds has won with power, bend and sheer explosiveness around the corner when Tampa Bay has needed it. Anthony Nelson is second among Buccaneers edge rushers in pressures with 31. Diaby has gone from solid third-round rookie to No. 1 outside rusher on a playoff team.
Most Valuable Rookie
What Daniels has meant to the Commanders rivals C.J. Stroud to the Texans a year ago. In 2023, Washington went 4-13 and finished 25th in EPA per play on offense. Entering the regular season finale, Daniels’ club is 11-5 and fourth in EPA per play offensively.
The former Heisman winner has performed about as well as one could conceivably hope for a rookie, taking wonderful care of the football with the league’s third-lowest TWP rate of a minuscule 1.8%. He leads all quarterbacks with 864 rushing yards, and he’s averaging a respectable 7.5 yards per attempt with the league’s third-best adjusted completion percentage of 79.7%.
The eventual NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year wins the Most Valuable Rookie award here by a wide margin.
Most Valuable Sophomore
Nacua was ridiculous as a rookie in 2023. He’s now cemented himself as an elite receiver in the NFL. Despite dealing with an injury early in the season, the Rams superstar is currently tied for fourth in missed tackles forced (19), 10th in catch rate (76.7%) and first in yards per route run (3.56), the crown jewel of advanced metrics for receivers.
Cooper Kupp is still a reliable weapon for Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles, but Nacua is the Rams’ No. 1 option. And teams can’t stop him. He didn’t play from Week 2 to Week 7, but from Week 8 on, Nacua has four 100-plus yard receiving games and only three drops. At a position that’s growing exponentially in importance over the last decade, Nacua is the most valuable “sophomore” in the NFL.
Most Outstanding Young Player
This award goes to the best young player, regardless of positional value. Bowers earned this award as the heart and soul of the Raiders offense en route to setting records. Mike Ditka’s rookie tight end record of 1,067 yards set in 1961 (!) now belongs to Bowers, who has 1,144 yards entering the regular-season finale.
Last year, Nacua caught 105 passes, the most ever by a rookie. Bowers already owns that record with 108 snags to date. He’s had Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell throwing him the football. Sure, midway through the year, when Davante Adams was traded, it opened the door for more targets for Bowers. That helped, no doubt. But the amount of targets to gameplan for when facing the Raiders dwindled after Adams’ departure, and with more attention his way, it didn’t deter his production, as both of his 100-yard games occurred after the trade deadline.
Bowers isn’t winning this award on sheer volume alone. I’m an advocate for efficiency. But I understand it’s challenging to maintain efficiency with a larger sample, and Bowers’ nearly 54% contested-catch win rate was spectacular given his 28 opportunities, the most among all tight ends. He didn’t force an insane number of missed tackles (four), but got open again and again for his Raiders quarterbacks and averaged a hefty 2.06 yards per route run, making him one of only four tight ends to go above the 2.0 mark.
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