Who Should Win the NFL Offensive Player of the Year?
The first triple-crown receiver since Cooper Kupp, a running back closing in on Eric Dickerson. This year’s NFL Offensive Player of the Year might be the most competitive award it has been in years. With loaded candidates such as Saquon Barkley, Ja’Marr Chase, Lamar Jackson, and even outside ones like Joe Burrow or Josh Allen, this race is filled with some of the greatest seasons we have ever seen. Focusing on the most likely candidates in Chase, Barkley, and Jackson, the NFL needs to take a careful look at all three superstars' cases, as the seasons we are seeing will have easily won the award in any other year.
Saquon Barkley
A potential MVP candidate and a man who should be near the top, if not first for this award, is Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. In his 16 games this year, Barkley has rushed 345 times for 2,005 rushing yards and 15 total touchdowns. The 27-year-old running back came over to Philadelphia in the offseason after spending six years with the Giants suffering injuries and low degrees of winning. This year is a different story, however, as Barkley has turned the Eagles out of their funk from last season’s meltdown and has helped them secure a spot as the second seed in the NFC Playoffs. The only issue with this, however, is that due to their spot being secured, Saquon won’t play in Week 18 and, hence, won’t have a chance to break Eric Dickerson’s record for most rushing yards in a season at 2,105. In a decision made by both the coach and the player himself, Saquon won’t play against the Giants, a factor that might make the difference in this race.
Ja’Marr Chase
There have been four other triple-crown winners in the history of the NFL since the merger, and more than likely, Chase will join that list at the end of the year. A prestigious honor to any receiver who leads the league in receiving yards, catches, and touchdowns, and Chase is well on his way to doing so. The only player to ever win the OPOY award after doing this was Cooper Kupp in 2020, so it’s definitely possible for Chase to join him. Chase’s stats of 117 catches for 1,612 yards and 16 touchdowns far outweigh any other receiver in the categories. He leads each said category by eight catches, 96 yards, and four touchdowns, and with one week left, the triple crown is basically assuming the star doesn’t get injured. Just like Burrow’s MVP case, however, Chase might be impacted by his team barely making or not even qualifying for the playoffs, but as this award has never seemed to account for winning as much as the MVP, Chase’s case is pretty solid.
Lamar Jackson
The more likely of the two awards for Jackson to win is the MVP, but his case for the OPOY award isn’t nothing. The two-time NFL MVP has had near his best season to date and still might come up empty with any awards due to the candidates above and Josh Allen in the MVP race. This year, the 27-year-old has thrown for over 4,000 yards, with a 41-4 touchdown to interception ratio and 915 rushing yards. Lamar’s main thing against him in both races, though, is the play of offseason acquisition Derrick Henry. As much as he has helped the Ravens become a more unstoppable team when it comes to upcoming playoff matchups, Henry’s stats of 1,921 rushing yards and 18 total touchdowns have ended up hurting his chance to win any award. In the case of your teammates hurting your chances, this is the best example. While Lamar is the least likely out of the three to win the award, his play this season can’t be ignored or described as anything but incredible.
