Barnwell's picks for NFL MVP, best rookies, more at midway point
Bill Barnwell
ESPN Staff Writer
The late-afternoon Sunday games in Week 9 marked the official halfway point of the NFL season, making it the perfect time to take an updated look at who deserves to win nods in several of the key categories handed out after the year is up. I do this on a quarterly basis, as you may have seen earlier this year when I filed a quarter-season award ballot after Week 4.
In the case of the official awards, I'm not attempting to identify the player I think deserves to win the award. Instead, I'm using the general history of how the electorate has voted to get a better sense of who might be favored at this point of the season. Voters love players who haven't previously been in serious award consideration and players who succeed just before the voting window closes, so I'll be keeping that in mind as I file my selections. I'll mention who I picked in Week 4, who holds a lead right now, and who is likeliest to grab an award onstage come the end of the season.
In addition, I'll be adding totally fake awards to the mix in an attempt to shine a light on some of the more interesting or deserved cases of the first half of the NFL season. In those cases, since there aren't any other voters, I'll be voting the way I want to:
Most disappointing player
The NFL isn't exactly about to hand out negative awards, so we'll have to fill in the gap here. And it's difficult to narrow down disappointment, because some disappointments don't fit this award. It's disappointing David Johnson and Andrew Luck are injured, but it would be unfair to pick them for this nod. Likewise, I can't just pick the entire Browns and 49ers teams to win this award en masse. To find an award winner here, we need a player who has been mostly healthy and held lofty expectations heading into the season, only to come up well short.
I'm tempted to name Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who has probably been the least-valuable free-agent signing of the offseason, given the contract he received from New England, but Gilmore has been out since Week 5 with a concussion. There's a chance Gilmore might not even be starting at corner once he comes back, given how effective Johnson Bademosi has been in the absence of the former Bills star. Instead, I'm looking toward the offense ...
Current winner: Jameis Winston, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Some might argue reigning league MVP Matt Ryan has been more disappointing, but the problems with Atlanta's offense seem to loom deeper than the quarterback. (Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian deserves some of the blame, but it's hard to blame Ryan or Sarkisian for Julio Jones dropping a 39-yard touchdown on fourth down midway through the fourth quarter on Sunday.)
Winston's lack of development as a third-year starter has been far more troubling. This was supposed to be a breakout season for the Bucs after Tampa signed DeSean Jackson before using a first-round pick on O.J. Howard. Instead, while Winston's raw numbers are at or slightly above their averages from a year ago, his overall performance has slipped significantly. Winston has generated only a 39.4 QBR, down more than 20 points from his 59.5 mark from a year ago. He has missed open receivers on a weekly basis. Winston's shoulder knocked him out of Sunday's loss to the Saints, but he was struggling before spraining his shoulder earlier this season. In what is quickly becoming a lost season for the 2-6 Buccaneers, Winston seems as far removed from Tampa's 2016 campaign as anyone else on the roster.
For the complete list... http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/page/Barnwellx171106/2017-nfl-midseason-awards-picks-bill-barnwell-mvp-offensive-defensive-players-year-best-rookies-week-9
