Bleacher Report's Expert Consensus NFL Awards

You'll notice a team popping up consistently throughout our year-end consensus NFL awards. Get used to it, because the Dallas Cowboys are set to shine for a while with their offensive youth.

It's nearly certain that Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott and quarterback Dak Prescott will hear their names called when the real awards are handed out on Feb. 4. Which awards and how many of them is what we're really waiting to find out.

Some other picks feel obvious, too. Like San Diego's Joey Bosa being named the Defensive Rookie of the Year, and Arizona's David Johnson taking home the Fantasy Player of the Year honors.

But the MVP award, the main event of the evening, remains wide-open with several worthy candidates.

Twelve of our writers—myself, Mike Tanier, Brent Sobleski, Chris Simms, Dan Pompei, Matt Miller, Brad Gagnon, Mike Freeman, Doug Farrar, Tyler Dunne, Gary Davenport and Jason Cole—went one step further than the NFL will on Feb. 4, handing out a few extra accolades, too. And the winners are...

Offensive Player of the Year

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Winner: Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (six votes)

Elliott will surely get MVP votes, because that's what should happen when a rookie running back wins the rushing title by an incredible 318 yards.

It's also what happens when that bulldozing bruiser scores 16 times, and his 1,631 rushing yards place him third all time among rookie running backs. Oh, and Elliott did all of that while sitting out Week 17, as the Cowboys already had home-field advantage wrapped up.

He'll likely fall short in the MVP race because as remarkable as his first season was, a running back must do something historic to leap over the quarterback MVP barrier. But his dynamic entrance into the NFL and an unfair average of 132.9 yards from scrimmage per game should give Elliott some other valuable hardware: the Offensive Player of the Year Award.

Others receiving votes: Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson (four votes); Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (two votes)

Defensive Player of the Year

Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images

Winner: Oakland Raiders outside linebacker Khalil Mack (six votes)

Sacks have always been and will always be the eye-grabbing measuring stick used for pass-rushers.

Oakland Raiders outside linebacker Khalil Mack was mired in what seemed to be a third-year slump early in 2016. As the season rounded the quarter pole, he entered Week 5 with only one sack. Not to worry, though, because he then recorded 10 sacks over his next nine games. He finished with double-digit sacks for the second time in his three NFL seasons, and Mack has now logged 30 quarterback takedowns over only 48 career games.

Mack will always be at or near the top of the list of the most disruptive pass-rushers not named J.J. Watt. And in 2016, he easily leads that group with his 96 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, which was 17 more than any other 3-4 outside linebacker.

Others receiving votes: Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (two votes); Denver Broncos outsider linebacker Von Miller (two votes); Houston Texans defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (one vote); New York Giants safety Landon Collins (one vote)

Most Improved Player of the Year

Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

Winner: Atlanta Falcons outside linebacker Vic Beasley (seven votes)

Waiting is a lost art now. We don't do it anymore for anything, including first-round pass-rushers.

Many dubbed Atlanta Falcons outside linebacker Vic Beasley a bust following his vanilla 2015 rookie season. The eighth overall pick recorded just four sacks during his first year, which caused immediate and widespread panic.

Beasley was supposed to be the quick-fix solution to the Falcons pass-rush pit of despair (Atlanta finished tied for 30th with only 22 sacks in 2014). Yet there he was, floundering right away.

But all along, Falcons defensive line coach Brian Cox was in Beasley's corner.

"When you're talking about last season, everybody—the so-called prognosticators and the professionals— are harping about what Vic didn't do last season, but I take the opposite approach," Cox told ESPN.com's Vaughn McClure in June. "You look at all the times he hit the quarterback and pressured the quarterback. If we can maybe just do a little better job of turning some of those into sacks, people would be quite pleased with him."

Beasley did turn some of those pressures into sacks in 2016. Lots of them.

He quickly shed that bust label by leading the league with 15.5 sacks. He started out slow, notching only one sack over the Falcons' first four games, but he busted loose with 3.5 against the Denver Broncos in Week 5 and hasn't stopped since.

With his electric sophomore campaign, Beasley turned around both his career trajectory and the Falcons' defensive front.

Others receiving votes: Packers wide receiver Davante Adams (three votes); Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (two votes)

Offensive Rookie of the Year

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Winner: Tie: Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (six votes); running back Ezekiel Elliott (six votes)

There's no other way this voting could have ended. And although ties are as inviting as drinking a tall glass of orange juice after brushing your teeth, this one feels just fine.

The Cowboys trotted out two rookies at core positions and asked them to power a playoff run. Much was expected of Elliott, which is now standard for a running back deemed worthy of a top-five draft pick.

But Prescott? After the draft, he was viewed as a quarterback with a high ceiling who needed time to develop. However, the Cowboys didn't have the luxury of time after their quarterback depth chart was decimated by injuries during the preseason. Suddenly, an all-rookie offensive battery of Prescott and Elliott came to fruition.

Elliott became a human bowling ball right away, recording a league-best 936 rushing yards after contact, per PFF. He finished 35 yards ahead of the second-place running back (Miami's Jay Ajayi) in that category despite sitting out Week 17.

And Prescott finished fourth in yards per attempt at 8.0, which wasn't just a product of chunk gains after the catch. Yes, the Cowboys managed Prescott well and eased him into the NFL, as should any team with a rookie quarterback. But Prescott still ended his first season with 59.5 percent of his passing yards coming through the air, again per PFF. That ranked ninth among the 29 qualifying quarterbacks.

The Cowboys' offensive future is blindingly bright, especially when you consider that at a still-young 28 years old, wide receiver Dez Bryant seems like an aging veteran alongside Elliott and Prescott.

Others receiving votes: None

Defensive Rookie of the Year

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Winner: San Diego Chargers outside linebacker Joey Bosa (11 votes)

There are plenty of reasons why the San Diego Chargers are beginning a head coach search in January and not preparing for a playoff opponent.

Injuries are often viewed as a cheap excuse, but that's a legitimate one in this case. It's tough to win games when your injured reserve includes the likes of wide receiver Keenan Allen, cornerbacks Jason Verrett and Brandon Flowers, linebacker Manti Te'o and running back Danny Woodhead.

But it's fair to wonder whether Chargers management torpedoed the season early by holding a nonsensical contract standoff with their first-round pick. As a result, outside linebacker Joey Bosa missed training camp and fell far behind in his preparation for the season. The Chargers lost three of their first four games while Bosa was out by an average of just 3.7 points.

Those losses sent San Diego's season tumbling in the wrong direction. So what were the Chargers missing during that time?

They were missing a pass-rusher who still finished with 10.5 sacks despite missing a quarter of the season. They were missing a pass-rusher who went without a sack in just four of the 12 games he played. And they were missing a pass-rusher who averaged 4.9 pressures per game, per PFF.

They were missing the heartbeat of their defense and a game-changing player who consistently creates chaos.

Others receiving votes: Atlanta Falcons middle linebacker Deion Jones (one vote)

Rookie of the Year

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Winner: Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (eight votes)

Let's see, how do we find more ways to describe Elliott's awesomeness in 2016?

There are many, actually. Elliott rushed for 100-plus yards in seven games, and although he sizzled all season, he was white-hot during a four-game stretch to start the year. Between Weeks 3 and 6, Elliott recorded 569 rushing yards, an average of 142.3 per game. He set an NFL rookie record by rushing for 130-plus yards in four straight games.

That easily put him on pace to also shatter Tony Dorsett's Cowboys rookie rushing record. He soared past Dorsett's mark of 1,007 yards in Week 11 with six games still remaining in the season. Elliott became just the third rookie in league history to rush for 1,000-plus yards over only nine games, per ESPN.com's Todd Archer.

Running back is generally viewed as a position that rookies can thrive at immediately if they're talented enough. Often, even the most skilled quarterbacks and wide receivers need time to develop and grow.

But regardless of your position, the NFL isn't supposed to look this easy this early. And that's why Zeke, who tied with with Prescott in the Offensive Rookie of the Year category, actually won this category. And that's not unheard of if you think of it as Drew Brees winning the Offensive Player of the year, but Aaron Rodgers winning MVP back in the 2012 season. That's the way the voters voted here. 

Others receiving votes: Prescott (four votes)

Fantasy Player of the Year

Chris Coduto/Getty Images

Winner: Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson (11 votes)

I'm only now getting to the point where I can talk about fantasy football again. Let's just say the fake football playoffs made me take a long, chilly late December stroll into the nearest body of water.

Perhaps that frigid fate would have been avoided if my roster included Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson. The dynamic runner might get an MVP vote or two, even though he was on a team that missed the playoffs and went 7-8-1. If nothing else, he's certain to receive a whole lot of fantasy MVP votes.

Johnson was consistently impressive while piling up yardage as a runner and pass-catcher. His 2,118 yards from scrimmage led the league, which translated to 327.8 fantasy points. He was the highest-scoring player who doesn't play quarterback, which is why the fantasy playoffs were filled with teams that drafted Johnson.

He was on the roster of a team that made the playoffs in 66.8 percent of ESPN standard 10-team leagues, according to ESPN.com's Keith Lipscomb. And many of those teams surely went on to championship glory while powered by a running back who scored 20-plus fantasy points in nine games.

Others receiving votes: Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson (one vote)

Comeback Player of the Year

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Winner: Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson (six votes)

Jordy Nelson's 2015 season ended with a common but maddening injury. The sort of tear that comes on a routine play and without even the slightest contact from a defender.

The Green Bay Packers wide receiver caught a pass near the boundary during a preseason game, then went to turn upfield. And just like that, his season was done without a single meaningful snap.

He tore the ACL in his right knee, which resulted in the first significant missed time of Nelson's career. Prior to 2015, he had played 16 games in five of his seven NFL seasons.

So there was understandably lingering doubt about how a 31-year-old would bounce back from his first intense injury rehab and concern about whether he'd return as the same receiver who could separate with agility and precise route running.

Nelson quickly silenced those concerns.

He scored four times over the Packers' first three games and went on to lead the league in receiving touchdowns with 14. He also recorded five games with 100-plus receiving yards and finished with 1,200-plus yards for his third straight (active) season.

An ACL tear isn't nearly the career-threatening injury it was years ago. But it can still severely limit the performance of someone like Nelson who relies his lateral mobility to be effective.

He's just fine, though, and so are the Packers as they prepare to host a playoff game at Lambeau Field in part because of Nelson's brilliance.

Others receiving votes: Miami Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake (four votes); Cleveland Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor (one vote); Tennessee Titans running back DeMarco Murray (one vote)

Breakout Player of the Year

Rich Barnes/Getty Images

Winner: Miami Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi (seven votes)

There are numerous reasons why the Buffalo Bills fired now-former head coach Rex Ryan (general manager Doug Whaley doesn't know any of them, apparently). But if we were to pin his firing on one opposing player, finding that name would be easy: Jay Ajayi.

Ajayi rushed for 420 yards over two games against the Bills. He added another 200-plus yard game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6, becoming only the fourth running back in league history to reach that mark in back-to-back games, per Yahoo Sports' Shalise Manza Young.

Ajayi had 304 career rushing yards to his name prior to that game against the Steelers. He exploded and quickly went from being an injury-prone, second-year player to the centerpiece of a playoff-bound offense.

The 2016 season almost felt like Ajayi's rookie year after he wasn't healthy for most of 2015 and then received only 49 carries. That may have been why he scaled the rookie wall a bit later in the year. But overall, Ajayi averaged 4.9 yards per carry while showing he has a promising future ahead.

Others receiving votes: Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (four votes); Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins (one vote) 

Coach of the Year

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Winner: Tie: New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick (five votes); Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett (five votes)

It's fitting that New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett tied in our Coach of the Year voting. They both won when winning seemed impossible, or at the very least improbable. And they did it in different ways.

Belichick tweaked, adapted and adjusted to suit the roster he had been dealt, just as he always does. But this time, the obstacles blocking a division win—the Patriots' eighth straight—were much taller. Belichick had to navigate through four games without quarterback Tom Brady due to his Deflategate suspension, which at one point meant trotting out third-string passer Jacoby Brissett.

Yet the Patriots still went 3-1 during those games without Brady. Losing tight end Rob Gronkowski could have and should have been a significant blow as well. But no, the Patriots chugged along just fine while winning 12-plus games for the seventh straight year. They've taken different routes to success during the Belichick era, and this time, the winning came largely through defense. The Patriots allowed a league-low average of only 15.6 points per game, which was over two full points ahead of the second-place New York Giants defense.

Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys' season was supposed to be derailed long before it began. Historically, they've gone belly-up fast without quarterback Tony Romo. So when both Romo and original No. 2 quarterback Kellen Moore suffered injuries during the preseason, the end already seemed near.

Then a thought-to-be-raw rookie was thrust into a starting role. Dak Prescott threw only four interceptions on 459 pass attempts as the ideal system was structured around him. Now, the Cowboys head into the playoffs as the favorites to emerge out of the NFC with that same young quarterback leading the charge.

Others receiving votes: Miami Dolphins head coach Adam Gase (one vote); Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid (one vote)

MVP

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Winner: Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (four votes)

It's a strange year for the MVP conversation. Or at least one we're not used to, as naming the MVP has been a mere formality in recent seasons.

In 2015, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was the runaway winner. So was Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in 2014, when he was his usual masterful self. Rodgers may triumph again this year while taking home the shiniest individual award, and the narrative will feel like that 2014 season.

In 2014, it took only two losses over the first three games for Packers fans to panic. Rodgers famously had five letters for them, and then the Packers lost only two more games throughout the rest of the season.

Green Bay took a similar journey in 2016 but went deeper into the abyss this time. The Packers lost four straight games at midseason and entered Week 12 with a 4-6 record. Their only postseason hope rested with winning every remaining game. Which is exactly the promise Rodgers made.

"I feel like we can run the table, I really do," Rodgers told ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky on Nov. 23, just days after Green Bay's fourth straight loss. "The offense is starting to click a little bit more; we've just got to put together a game where we're more consistent from the first snap to the last."

The Packers did that and so, so much more. They won six straight games to end the season and take the NFC North crown, advancing to the playoffs for an eighth consecutive year. Rodgers orchestrated the storm with pinpoint accuracy and calm pocket manipulation, as he threw 15 touchdown passes without an interception during those six games while averaging 8.3 yards per attempt with a 121.0 passer rating.

Rodgers yanked his team from the brink of what seemed like certain destruction, a lost season and possibly sweeping offseason change. Now, the Packers are hosting a playoff game.

The MVP conversation might be a muddled mess, and an argument can be made for a number of other candidates (see below). But Rodgers made the loudest statement with his season-saving performances.

Others receiving votes: Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (two votes); Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (two votes); Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell (two votes); New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (two votes)