NFL Honors 2018: Updated Predictions for Top Awards

At face value, the 2018 NFL Honors look predictable. 

Based on the candidates for each category, those in charge of dishing out the awards on the eve of the Super Bowl at Cyrus Northrop Memorial Auditorium have an easy task. 

Then again, the season centered around these pieces of individual hardware was anything but predictable, not as teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams surged and mainstays such as Eli Manning fell off the map. 

Either way, the NFL Honors are worth a watch for fans passing time before the Super Bowl, and it serves as a nice ode to a season we won't soon forget. 

2018 NFL Honors 

Date: Saturday, February 3 at Cyrus Northrop Memorial Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN

TV Time: 9 p.m. ET (The ceremony will take place from 6-8 p.m. ET before being televised.)

TV: NBC

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra

Predictions 

MVP	Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
Coach of the Year	Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams
OPOY	Todd Gurley, RB, Los Angeles Rams
DPOY	Calais Campbell, DE, Jacksonville Jaguars
OROY	Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints
DROY	Marshon Lattimore, CB, New Orleans Saints
Comeback Player of the Year	Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

What, expect someone else other than New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for MVP? 

Look, if Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz had remained healthy, we'd be having a different conversation. That said, we'd also have to point out the Eagles have done quite well with a guy named Nick Foles under center, too. 

Anyway, Brady is the easy pick here. He's made the incredible routine—he's sitting on a 66.3 completion percentage with 4,577 yards and 32 touchdowns against eight interceptions.

So no, it isn't too hard to see why he apparently got busted with an acceptance speech, per SportsCenter: 

While clearly a precautionary measure blown out of proportion for the sake of the humor in it, who else was going to win this? Any time a league has someone doing something so incredible on a routine basis to the point fans get bored of it, the guy probably still deserves recognition for it.

So it goes for Brady, who quietly just put up one of the best seasons of his career before taking down an elite Jaguars defense in the playoffs despite missing Rob Gronkowski for most of the game. 

Likewise, Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams is an obvious choice for Coach of the Year. 

McVay arrived in town and turned a four-win team into an 11-5 contender, breathing new life into the career of quarterback Jared Goff in the process. Smart additions such as left tackle Andrew Whitworth helped, but we're looking at a bigger culture change here. 

It's hard to ignore Eagles coach Doug Pederson or Jacksonville's Doug Marrone, though both seemed to have more talent available to them after years of rebuilding and an easier division. McVay gets to build on this after reviving two players and molding one of them into an MVP contender. 

Said MVP contender was running back Todd Gurley, a solid pick for the Offensive Player of the Year award.

After a miserable sophomore campaign in which he averaged 3.2 yards per carry, Gurley put up an average of 4.7 in 2017, rumbling for 1,305 yards and 13 touchdowns in the process—oh, and he led the league with 2,093 total yards from scrimmage.

While his coach gets credit, Gurley gets the nod over guys like Brady and Pittsburgh Steelers wideout Antonio Brown, whose production credit leans on a quarterback as well. 

For the Defensive Player of the Year hardware, look no further than Jacksonville defensive end Calais Campbell.

Campbell, a huge free-agent add for the Jaguars, dropped 14.5 sacks on opponents and changed the entire complexion of the unit.

NFL.com's Jeffri Chadiha put it best: "No free-agent acquisition had a bigger impact on his team than Calais Campbell. People literally questioned why he would sign with Jacksonville this past offseason. He responded by producing 14.5 sacks and becoming one of the key elements in the league's second-ranked defense."

As far as the rookies go, this area gets dominated by members of the New Orleans Saints.

On the offensive side, Alvin Kamara gets the nod after cruising for 728 yards and eight touchdowns on a 6.1 per-carry average and reeling in another 81 catches for 826 yards and five touchdowns. Keep in mind he split the load with Mark Ingram and didn't receive a double-digit carry total until Week 5. 

Cornerback Marshon Lattimore takes the award on the opposite side of the football. After years of struggles and mishaps while trying to rebuild the secondary, the No. 11 pick out of Ohio State locked down mostly anyone who lined up across from him.

The only real competition was Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White, another strong member of the class with a long career in front of him. 

Then there's Comeback Player of the Year hardware, which should easily go to Los Angeles Chargers wideout Keenan Allen. 

Allen didn't necessarily grab national attention for his play, but he's perhaps one of the best stories in football in a long time. He only played eight games in 2015 and just one in 2016, with a pair of injuries seemingly throwing his career in doubt. 

But he stayed on the field in 2017, catching 102 passes in the process and going for 1,393 yards and six touchdowns. Guys like Gronkowski and Case Keenum, among others, were fun stories—but few shrugged off two years of devastating injuries to post top-of-league numbers. 

Stats courtesy of NFL.com.