NFL Honors 2012: Why Cam Newton and Von Miller Earned Rookie of the Year Honors

Rarely do the top two players taken in the NFL draft earn awards following their first years in the league. Well, this year we can say that both the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos chose wisely at the top of the 2011 draft.

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was named the NFL's 2011 Offensive Rookie of the Year, while Broncos linebacker Von Miller won the 2011 Defensive Rookie of the Year award. While guys like Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton and San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith both had excellent seasons, Newton and Miller were both completely deserving of the honors they received.

When Carolina made Newton the top pick in last April's draft, there were tons of questions concerning his character and his ability to adapt to the NFL. While character questions can only be answered over time, those regarding his on-field ability were resolved rather quickly—and emphatically. 

Newton set an NFL record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 14, while he became the first player in league history to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for 500. He broke several rookie records along the way, including passing yards in a game (432) and passing yards in a season (4,051), while also totaling the most touchdowns by a rookie at any position with 35 (21 passing, 14 rushing).

The Auburn product was the best rookie all season long in the NFL, and the voters rewarded him with 47 votes, while Dalton had only three. 

Miller was one of the few can't-miss prospects in the 2011 draft, and he rewarded the Broncos for selecting him instead of guys like Marcell Dareus or Patrick Peterson. The Texas A&M product finished the season with 64 tackles, 11.5 sacks, four passes defended and two forced fumbles. He did all of that despite missing one game and playing the team's final four contests with a bulky cast on his hand to protect a surgically-repaired thumb.

It could be argued that Miller's emergence was more responsible for Denver's run to the playoffs than anything quarterback Tim Tebow did. In fact, Miller had at least part one sack in each of Denver's wins this year, including the team's Wild Card Round victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers (he actually only had a half-sack in the Broncos' 38-24 win over the Raiders in Week 9, but I'm counting that).

He earned the award despite the fact that Smith was excellent this year as well. I believe Miller had much more to do with Denver's success than Smith did on San Francisco's. The voters apparently agreed with me, giving him a 39 to 11 edge over the 49ers' linebacker.