NFL Honors 2015: Updated Predictions for Top Awards

The night before one NFL team seizes the Lombardi Trophy, some of the league's premier stars will settle for individual awards during the NFL Honors ceremony.

In an NBC-televised spectacle hosted by Seth Myers, the annual accolades will get decorated in award pageantry on Saturday night. Hey, would you rather talk about deflated footballs or Marshawn Lynch media appearances?

Exactly. Meyers will be mocking those ridiculous stories most of the night anyway, but he's funny, and it's more comfortable sitting on the couch than outside in the bitter cold. This also stretches out the process of handicapping winners for the major honors, the best part of any awards show.

Here's a look at some last-minute predictions for the night's major prizes.

Award	Prediction
AP Most Valuable Player	Aaron Rodgers, QB, GB
AP Offensive Player of the Year	DeMarco Murray, RB, DAL
AP Defensive Player of the Year	J.J. Watt, DE, HOU
AP Offensive Rookie of the Year	Odell Beckham Jr., WR, NYG
AP Defensive Rookie of the Year	Khalil Mack, LB, OAK
AP Comeback Player of the Year	Rob Gronkowski, TE, NE
AP Coach of the Year	Bruce Arians, ARI

Tough Call: Offensive Player of the Year

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Aaron Rodgers. Tony Romo. DeMarco Murray. Le'Veon Bell. Antonio Brown. Rob Gronkowski. Pro Football Focus' Ben Stockwell even hyped Marshal Yanda as a top candidate. Although the MVP discussion has dwindled down to a two-man duel between Rodgers and J.J. Watt, Offensive Player of the Year remains wide open.

With apologies to Brown and Gronkowski, neither pass-catcher should get his hopes up. A quarterback or running back has won every time since 1993, when Jerry Rice snagged 1,503 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns.

Tony Romo led the NFL in completion percentage (69.9) and yards per attempt (8.52), but efficiency doesn't often trump gaudy production for this flashy category. A renown offensive line and Murray's 392 carries will also hurt his cause.

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Bell amassed 2,215 total yards and 11 touchdowns, yet an argument can be made for Brown being the team's offensive star. Although he benefited from a heavier workload, Murray narrowly surpassed Bell with 2,261 yards and 13 scores anyway.

That leaves Murray and Rodgers, the top two candidates in SportsNation's fan poll, via Pro Football on ESPN:

As silly as it sounds, the voters tend to spread the wealth unless someone registers earth-shattering numbers. Rodgers is likely to receive the MVP, but that doesn't make him a lock for this honor.

The Pro Football Writers' Association (PFWA) already proved that by giving the Dallas Cowboys running back its Offensive Player of the Year prize despite the passer taking home the MVP. It doesn't really make sense, but that's often the case with awards.

Easy Call: Offensive Rookie of the Year

One would expect Odell Beckham Jr. to snatch up Offensive Rookie of the Year easier than a routine one-handed grab. Bleacher Report's Chris Simms, however, suggests otherwise, touting Dallas offensive lineman Zack Martin in the video above.

The big men fighting in the trenches rarely get their proper recognition, so no, Simms is not crazy for picking Martin. A revamped Dallas line allowed just 28 sacks while supporting the NFC's premier rushing offense. The right guard, selected in the first round when owner Jerry Jones wanted Johnny Manziel, had a big part in its revival. 

Note to Dallas' front office: Keep ignoring the owner. As noted by Bleacher Report's Bryn Swartz, Martin crushed his first-round peers:

Martin is fantastic, and hopefully that acknowledgement serves as consolation for switching to a flashier adversary from his NFC East foe.

Beckham is too much of a monster to deny. Despite missing the first month of his rookie campaign, he finished with 91 catches, 1,305 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. He concluded the year by submitting at least 90 yards in each of the final nine games, averaging 133.2 yards per game over that stretch.

Al Bello/Getty Images

The scariest part? He admitted to the New York Post's Bart Hubbuch that his two hamstring tears that cost him the first four games never progressed to full strength. 

“They healed up enough to where I could play with them, but they were never truly good and I’m still just working on them and trying to get ready,” Beckham said.

Well then. While delaying his debut until Week 5 can't be ignored, his seismic impact in three-quarters of the year proves too massive. With him in the fold, Eli Manning tallied 286.3 passing yards per contest. Without him, Manning notched 243.5 yards while throwing five of his 14 interceptions on the season.

Perhaps one day we'll live in a world where offensive linemen get showered with the same adoration as skilled players. With an exciting wideout averaging 108.9 yards and a touchdown per game, that time will have to wait.