The NFL Honors are presented to the best players and coaches from the regular season. Before the start of the regular season, NFL.com analysts put together their predictions for the different NFL Honors awards. For the 2023-24 predictions, 35 different analysts, including Gregg Rosenthal, Lance Zierlein, Eric Edholm, Steve Mariucci, Chad Reuter, former Bills DC Leslie Frazier, and former Jaguars' RB Maurice Jones-Drew, among the bigger names, predicted the awards.
To be specific, each of the 35 analysts predicted the season MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Offensive Rookie of the Year, Defensive Rookie of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, and Coach of the Year.
Among the votes, two Broncos received recognition at their respective categories ...
The Senior Creator of Content and Editorial, Ali Bhanpuri, picked All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II to win the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Surtain is entering year three of his young NFL career, and he is already a First-Team All-Pro, a Pro Bowler, a top 100 NFL player, a top 25 player under 25 years, and according to ESPN's Survey best cornerback in the league. There is no specific reason why Bhanpuri picked Surtain, but according to the results from the 35 analysts, Pat is tied for 5th place with one vote, with LB Roquan Smith (Leslie Frazier), and Ahmad Gardner (Marc Sessler). The top four voters for the award were Micah Parsons (19), TJ Watt (7), Myles Garrett (3), and Nick Bosa (2).
Despite his young age, and a new defensive coordinator every year he has been in the league, so far (Ed Donatell, Ejiro Evero, and now Vance Joseph), Surtain has proven that he is an elite lockdown corner in this league.
The second Bronco who received a vote in the NFL.com 2023 Award predictions is not a player, it is head coach Sean Payton, as he received the vote from the lead Draft Writer Eric Edholm to be the NFL Coach of the Year in the upcoming season.
The Denver Broncos traded for Sean Payton following the firing of Nathaniel Hackett after a disastrous first season with Denver, which he did not finish. Sean is a Super Bowl champion head coach, with a winning culture, and a 152-89 win-loss record. An offensive mastermind. Can Sean turn things around, and get the Broncos to a winning record for the first time since 2016-17? Can Denver return to the Playoffs with Sean?
Can Sean win the NFL Coach of the Year award in his first season with Denver? Is Surtain a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year? Which other Bronco deserved a vote?