The rookie of the year voting will be very interesting at the end of the season because we have so many great rookies who are hoping for their moment in the spotlight. We know that all of these rookies are very good at what they do, but they cannot all win this award. We will take Deshaun Watson out of the conversation for the purposes of this article, and we will make sure that the rookies who cannot be MVP are given their due.
Leonard Fournette
Leonard Fournette is a very good running back, and he is so good that he is finally giving Blake Bortles the support that he needs in the backfield.
Blake Bortles may never be a great player, but he will certainly be so much better because of Fournette. Fournette is definitely the MVP of this team, and he needs to be given consideration because he is far better than most rookie running backs who come into the league.
Kareem Hunt
Kareem Hunt could easily win the MVP just because he is so good, but we do not know that until he goes through this whole season carrying the Chiefs. He could help Alex Smith keep his job, and he could pull the Chiefs deep into the playoffs. It is possible that he is actually better than Fournette, and it will be fun to find out if he can be that good.
Christian McCaffrey
If McCaffrey can take over the Panthers offense, he could win this award because he has been so good running and catching passes.
Someone who wants to have a good chance of picking this award correctly should watch to see if McCaffrey can lead the lead in total yards at the end of the season. He might not do it this year, but if he does, he should probably win this award.
Why does it matter?
Technically it does not matter who wins this award because we hardly remember who it was.
I am interested in this award because it will be interesting to see if the person who wins it can keep up their performances for years to come. For example, if Kareem Hunt takes the Chiefs to the playoffs, will he continue to do that? Will Fournette run for 2000 yards at some point? Can Christian McCaffrey break the total yardage record for a season?
These are all very good questions because we can compare them to the future results we get from each person. We cannot tell the future, but it will be funny to look back if a player turns out to be great, to be a bust, or to be a one-hit wonder.
The NFL awards are a fun way to end the season, but rookie awards might tell us a lot with this huge crop of amazing rookies who have already set the league on fire.