NFL Midseason Awards: Kyler Murray, Cooper Kupp, Najee Harris headline Bucky Brooks' picks
By Bucky Brooks
FOX Sports NFL Analyst
The NFL is a players' league, but coaching certainly matters. With the majority of games decided by eight points or fewer, coaches ultimately control their teams’ fates based on their tactical and management decisions.
From how well they mesh their schemes and accentuate their personnel to how they manage the various situations that arise in each game, the best coaches find a way to put their teams in position to win each and every week. And they do it without complaining about the poor hand the football gods might have dealt them along the way.
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FOX Sports NFL Analyst Bucky Brooks hands out his midseason awards for MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, top rookie and more.
Considering how the Ravens have navigated a rash of injuries that wiped out their running backs room during the preseason and robbed them of a couple of Pro Bowlers in Marcus Peters and Ronnie Stanley, John Harbaugh deserves recognition for keeping his short-handed squad in the thick of the AFC race.
Perhaps his experience as a longtime special-teams coach prepared him to deal with the personnel changes and last-minute scratches that have become the norm for Baltimore this season. Harbaugh has deftly managed those issues while instilling grit and resilience in his squad. It's no coincidence that the "next man up" philosophy has been a hallmark of the Ravens for years.
The veteran coach makes a compelling case for Coach of the Year so far, based on those factors, but I believe he should be a runaway winner due to his continued work with Lamar Jackson and the Ravens’ offense. If you have not paid close attention to the former MVP, he is making another run at the trophy, this time showcasing a different part of his game.
Jackson ranks among the top-10 rushers (600 rush yards, sixth-most in NFL) and passers (2,209 pass yards, ninth-most) while leading the league in fourth-quarter comebacks (four) and game-winning drives (four). The evolution of his game and the Ravens’ offensive approach is a testament to Harbaugh’s steadfast belief in his players’ abilities to expand their skill sets through diligent work on the practice field.
While there are plenty of coaches excelling this season, you would be hard-pressed to find a coach doing a better job maximizing the potential of his team than Harbaugh at the midpoint of the season.
Let’s take a look at my other choices for NFL midseason awards.
MVP: Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
The red-hot Cardinals are averaging 30-plus points behind the efforts of the electrifying playmaker with A-plus arm talent and athleticism.
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Bucky Brooks explains why Cardinals QB Kyler Murray is his choice for midseason MVP.
Murray leads the NFL in completion percentage (72.7%) while ranking third in passer rating (110.4). His 17:7 touchdown-to-interception ratio also places him near the top of the charts.
The third-year pro has four games with three or more touchdowns for the team with the best record in the league. Considering how the football world routinely hands out NFL hardware to the best player on the league’s best team, Murray is the pick as my midseason MVP.
Offensive Player of the Year: Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
After breaking a number of Jerry Rice’s records at the FCS level for Eastern Washington, Kupp is now following in the GOAT's footsteps as the No. 1 receiver in the NFL. Sure, we can debate whether Kupp is really a top-five player, but it is difficult to ignore his production as the Rams’ top playmaker this season.
The fifth-year pro is on pace to claim the rare triple crown as the league leader in catches (74), receiving yards (1,109) and receiving touchdowns (10). The connection between Kupp and his buddy, Matthew Stafford, has been nearly impossible to stop in 2021.
Defensive Player of the Year: Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns
The former No. 1 overall pick has lived up to the hype as a disruptive force off the edge. Garrett has four straight seasons with at least 10 sacks, and he is on pace to shatter Michael Strahan’s single-season sacks record (22.5), with 12 in nine games.
As a superhero-like athlete with an impressive combination of strength, power and explosiveness, Garrett is capable of overwhelming blockers with his physical tools or his technical skills as a pass-rusher.
Considering his early-season dominance and record-setting pace, the DPOY award has to go to Garrett at this point.
Rookie of the Year: Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers
It is not a coincidence that the Steelers have climbed back into the playoff picture after Harris became the focal point of the offense. The 6-foot-1, 232-pound back has 800-plus scrimmage yards (541 rush, 289 receiving) on 190 touches (150 rush attempts, 40 receptions) with six total touchdowns.
As an RB1/WR2, Harris is a versatile offensive weapon with the capability to align anywhere on the field as a playmaker. While others have put up impressive numbers (see: Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase), it is difficult to find a rookie making a greater impact.
Unsung Hero: Kevin Byard, Tennessee Titans
This All-Pro safety somehow flies under the radar, despite being one of the premier ball hawks in the league. Byard has five interceptions and 11 passes defensed in the first half of the season.
The six-year veteran has always been around the ball, but this season he's showing a different array of skills as a versatile traffic cop with sticky hands. Byard’s intelligence and communications ability have helped the Titans’ defense become a playmaking unit with the potential to be dominant.
Bucky Brooks is an NFL analyst for FOX Sports and regularly appears on "Speak For Yourself." He also breaks down the game for NFL Network and is a cohost of the "Moving the Sticks" podcast.