With one month to go in the 2024 season, there are multiple awards Denver Broncos players could win this year.
As big a surprise the entire season has been for Denver, even more shocking would be the players taking home individual awards.
However, that’s where we’re at in the middle of December. Some superb individual performances have helped push the entire team forward and into the playoff hunt.
Awards Denver Broncos players could win include Offensive Rookie of the Year
Bo Nix has been brilliant. Simple as that.
The rookie has been remarkable at times, even if it hasn’t been consistent production from him. That’s to be expected from a first-year quarterback, though.
And given how difficult it is to play QB in the NFL, Nix has exceeded expectations.
For the last month, Nix has been the No. 2 guy in the Offensive Rookie of the Year race behind Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders.
Go back a month, and Nix (+1400) was a distant second behind Daniels per FanDuel. After the victory over Atlanta, though, Nix’s odds jumped to +400.
Currently, he’s even closer.
Daniels–who started his NFL career on fire for Washington but has since cooled off some–is -270 to win, while Nix is +230, and Brock Bowers is third at +1000.
Daniels leads Nix in Rookie of the Year
Nix leads all rookies in touchdowns scored (22) and passing yards (2,842). His rushing yards are solid at 304, but Daniels’ 590 and 6 rushing touchdowns are each a good amount more. Daniels has also passed for 2,819 yards and has 21 total touchdowns, each just behind Nix.
Where Daniels sets himself apart from Nix is more advanced stats: He has a higher passer rating (99.6-87.9) and QBR (72.6-56.1) than the Broncos QB. Daniels is also much better in terms of EPA/Play (.220, 5th) than is Nix (.051, 23rd).
Simply, Nix needs to go off in this final month to win Rookie of the Year over Daniels. The down side is Daniels has a much easier schedule than does Denver and Nix.
The Chiefs and Chargers are the toughest defenses left for the Broncos, while Daniels faces the Eagles and easy defenses like the Saints, Cowboys, and Falcons.
Patrick Surtain and Nik Bonitto for Defensive Player of the Year, Sean Payton Coach of the Year
Nix likely has the best chance as Rookie of the Year of any awards Denver Broncos players could win this year.
But Patrick Surtain and Nik Bonitto are among the top-11 in Defensive Player of the Year odds per FanDuel.
Currently, T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers leads all players in the category at -190 odds. But second is Patrick Surtain at +650. Then, way down the list at No. 11 is Bonitto, who has comparable stats to Watt at this point in the season.
Watt leads by a solid margin.
Surtain just won Defensive Player of the Month of November for his stellar play, giving an added boost to his winning the yearly honor.
Watt is a four-time All-Pro and won Defensive Player of the Year in 2021. He’s not having as dominant a season this time around, but is well regarded as the best defensive player in the league today. His 5 forced fumbles and 17 tackles for a loss are each NFL-highs.
Meanwhile, Surtain has three interceptions, the 100-yard pick-6, and leads the league in interception return yardage (128).
Bonitto (+4000 odds) currently has more sacks than Watt (11.0-9.5), and the pick-6 two weeks ago, which Watt doesn’t have. However, Watt has more forced fumbles (5-1) and TFLs (17-13).
As for NFL Coach of the Year, Sean Payton is in the mix, even if he’s a long shot to win.
Currently, Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions leads by a wide margin (-140) over Kevin O’Connel of the Vikings (+340) and others. Payton comes in fifth at +1600 odds.
Dan Campbell will likely win Coach of the Year.
Campbell has the award all but locked up, with the Lions at 12-1 right now. That tied last year’s team for most wins in a single season by a Detroit team ever, and they have four games to go.
Still, it’s pretty cool the recognition Payton is getting for his job with this team. Not many expected they’d be this close to making the playoffs in his second season as head coach. And few expected there would be awards Denver Broncos players could win this year.
The Broncos (8-5) host the Colts (6-7) this week with kickoff set for 2:25 p.m. MT on Sunday. A win for Denver all but guarantees they’ll make the playoffs for the first time in eight years.