NFL 2015 Award Picks: Cam Newton earns top honors

The 2015 NFL season is “over” from the prospective of individual awards. Yes, the Super Bowl is very much up for grabs with the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers set to do battle in fewer than fourteen days, but in terms of individual excellence, the top performers of the year have already set themselves apart and the votes have already been cast.

Throughout the season, we brought you a look at the best players of each week, but this space is occupied by season-long greatness in each of five individual categories. In short, the playoffs cannot (or, at least, should not) influence the picks here, and there is plenty of room for debate on a number of fronts.

Let’s get to our picks, beginning with the rookies and moving on from there.

Offensive Rookie of the Year

Jameis Winston, QB Tampa Bay Buccaneers

When all things are even relatively equal, I’m taking the quarterback. Rams RB Todd Gurley was electric at times, but he was also wildly inconsistent (thanks in part to Jeff Fisher), while Winston was busy operating as an above-average NFL quarterback for the great majority of his rookie year.

The former Heisman winner finished 11th in the NFL in passing yards with more than 4,000, and while he was bitten by 15 interceptions, that impact was lessened with 22 touchdown passes. Above all else, Jameis Winston navigated the waters without a stellar cast around him (though it should be noted that Doug Martin was quite good this season), and the value of a quarterback is unmatched in the NFL right now.

Gurley’s numbers were more impressive when compared to his peers, but what Winston was able to accomplish as a rookie quarterback was particularly noteworthy.

Runner-up: Todd Gurley, RB Los Angeles* Rams

Defensive Rookie of the Year

Marcus Peters, CB Kansas City Chiefs

Leading the NFL in interceptions (in a tie with Bengals safety Reggie Nelson) is a pretty quick path to the Defensive Rookie of the Year award. It could be argued that another corner, Ronald Darby of the Buffalo Bills, was better on a per-snap basis than Peters, but the numbers are jarring for Peters.

He has big-time ability after making the interception, and the consistency of his production was quite impressive as well. It certainly helps that Peters was a part of a team that transformed itself midseason, but even in the early going, he was a standout performer worthy of this nod.

Runner-up: Leonard Williams, DT New York Jets

Next: Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year