NFL Awards Ballot: Can Josh Allen Run His Way To MVP? Will Kenneth Walker Buck Trend?

The title used to belong to Lamar Jackson, but Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is clearly the best running quarterback in the league. And it’s really not even close. Allen leads all quarterbacks with 240 rushing yards and tops the NFL with eight touchdowns this season. Extrapolate that over 17 games and that’s 680 rushing yards and 22 (!) rushing touchdowns. The former would be his most in a season since 2022, and the latter would be a career high. Last year, Allen and the Bills made a concerted effort to not use him as a rusher as much. However, Allen still finished with 579 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns before running for 99 yards and two scores in the two playoff games, including a four-turnover effort in a loss to the Denver Broncos. New Buffalo head coach Joe Brady appears to have reignited Allen by unleashing him more as a runner. The obvious concern is Allen suffering a significant injury on scrambles. But as he’s aged, Allen has gotten better at protecting himself when he runs the football. Allen won a closely contested competition two years ago with Jackson, in which I thought he deserved the award. In that season, Allen did a great job of taking care of the football, with just six interceptions. This season, Allen already has five turnovers through six games. If Allen wants to take home his second MVP trophy and potentially bring home Buffalo’s first Super Bowl in franchise history, he must balance making the highlight reel play with taking care of the football in critical moments of the game. With the NFL schedule inching towards the midpoint of the year, here's a snapshot of where I think things stand for the top candidates at every major award. Offensive Player Of The Year The skinny: Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads the NFL with 17 100-yard games since 2024. His 331 receptions and 4,268 yards are the most in a player’s first four seasons in Seattle Seahawks history. Bijan Robinson remains the engine of Atlanta’s offense, leading the league in scrimmage yards with 785. However, he hasn't been as dominant as Kenneth Walker III. The reigning Super Bowl MVP has been one of the most elusive runners this season. Per Next Gen Stats, Walker has forced a league-high 47 missed tackles, per Next Gen Stats. Since entering the league as a second-round draft pick by the Seattle Seahawks, Walker has forced 280 missed tackles, tied for second-most in the NFL behind Derrick Henry (347) as he's proven to be a valuable pickup for the Kansas City Chiefs. Jahmyr Gibbs just missed the cut in this edition, but the Detroit Lions' star figures to remain in the race this season. He already has 105 carries through five games, and he’s on pace to carry the ball a career-high 357 times. The most rushes for Gibbs in a season? That would be 250 times in 2024. Defensive Player Of The Year The skinny: The Texans looked better last week but are still 2-4 this year. However, Will Anderson leads the league with 7.5 sacks and, much like Myles Garrett last season, the Alabama product is a dominant player on a bad team (for now). Dallas Turner has been the best player on the best-performing defense statistically in the NFL in the Vikings. Turner is tied for third in the league in sacks (5.5) and has two forced fumbles. Minnesota leads the league in points allowed (12.8 points per game), is tied for second in takeaways (10) and tied for fifth in sacks (17). Fred Warner has filled up the stat sheet. He’s third in the league in tackles with 58, has three forced fumbles and three pass breakups for the undefeated 49ers. Coach Of The Year The skinny: Kyle Shanahan once again proves he’s one of the best in the business by managing one of the most injury-ravaged rosters in the NFL. Shanahan consistently does more with less talent and will continue to have to work wonders due to injuries at receiver for San Francisco. Kevin O’Connell is buoyed by having the best defensive coordinator in the league with Brian Flores, but Kyler Murray is starting to show flashes of better connectivity with Minnesota’s playmakers on offense. No one expected Todd Monken to have the Browns at the top of the AFC North at this point of the season, and he’s so far proved doubters around the league wrong. Offensive Rookie Of The Year The skinny: Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels has played the most of any rookie quarterback and the Buccaneers have a 1-2 record with him as the starter, replacing an injured Baker Mayfield. However, Daniels does have five interceptions. At some point, Fernando Mendoza could make some noise once the Las Vegas Raiders make him as the starter. Jeremiyah Love leads all rookies with 245 rushing yards but has had trouble staying on the field due to injury. As for the players currently in the race, Carnell Tate leads all rookies with 29 receptions and appears more comfortable in Tennessee’s offense, building better chemistry with Cam Ward. But Denzel Boston has made more impact plays (three touchdowns) for a better team in Cleveland. Germie Bernard finished with 11 receptions for 87 yards and a score in a Pittsburgh win over Tampa Bay, proving to be a steady pass-catcher for Aaron Rodgers. Defensive Rookie Of The Year The skinny: Jacob Rodriguez leads all rookies with 57 combined tackles. David Bailey leads rookies in sacks (5) and quarterback pressures (29). Masses still tops all rookies in interceptions (3) and is third in pass breakups (6). Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs also deserve some shine here, and have made impact plays during the season. MVP The skinny: Brock Purdy, the "game manager," is tied for first with 14 touchdown passes and is second in the league with a 118.1 passer rating this season. Purdy has 27 career games with a passer rating of at least 110, trailing only Russell Wilson (34 games) and Patrick Mahomes (31) for the most by a player in his first five seasons in NFL history. Mahomes has been much better this year, but Walker has been the most important person on offense for the Chiefs this season, which is why he’s second on this list. However, Allen is coming for one of the top two spots. He’s had some spectacular highs and some frankly embarrassing plays as well this season, so we need to see more consistent play snap to snap, which Allen is certainly capable of producing.