This Thursday, Feb. 10, Keegan-Michael Key will host the 11th edition of NFL Honors, which will air live nationally on ABC at 9 p.m. ET from YouTube Theater in Los Angeles. The annual event features the announcement of The Associated Press awards and the newest class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Before the official hardware is handed out, our analysts provide their picks for the major individual awards:
Participating analysts: Brian Baldinger, Judy Battista, Jeremy Bergman, Ali Bhanpuri, Tom Blair, Gil Brandt, David Carr, Brooke Cersosimo, Jeffri Chadiha, Gennaro Filice, Cynthia Frelund, Chase Goodbread, Marcas Grant, DeAngelo Hall, Dan Hanzus, Maurice Jones-Drew, Steve Mariucci, Willie McGinest, Dan Parr, Kevin Patra, Adam Rank, Chad Reuter, Marc Ross, Marc Sessler, Nick Shook, Matt Smith, Joe Thomas, Kurt Warner, Lance Zierlein.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
(18 votes: Baldinger, Battista, Blair, Carr, Chadiha, Frelund, Goodbread, Grant, Mariucci, Parr, Patra, Reuter, Sessler, Shook, Smith, Thomas, Warner, Zierlein)
2. Tom Brady | 8 votes: Bergman, Bhanpuri, Cersosimo, Hall, Hanzus, Jones-Drew, Rank, Ross
3. Cooper Kupp | 2 votes: Filice, McGinest
4. Matthew Stafford | 1 vote: Brandt
Why Joe Thomas chose Aaron Rodgers: Rodgers led the NFL in passer rating (111.9) and finished the regular season with 37 touchdown passes to only four interceptions. He's a magnificent player on the most consistent and best team of the regular season. He is a shoo-in to win this award.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
(25 votes: Baldinger, Battista, Bergman, Bhanpuri, Blair, Brandt, Carr, Cersosimo, Chadiha, Frelund, Goodbread, Grant, Hall, Hanzus, Jones-Drew, Mariucci, Parr, Patra, Rank, Reuter, Ross, Sessler, Shook, Smith, Warner)
2. Jonathan Taylor | 2 votes: Thomas, Zierlein
T-3. Deebo Samuel | 1 vote: Filice
T-3. Tom Brady | 1 vote: McGinest
Why DeAngelo Hall chose Cooper Kupp: Kupp has the ability to always find a way to get open when everyone knows he's getting the ball -- even when he's double- or triple-teamed. His craftiness allows him to find the weakness in the defense and take advantage, which is a big reason why he racked up a league-high 1,947 receiving yards. When you build a wide receiver, no matter the size dimensions, you want them to play the game the way Kupp does.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
(20 votes: Baldinger, Battista, Bergman, Bhanpuri, Blair, Cersosimo, Chadiha, Goodbread, Grant, Hall, Hanzus, Jones-Drew, Mariucci, McGinest, Parr, Ross, Sessler, Shook, Thomas, Warner)
2. Aaron Donald | 7 votes: Carr, Frelund, Patra, Rank, Reuter, Smith, Zierlein
T-3. Nick Bosa | 1 vote: Brandt
T-3. Micah Parsons | 1 vote: Filice
Why Jeffri Chadiha chose T.J. Watt: Watt tied Michael Strahan's NFL single-season record for sacks with 22.5, and he actually missed two games. No defender was as disruptive this season as Watt.
OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
(28 votes: Baldinger, Battista, Bergman, Bhanpuri, Blair, Carr, Cersosimo, Chadiha, Filice, Frelund, Goodbread, Grant, Hall, Hanzus, Jones-Drew, Mariucci, McGinest, Parr, Patra, Rank, Reuter, Ross, Sessler, Shook, Smith, Thomas, Warner, Zierlein)
2. Jaylen Waddle | 1 vote: Brandt
Why Adam Rank chose Ja'Marr Chase: Chase is the no-brainer pick here. Pretty amazing, considering ...
A) A whole bunch of people thought the Bengals were stupid for drafting a wide receiver -- as opposed to an offensive tackle -- in the first place.
B) Everybody thought the guy forgot how to play football after a few drops in August.
Then, when the season actually kicked off, he proceeded to have one of the most astounding rookie seasons -- at any position -- EVER.
DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
UNANIMOUS SELECTION
Why Gil Brandt chose Micah Parsons: To be a great linebacker in the NFL, you need size, speed, competitiveness and great ball-reaction skills, and Parsons ranks very highly in all these traits -- he might be the best since Lawrence Taylor entered the league in 1981. One need look only to this year's Pro Bowl, a game in which most players, understandably, do not always go all out, for evidence of Parsons' will to succeed; there he was, at the end of the first half, chasing Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes across the field to record a strip-sack. The only first-year pro to top 80 tackles and 10 sacks in the last quarter century, per NFL Research, Parsons is, quite simply, one of the best I've ever seen as a rookie at his position, making him an easy choice for this award.
COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR
(23 votes: Baldinger, Battista, Bergman, Bhanpuri, Carr, Cersosimo, Chadiha, Filice, Frelund, Goodbread, Grant, Jones-Drew, Mariucci, McGinest, Parr, Patra, Rank, Reuter, Ross, Sessler, Thomas, Warner, Zierlein)
2. Dak Prescott | 6 votes: Blair, Brandt, Hall, Hanzus, Shook, Smith
Why Judy Battista chose Joe Burrow: Burrow's breakout season was made all the more remarkable by what preceded it: a severe knee injury suffered late last November. Burrow returned bigger and stronger and with his old mobility by midseason -- allowing him to extend plays -- to take the Bengals to the Super Bowl.
COACH OF THE YEAR
(14 votes: Battista, Bhanpuri, Carr, Chadiha, Frelund, Hall, Hanzus, McGinest, Patra, Rank, Reuter, Ross, Thomas, Warner)
2. Zac Taylor | 13 votes: Baldinger, Blair, Brandt, Cersosimo, Filice, Goodbread, Grant, Jones-Drew, Mariucci, Parr, Sessler, Shook, Smith
3. Matt LaFleur | 2 votes: Bergman, Zierlein
Why Steve Mariucci chose Zac Taylor: The third-year head coach took the Bengals from worst to first in a division that had the other three teams in the postseason a year ago. I'm not sure anyone saw a turnaround of this magnitude coming, besides the players in the locker room and the people in the building.