NFL Honors
Every year, the NFL has an award ceremony called the NFL Honors. Celebrities, other players, family, and friends attend to watch players who stood out in the NFL receive awards and get inducted to the HOF.
This year, Snoop Dogg was hosting the Honors. The first award was MVP and Bills Quarterback Josh Allen won, and now he is on a six-year extension worth $330 million with $250 million guaranteed.
The second award was given to Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. He had a record breaking season and he won Offensive Player of the Year and could’ve broken the single season rushing record if he played the last game against his former team, the New York Giants. Saquon also had one of the craziest hurdles; he did a spin move and jumped over someone backwards. Most people say that was the best hurdle they have ever seen. The Eagles also just came off from winning the superbowl.
The third award was Defensive Player of the Year and it was won by Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II because he had a really good season putting all the wide receivers on straps.
For Comeback Player of the Year, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow won because in 2023, he had a season ending wrist injury, then he came back the next season and passed for 4,918 yards, 43 touchdown passes, and a 70.6% completion percentage.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell won Coach of the Year, but I think Dan Quinn should’ve won it because he flipped the Commanders around from being 4-13 last season to 12-5 this season.
Lastly, Lions ex-assistant coach, Ben Johnson, won Assistant Coach of the Year and now got a job as the Bears head coach.
Trades, Resignations, and Free Agency
Early in the year, around March, is a big time for NFL free agency, resigning, and trades. A bunch of big names signed with different teams.
For example, former 49ers WR, Deebo Samuel, signed a 1 year, 17 million dollar deal with the Washington Commanders. Also, former Texans WR, Stefon Diggs, signed a contract with the New England Patriots for up to 69 million dollars.
The Raiders didn’t have the best season last year only winning 4 games, but are definitely building up and improving their team in the off season. The Raiders got former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll for a three year deal with typically $15 million annually. The Raiders also signed former Seahawks Quarterback Geno Smith to a 2 year, $75,000,000 contract. It looks like Pete Carroll is trying to bring his old players to his new team.
NFL Draft and Combine
Late February and early March is usually when the NFL combine takes place. The combine is when a bunch of college players come out to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana and do a lot of drills.
Everyone in the combine does this thing called the 40 yard dash. It is when you run 40 yards and get timed. Another one they have is bench press. They do as much reps as they can with 225 pounds. They have the vertical jump and they mark how high you got with a stick. Then they have broad jump, which is when you’re just jumping out as far as you can. 20-yard shuttle is another thing they do and it is when you change direction and work on agility and quickness. Same for the 60 yard shuttle. 3 cone drill is kind of like the shuttles and uses the same thing: change of direction, agility, and quickness. Lastly, they have position-specific drills where they split defensive linemen. Linebackers typically work out first, followed by defensive backs and tight ends, then quarterbacks, wide receivers, running backs, and finally offensive linemen.
In the combine, they also do interviews with participants to get their thoughts about drills. The NFL Draft is when the best college players get drafted in order and there can be trades in the draft, too. The number 1 or 2 draft is the Heisman, which is the best college football player. There are seven rounds of the draft and the last pick is called Mr. Irrelevant.
