Niner Noise
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NFL player award predictions for 2018

By Aaron Tan

SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 04: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on October 4, 2015 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 04: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on October 4, 2015 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 17: Todd Gurley #30 of the Los Angeles Rams leaps over Bashaud Breeland #26 of the Washington Redskins before scoring a touchdown during the third quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Offensive Player of the Year: Todd Gurley (Los Angeles Rams)

I despise the fact that Todd Gurley, arguably the league’s best running back, is on the 49ers’ divisional rival Los Angeles Rams. And yet I’m choosing him to repeat as 2018’s NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers /

San Francisco 49ers

The Rams possess the most talented roster in the NFL with one of the best, if not the best, coaching staff in the NFL. This offseason they added a lot of talented players with troubling personalities like Aqib Talib and Ndamukong Suh. People expect them to clash and create locker room dysfunction.

As much as I would like for that to happen, I don’t think it will. I think that the Rams are just adding all this talent with no repercussions at all.

So with all this talent on the roster, the Rams are obviously going to be a very good team, leading by a lot early in games. And what do teams do when they have the lead? They run the ball. Except if you’re Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl.

I’m sorry, too early?

As a result of this team inevitably possessing the lead early in games, Gurley will get his chance to run the ball a lot. When the Rams started blowing the Seahawks out in Seattle early in the game, Gurley ended up with a 180-yard and 4 touchdown game.

Gurley is going to stuff the stat sheets this upcoming season and will probably even exceed the historic season he had in 2017, leading to his repeat at NFL Offensive Player of the Year.