Early Thursday morning, the Associated Press announced the finalists for eight of the top awards that will be presented at the NFL Honors ceremony at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on February 5, three days before Super Bowl 60 is contested at Levi's Stadium.
Of the eight awards, six of which are for players and the other two for coaches, the San Francisco 49ers have two representatives, one being Kyle Shanahan, who undoubtedly deserves his place among the final five for NFL Coach of the Year after leading the Niners to a 12-5 record despite being forced to deal with an absurd amount of injuries to a plethora of high-profile players.
And the second, of course, is superstar running back Christian McCaffrey, who's actually been named a finalist for all three awards for which he was eligible. While obviously not a candidate for Offensive Rookie of the Year, Defensive Rookie of the Year, or Defensive Player of the Year, the 29-year-old is up for NFL MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, and Comeback Player of the Year.
With this news, McCaffrey, who certainly deserves his flowers after racking up 2,126 total yards from scrimmage (1,202 rushing, 924 receiving) and 17 total touchdowns, is now just the second player in NFL history to be named a finalist for three AP awards in the same season. The first was Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who was up for the same three awards just last year, winning only Comeback Player of the Year.
And that's likely how things are going to go for McCaffrey in a couple of weeks.
NFL MVP
- Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills, QB
- Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars, QB
- Drake Maye, New England Patriots, QB
- Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers, RB
- Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams, QB
While it's a huge honor for McCaffrey to be among the five finalists for NFL MVP—and he does deserve to be here, given all the injuries the 49ers' offense had this season—everyone knows this award is reserved for quarterbacks, as the last running back to win it was the Minnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson back in 2012.
But even if that weren't the case, Matthew Stafford is taking this race in a walk after leading the league in passing yards (4,707) and touchdown passes (46).
NFL Offensive Player of the Year
- Drake Maye, New England Patriots, QB
- Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers, RB
- Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams, WR
- Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons, RB
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks, WR
McCaffrey took Offensive Player of the Year honors two seasons ago after leading the league in total yards from scrimmage (2,023) and total touchdowns (23), but he isn't likely to win this time around, as Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the overwhelming favorite after tallying 119 receptions for a league-leading 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns.
NFL Comeback Player of the Year
- Stefon Diggs, New England Patriots, WR
- Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit Lions, DE
- Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars, QB
- Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers, RB
- Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys, QB
This is the award McCaffrey, who appeared in just four games a season ago, should take home in a couple of weeks.
His closest competition at this point is probably Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who, as you saw above, is also in the running for NFL MVP after leading the Jags to a 13-4 record and the AFC South title.
If we're being honest, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott should probably be in the second slot after having one of the best years of his 10-year career, but the Cowboys' 7-9-1 record will likely cost him some votes. It's not his fault, of course, as the dreadful Dallas defense was the reason America's Team performed so poorly this season, but that's just how it goes.
McCaffrey finished second in the CPOY voting for the 2022 season, which, of course, was the year he split between the Carolina Panthers and the Niners.