NFL midseason awards: Who would win MVP, DPOY & more if season ended today?

(Non-Quarterback) Offensive Player of the Year

I decided to use this award to talk about the best offensive players in the league who aren’t quarterbacks. So these are the most valuable running backs, wide receivers and tight ends so far this season, with respect to their individual production and the impact on their offenses as a whole.

#1 Tyreek Hill

When the Chiefs decided to trade Tyreek Hill to Miami this offseason, the big discussion was whether Patrick Mahomes needed him more to keep Kansas City’s offense explosive or if Hill needed a quarterback of that caliber to produce at such a level.

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And even though Pat and company are arguably looking as good as ever, Hill has been an even bigger game-changer, whilst making Tua Tagovailoa look like a fringe MVP candidate.

He already sits at 76 catches for 1104 yards – Justin Jefferson is the next-closest guy in the league with 867. Only taking teams into account that have also played nine games, Hill is 37 yards away from the Bears’ team total through the air so far and has outgained eight WR rooms around the league by himself.

Right now, he’s on pace to shatter the NFL’s receiving record for a season. Obviously, his acceleration and top speed can punish any type of one-on-one coverage or squatting safety on any given play, but with his twitchiness and short-area burst, he’s also the toughest guy to lay a hand on.

As of last week, he had the highest receiving grade on contested targets, according to PFF (94.4). Some of the grabs he’s made working back on underthrown balls and plucking it off the heads of defenders are things you rarely even see from 6’4” guys (Hill is 5’10”).

Beyond his actual production individually, the space he creates purely with his presence on the field is unbelievable. Be it the way he expands the distance between the second and third level, or how deep he pushes the coverage to create cushions underneath, there are windows to attack on basically every single snap for Miami. The gravity he holds and how he affects spacing is unparalleled.

#2 Travis Kelce

Travis Kelce is top-seven among all players in catches (57) and receiving yards (659), along with being tied for the league-high seven touchdowns through the air. No other tight end is even in the top 20 as far as aerial yardage is concerned.

He has delivered 10 plays of 20+ yards (tied for seventh), but more importantly, only Tyreek Hill has picked up more first downs than Kelce (43 versus 47), and he’s done so on 23 fewer targets.

He is such a savvy route-runner and can create separation from any defender in the league. The chemistry between Mahomes and Kelce is impeccable, which makes them borderline indefensible on third downs.

There were questions about what this KC offense may look like following the departure of Tyreek Hill, and we’ve seen them spread the ball around to a bunch of guys, but in high-leverage moments and when they stall for stretches, Kelce is the guy who gets them going.

Note: Saquon Barkley was No. 2 on this list, but since he features elsewhere, he's been removed from contention here.

Honorable mentions: Justin Jefferson, Nick Chubb & Derrick Henry