With the NFL season moving to 17 games last season, there’s no longer an exact mid-point in the year, but nine games seems like a good spot to start assessing teams.
The Miami Dolphins have gone 6-3 through the first nine weeks, and they’re currently in first place in the AFC East, ahead of the Buffalo Bills, and they’re in fourth in the conference.
As Mike McDaniel’s team heads into their bye week, now is a great time to assess the performance of some of the team’s best players.
Let’s reflect on the first half of the 2023 season and hand out some midseason awards.
MVP - WR Tyreek Hill
A wide receiver has never won the league’s MVP award, but Hill may have the best case to do so.
Through nine games, he’s recorded a league-leading 1,076 yards and eight touchdowns on 69 receptions. He’s currently on pace to break the receiving yards record and become the first wideout to hit 2,000 yards in a season.
Without his speed and the attention that he commands, Miami’s offense wouldn’t be able to perform at the level that they have so far in 2023.
Offensive Player of the Year - QB Tua Tagovailoa
Tagovailoa is having an MVP-caliber season in his own right.
He leads the league in passing yards (2,609), touchdowns (19) and passer rating (106.4). As good as he was in 2022, he’s on pace to surpass all of his statistics from last year and set new career highs.
Honestly, the Offensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player on this team could be switched or be the same person. Neither would be crazy.
Defensive Player of the Year - LB Bradley Chubb
There are some strong candidates for the best defensive player on the team right now. Christian Wilkins and Jevon Holland have been impactful in a number of ways that don’t show up on the stat sheet, but what Chubb has done so far is very impressive.
The linebacker leads the team in sacks (six) and leads the league in forced fumbles (four) while being on pace to set a new career-high in tackles.
It’s the game-changing plays that have set him apart in Vic Fangio’s system. If he records one more forced fumble, he’ll jump into the top 10 all-time in Dolphins team history already.
Rookie of the Year - RB De'Von Achane
The former Aggie back really only played a significant role in three games so far this season, and he has this award locked up.
Achane has rushed for 460 yards and five touchdowns on a remarkable 12.1 yards per attempt while recording another 67 yards and two touchdowns in the receiving game.
Again, he did almost all of this in just three games. If he hadn’t gotten hurt in Miami’s win over the New York Giants, there’s a chance that the Dolphins have different plans and results against the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.
Most improved - RT Austin Jackson
Three years into his career, it seemed apparent that Jackson was going to hit free agency and maybe sign a deal as a backup somewhere if he was offered anything after rookie deal was up.
However, since taking the reins as the starting right tackle, he’s been remarkably consistent. He’s done well in the pass and run game, and, as we know, the right tackle is more important in this offense with Tagovailoa being left-handed.
The Dolphins don’t have the best cap situation heading into 2023, but they’re probably regretting not picking up his fifth-year option after nine games this season, especially considering he’s been the only healthy lineman the team has used the whole year.
