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On Wednesday, we made picks for various midseason NFL awards, as well as a couple predictions related to the Super Bowl. Now it's time to make some picks for various midseason Detroit Lions awards. Before the season, we voted on a variety of categories, and here are my picks for them now based on what happened in the first eight games of the season:
Offensive MVP: Calvin Johnson
All that really needs to be said is this: Look at how ineffective the Lions' offense was against the Green Bay Packers without Megatron and look at what he has done the last couple weeks. This was an easy call for me.
Defensive MVP: Ndamukong Suh
This one was a bit tougher, as I gave some thought to picking DeAndre Levy given that he has had such a fantastic season. Ultimately, Suh was the choice because he is clearly the Lions' most dominant defensive player.
Special teams MVP: Sam Martin
Martin has not only excelled at punting, but he has done an excellent job on kickoffs as well.
Rookie of the year: Larry Warford
Warford has been one of the top offensive guards in the entire NFL. There's no doubt that Martin is having an outstanding rookie season, but Warford has been the Lions' top rookie in my book.
Breakout offensive player: Larry Warford
There are a lot of solid choices for this category, as you could make a case for guys like Riley Reiff, Kris Durham, Joseph Fauria and even Dominic Raiola (it only took him 13 seasons to really break out). I decided to go with Warford because he went from a third-round pick with relatively low expectations in the preseason to one of the league's top right guards in only half a season.
Breakout defensive player: DeAndre Levy
Levy may be in his fifth season, but he's really taken his game to another level this year. He already has 63 tackles, 7 pass defenses, 4 interceptions and a touchdown, and he has become a playmaker on the defensive side of the ball. He gets my pick for breakout defensive player.
What are your picks for these categories? Leave them in the comments.