2019 Detroit Lions Awards: Offensive Player of the Year

In 2019, the Detroit Lions offense got off to a hot start. Despite a mediocre record through the first half of the season, Matthew Stafford was putting up top-five numbers, the Lions receiving corps was nearing the top of the leaderboards, and Detroit was dropping big plays on the regular.

Of course, the injury to Matthew Stafford threw a wrench into all of that. The Lions had to rely on a mediocre-at-best running game while their young, inexperienced quarterbacks went through some struggles.

Still, the Lions offense persevered throughout the season and a few players in particular stuck out as a positive. Here are your nominees for 2019 Detroit Lions Offensive Player of the Year.

(See all other award nominations here)

Kenny Golladay

Stats: 65 catches, 1,190 yards, 11 TDs

Golladay finished the year as the league leader in touchdowns and earned himself his first ever Pro Bowl appearance. And while that’s impressive in and of itself, Golladay probably would have had even better numbers had Stafford not suffered an injury. Check out his splits with and without Stafford in 2019.

With Stafford (8 games): 35 catches, 640 yards, 7 TDs
Without Stafford (8 games): 30 catches, 550 yards, 4 TDs

Golladay has pushed himself into the conversation as a potential top-10 receiver in this league.

Matthew Stafford

Stats: 187-of-291 (64.3%) for 2,499 yards, 19 TDs, 5 INTs—106.0 passer rating

He may have only played in eight games last season, but Stafford proved just how valuable of a quarterback he still is.

2018 was a down year for Stafford, but united with an offensive coordinator that wasn’t afraid to unleash him, the Lions quarterback thrived in 2019. He was on pace for nearly 5,000 yards, 38 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions. Additionally, he set a career highs in touchdown percentage (6.5%), yards per attempt (8.6), and passer rating (106.0).

Compared to all other NFL quarterbacks, he was sixth in passer rating, seventh in PFF grade and sixth in QBR.

Frank Ragnow

Stats: 74.9 PFF Grade (6th among NFL centers)

While there’s not a ton of statistical data to support Ragnow’s impressive second season, he certainly established himself as worthy of Detroit’s 2018 first-round pick. Ragnow, in his first NFL season as a center, looked comfortable and poised in his more natural position at center. As long as he can stay healthy, it’s probably safe to say the Lions have their long-term center.

Marvin Jones Jr.

Stats: (13 games) 62 catches, 779 yards, 11 TDs

Had Jones’ season not been cut short with injury, he would have been in a tight battle with Golladay for the NFL touchdown lead. Jones continues to make impressive catch after impressive catch. In fact, Jones’ 2019 catch percentage (68.1%) was 10 percentage points higher than any of his other years in Detroit.