The NFL season for 2023–24 is nearing its conclusion, with Super Bowl LVIII scheduled for next Sunday.
The rosters of the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs both include one former Alabama player. Cameron
Latu is on the 49ers’ injured reserve, and Isaiah Buggs is practicing with the Chiefs. In Las Vegas, neither is
anticipated to participate in the big game.
The NFL Honors, an annual award ceremony held by the league to recognize the top performances from the 2023–
24 season, will take place before to the Super Bowl. At this point, further player and coaching honors and
superlatives are announced, along with the Most Valuable Player. Because of this, we thought it was appropriate to
give out our own BAMA in the NFL Awards to top out our BAMA in the NFL series. These are similar to the NFL
awards, except only former Crimson Tide players are eligible to receive them.
This is what we devised:
Tua led the NFL with 4,624 yards this season, despite his stumbles near the end of the season and his complete
collapse in that way-below-freezing playoff game in Kansas City. He threw 29 touchdown passes and completed
69.3% of his throws. According to Pro Football Focus, he was the highest-graded quarterback of the season. He had a
lot of amazing moments, but none could top his 23-for-26 performance for 309 yards and four touchdowns against
Denver in Miami’s 70-20 victory. After taking over a Houston team that had won just 11 games overall in the
previous three seasons, Ryans guided them to a 10-7 regular season record, an AFC South championship, and their
first postseason appearance (and victory) since 2019. With an Alabama-heavy defense and a rookie quarterback, he
accomplished all of that. During the 2023–24 season, Ryans and the Texans were among the league’s most intriguing
tales.
season, he set a new career high this season with 1,250 receiving yards. Cooper was a dependable downfield target
while playing with four different quarterbacks in a year where Cleveland had to reimagine its offensive identity a few
times. That is something worth discussing. One of his best performances was an 11-catch, 265-yard, two-touchdown
performance in a 36-22 victory over Houston, which all but guaranteed Cleveland a postseason berth. Normal
metrics show that Williams’ output was not very impressive—just 62 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks.
However, advanced stats show that Williams was once again his usual game-changing self, recording 70 pressures
and controlling double teams for the majority of the season. Third-best among interior defensive lineman (behind
only Aaron Donald and Dexter Lawrence), he received a 90.6 overall grade from PFF. This season has seen an
improvement over the previous one, when he recorded 12 sacks, was named an All-Pro, and signed a $96 million
contract.
Making this choice was simple. This season, Gibbs was a key member of Detroit’s fast and adaptable attack. In
addition to his 945 yards of running, he also caught 52 passes for 316 yards and 11 touchdowns overall. In January,
he helped Detroit advance to the NFC Championship game by scoring a touchdown in each of the three playoff
games. He also scored two touchdowns in the Lions’ 30-24 victory against Minnesota to secure the NFC North. In
Detroit’s backfield, Gibbs was David Montgomery’s ideal foil.:format(png)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/56057823/Screen_Shot_2017_08_04_at_2.22.57_PM.0.png)
This was not an easy choice to make. Jordan Battle and Brian Branch both had outstanding seasons for Detroit and
Cincinnati, respectively, but Will Anderson Jr. wins out here following an incredible and incredibly influential
campaign. Among all rookie defenders, he led with 45 tackles, 7 sacks, and 68 total pressures. In a 26-3 victory over
Tennessee, he recorded two sacks and six pressures, essentially securing Houston’s postseason berth. They won the
AFC South hands-down a week later.
Giving this award to someone whose setback was self-inflicted may seem strange, but Ridley, who missed all of 2021
and 2022 games, returned this season and caught 76 passes for 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns for the Jaguars,
who are on the rise. In his professional career, it was only his second 1,000-yard campaign. Although Jacksonville
faltered towards the end, Ridley proved to be a dependable top receiver, recording three games with 100 yards or
more and two with multiple touchdowns.
We mentioned a lot of them here, like Tua’s 4-TD day against Denver, Gibbs’s 2-TD performance against Minnesota,
Will’s 2-sack day against Tennessee, Cooper’s career day against Houston, and on and on and on. We also wrote
about a lot of them throughout the season, including Jalen Hurts, who had a few, scoring go-ahead touchdowns to
beat both the Chiefs and the Bills in back-to-back weeks; Dalvin Tomlinson’s 2.5-sack day against Arizona; Derrick
Henry’s entire campaign; Tua vs. Mac (twice); Mack Wilson and Jaylen Waddle, and many more.
However, the highlight of the season for us was when Brian Branch intercepted a pass that was dropped and
returned it 50 yards for a score during Detroit’s 21-20 victory over Kansas City.
Branch was excited about the opportunity to intercept Patrick Mahomes for the first time in his career. This was the
first moment of what would turn out to be a fantastic rookie season.
It was nice in the middle of that game because, well, the Lions probably wouldn’t win without it. In addition, they
shown their seriousness this season by winning the NFC North and making it to the NFC Championship game.
It was also noteworthy for the NFL as a whole since it served as a reminder of the league’s “Any-Given-Sunday”
philosophy. Throughout the season, there were other instances like that that turned games around. Those outcomes
frequently swing seasons. It was only a blip in the road for the Chiefs and undoubtedly a plus for Detroit.
Cheers to all the former Alabama players who have made it enjoyable to document over the previous five or so
months, and to another amazing NFL season. I hope the fun you all had was equal to mine.
