Saints 2023 mid-season awards

Naming the Saints MVP, OPOY, DPOY and more up to this point in time.

With the New Orleans Saints on bye this weekend, this is a perfect time to evaluate where the team is at. The Saints have had their ups and downs this season and sit at 5-5 through 10 games, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t had a few standout players.

Today, we’re going to go through and hand out some mid-season awards such as Most Valuable Player, Offensive/Defensive Player of the Year and Offensive/Defensive Rookie of the Year. So, without further ado, let’s jump right into it with the MVP.

Most Valuable Player: Paulson Adebo

HM: Demario Davis and Carl Granderson

Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

After Paulson Adebo’s rookie season where he intercepted three passes and broke up eight, the Saints knew they had a star on their hands. His sophomore season didn’t go as planned, he played 13 games and didn’t record an interception while being outshined by rookie Alontae Taylor.

In this offseason, many people, including myself, had their doubts about Adebo starting on the outside opposite of Marshon Lattimore, but he’s proven he was the right choice.

In eight games, Adebo has already totaled career highs in interceptions (4), passes defended (13) and forced/recovered fumbles (2). He is the teams highest rated player on either side of the ball with a 90.8 PFF grade.

Adebo is having a monster year, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon, so that’s why he’s the Saints MVP through 10 weeks.

Offensive Player of the Year: Taysom Hill

HM: Chris Olave and Alvin Kamara

Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Y’all know that I love me some Taysom Hill.

Look, there are players with better numbers on this offense, but Taysom Hill has played every position at a high level. He has 72 passing yards and a passing touchdown, 261 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns, and 159 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. We know he’s a do-it-all guy, but this season may just be his best one yet.

Hill has been the most consistent guy on the Saints offense, and almost every time he touches the ball, you know he’s going to make something happen.

In games where Hill has ran the ball 5+ times, the Saints are 3-1. There’s a reason for that, he just makes this offense go when Carr is struggling. Pete Carmichael needs to find ways to get him the ball more often, because when he does, the Saints usually win.

Defensive Player of the Year: Demario Davis

HM: Carl Granderson

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

Since Paulson Adebo won MVP, I wanted to give DPOY to someone else, and that someone else is none other than Demario Davis.

To be honest, Davis probably wins this award every year, but if you look up consistent in a dictionary, a picture of Demario Davis comes up.

Davis has been the glue of this Saints defense from the day he arrived, and he has been one of the reasons the Saints were able to turn their defensive woes around so quickly in 2017.

He leads the team in tackles, is second in sacks, second in tackles for loss, has three passes defended and is the second highest graded player on the Saints roster.

Yes, he’s had his moments where he looks a little old, but all things considered, he’s been the best defensive player on the Saints not named Paulson Adebo.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Kendre Miller

HM: A.T. Perry

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

None of the Saints offensive rookies have given us much this season, but Kendre Miller has produced the most when he’s been on the field. Unfortunately, Miller has been unavailable quite often though.

His only other real competition for this award was A.T. Perry, who has two catches for 38 yards and a TD, but the volume isn’t there for the rookie receiver out of Wake Forest, so Miller wins by default.

Miller has just 83 rushing yards on 28 attempts (3.0 average) but has caught nine balls for 111 yards. Hopefully the rookie RB can get healthy and finish the season strong, but his injury history is already pilling up after just 10 games.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Bryan Bresee

HM: Jordan Howden

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

The defensive rookies have been much better for the Saints this year than the offensive ones have.

I wanted to give this award to Jordan Howden because he’s been playing pretty well recently, but Bresee’s hot start to the season won me over.

Bresee has totaled 13 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 4 TFL, 5 passes defended and 13 QB hurries this season. He started off red hot, but he’s been gaining the attention of opposing offensive lines and has seen a lot of double teams recently.

The rookie from Clemson was supposedly a project pick when he was selected, but he’s been great so far, and if he can take a few more steps, he can become a real problem for opposing offenses in the next few years.

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