Falcons’ best candidate to win each ‘NFL Honors’ award for 2022

Pepsi Rookie of the Year: Drake London – WR

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Tyler Allgeier – RB

Defensive Rookie of the Year: DeAngelo Malone – OLB

The NFL does not have an Associated Press Rookie of the Year but instead a Pepsi Rookie of the Year where fans vote on the winner and here we are going with Drake London, the Atlanta Falcons’ first-round pick.

Drake London will have a lot on his plate from game one, he is expected to be the top receiver on the team and take over for Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley. Not exactly an easy task for a rookie coming off of a bad injury, but London proved to be a deadly threat at USC and that should continue in the NFL.

He will have every opportunity to make plays. He, Kyle Pitts, and Cordarrelle Patterson will be the leaders for the offense. If he delivers on the opportunities then he would have a great shot at taking home the award via fan vote.

You may be surprised to see that Desmond Ridder is not on here but there is a good chance he won’t start a single game this whole season, especially if we are predicting Marcus Mariota to win Comeback Player of the Year.

Tyler Allgeier has fans excited, he will be the bulldozer that the team lacked last season. Perhaps we could see Arthur Smith use a lot of sets with both Allgeier and Patterson. It would give the team a thunder and lightning duo.

Not to mention, if there is any coach who knows how to use a power back, it is Arthur Smith who led Derrick Henry to a couple of historic seasons in recent years.

DeAngelo Malone is the pick for Defensive Rookie of the Year which might also come as a shock. While Malone was the third defensive player selected by the Falcons a few months ago, he has the skill set that can win you this award.

People like to see sack numbers and Malone will be put in situations to get those numbers. He has the perfect body type to become an excellent pass rusher. He will surprise people during his rookie season.

The reasoning for not going with Arnold Ebiketie or Troy Anderson is that Ebiketie is the better all-around player compared to Malone who will be put in those situations where he can put up the numbers that draw attention. As for Anderson, he will have to compete with Rashaan Evans, Mykal Walker, and possibly Deion Jones who all have more experience than he does.