2019 MFFL Season Awards

The 2019 MFFL season is in the books. The World Sportswriters Association has voted and counted the ballots. The following players, coaches and executives have earned honors in the season-ending awards.

Most Valuable Player — Christian McCaffrey, RB/CAR (Ukraine Grainers)

It’s unanimous! McCaffrey was the most valuable player in the MFFL in 2019. CMC was the type of player that kept opposing coaches awake at night, and who caused weekly, Sunday night group therapy sessions. McCaffrey scored 67 more points than the next highest player in the league. He averaged a ridiculous 33 points per game, 10 points better than the next highest at his position.
Honorable Mentions: Lamar Jackson, QB/BAL (Russia Renegades); Michael Thomas, WR/NO (Christmas Island Crabs)

Rookie of the Year — Miles Sanders, RB/PHI (Christmas Island Crabs)

Sanders was not the most consistent rookie (15.8 points per game) and began the season slowly, struggling to find the starting lineup initially. But Sanders got hot at the right time, posting 83.5 points in the playoffs, including 39 in a tight Southeast Conference championship game and 30.6 in the Super Bowl. He edged out fellow rookie running back Josh Jacobs in total points and his performance down the stretch surpassed that of quarterback Kyler Murray.
Honorable Mentions: Kyler Murray, QB/ARI (Nagasaki Kamikazes); Josh Jacobs, RB/OAK (Russia Renegades)

Comeback Player of the Year — Dalvin Cook, RB/MIN (Jamaica Jerks)

Few players had as big an impact on their teams as Cook did for the Jerks. Cook missed five games due to injury in 2018, but showed promise in what he could do, averaging 16.1 points per game when healthy. In 2019, he exploded. He scored 340.4 points — sixth among FLEX players — and averaged a whopping 24.3 points per game — second to only Christian McCaffrey among FLEX options. The Jerks finished the season with the second-most points in the MFFL, and Cook was a large part of that.
Honorable Mentions: Cooper Kupp, WR/LAR (Turkey Jerky); Leonard Fournette, RB/JAX (Jamaica Jerks)

Most Improved Player — Chris Godwin, WR/TB (Ukraine Grainers)

Based on flashes of success in his second year in the league, Grainers wide receiver Chris Godwin entered the 2019 season with high expectations. In 2018, Godwin finished with 184.2 points, averaging 11.5 per game. This year, Godwin stepped up with a bigger role and bumped up his total points to 276.3, while his per-game average skyrocketed to 19.7. Godwin finished second among wide receivers in scoring and helped propel Ukraine to the title game.
Honorable Mentions: Aaron Jones, RB/GB (Nagasaki Kamikazes); Derrick Henry, RB/TEN (Turkey Jerky)

Surprise Player — Austin Ekeler, RB/LAC (Christmas Island Crabs)

What was not a surprise to most was Ekeler’s impending increased offensive role heading into 2019 with Melvin Gordon holding out. Talented as he was, it had to be a surprise to many that Ekeler would take the job and run with it, finishing sixth among running backs with 333.4 points. And what was even more surprising was how Ekeler continued churning out production when Gordon returned to action. Although his performance in the playoffs dipped, Ekeler was instrumental in Christmas Island’s late-season run.
Honorable Mentions: DeVante Parker, WR/MIA (Egypt Pharaohs); Kenyan Drake, RB/ARI (Wake Island Wookiees)

Executive of the Year — Ukraine Grainers

If there is one thing that can be expected from the Ukraine front office, it’s consistency. They don’t rebuild, they reload. Ukraine assembled the highest-scoring team in the league this year, and also finished with the league’s best record. The Grainers’ front office wisely paid down the contract of mega-star, Christian McCaffrey, whose $3 million salary allowed the Grainers the flexibility to take on bigger contracts elsewhere. With third-year pro Chris Godwin on a minimum salary this year, Ukraine got plenty of production from players on rookie contracts. The Grainers also finished the season with the second- and third-best tight ends in the league in George Kittle and Darren Waller, respectively, as well as the third-best quarterback in Deshaun Watson.
Honorable Mentions: Nagasaki Kamikazes; Jamaica Jerks

Coach of the Year — Christmas Island Crabs

It would be difficult to award the Coach of the Year to anybody other than the Super Bowl champs given their second-half run. Steady as can be, Christmas Island only twice finished out of the top half of the league in weekly scoring — which just happened to be the first two weeks of the season. And during their red-hot stretch run, they finished Top 4 in scoring from Weeks 6 through 10. The greatest coaching job they did, though, was engineering a fourth-quarter comeback over the Kamikazes, resulting in a 214.93-210.90 Southeast Conference Championship victory, followed by a close, 159.33-148.83 Super Bowl title over the league’s heavy favorite, Ukraine.
Honorable Mentions: San Juan Scorpions; Egypt Pharaohs