2020 MFFL Season Awards

The 2020 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 — Alvin Kamara, RB/NO (San Juan Scorpions)

The vote was a lot closer this year than it was last season for Christian McCaffrey’s runaway honor. The top vote-getters were all from San Juan and Nagasaki, the highest-scoring teams in the MFFL and the 2020 Super Bowl combatants. In the end, the award was given to Kamara, who improved from RB11 in 2019 to RB1 in 2020, he averaged 27.7 points per game, and he capped off his season with a remarkable 6 touchdowns in the Super Bowl for 60.6 points. Kamara played under the EFT this season and is likely to get slapped again this offseason.
Honorable Mentions: Josh Allen, QB/BUF (San Juan Scorpions); Kyler Murray, QB/ARI (Nagasaki Kamikazes); Davante Adams, WR/GB (Nagasaki Kamikazes)

Rookie of the Year — Justin Jefferson, WR/MIN (Russia Renegades)

Selected ninth overall by the Renegades, and the fourth receiver off the board, Jefferson had a supremely successful season. He finished second in scoring among all rookies, behind only teammate Justin Herbert. He finished seventh among wide receivers in scoring and averaged 20.9 points per game. Jefferson was among a trio of Renegades to finish in the Top 7 in wide receiver scoring and was a big contributor to Russia’s third-place finish.
Honorable Mentions: Justin Herbert, QB/LAC (Russia Renegades); Jonathan Taylor, RB/IND (Bangkok Blitz); James Robinson, RB/JAX (Nagasaki Kamikazes)

Comeback Player of the Year — Adam Thielen, WR/MIN (Switzerland Squirrels)

There were several worthy nominees for this honor, but the award went to Switzerland’s Adam Thielen. Thielen had a disastrous 2019, missing six games with injuries and scoring single digits in four other contests. He only topped 20 points in four games all year. Switzerland even traded the fan favorite to San Juan prior to the trade deadline. Reacquired in the offseason, Thielen went on to have a strong 2020 with the Squirrels. He went from WR65 (136.2 points) in 2019 to WR11 (307.6 points) in 2020. The Squirrels unfortunately missed the postseason, but their points scored kept them in the wild card hunt until late in the season, and Thielen was a big reason for that.
Honorable Mentions: JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR/PIT (Bangkok Blitz); David Johnson, RB/HOU (Egypt Pharaohs); Kareem Hunt, RB/CLE (Russia Renegades)

Most Improved Player — Stefon Diggs, WR/BUF (San Juan Scorpions)

Sometimes it’s strange to see a player with a successful career be honored for being “improved,” but Diggs is certainly an exception. Diggs went from being a WR3 (25th among all receivers) in 2019 to being the second-best wide receiver this year, one of only two receivers to top 400 points. Not only was he a WR3 last year, but he was also overpaid in terms of dollars per production. Acquired by the Scorpions this offseason, Diggs went on to justify his salary, average 25.5 points per game, and score 48.25 points in the Super Bowl to help lead his team to the championship. Interestingly, Diggs was joined by teammate and fellow receiver DK Metcalf in top vote-getters. Metcalf made a huge jump as well (WR33 to WR8), giving the Scorpions two Top 8 receivers.
Honorable Mentions: David Montgomery, RB/CHI (Ukraine Grainers); Ronald Jones, RB/TB (Egypt Pharaohs); DK Metcalf, WR/SEA (San Juan Scorpions)

Surprise Player — Robert Tonyan, TE/GB (Nagasaki Kamikazes)

There were two tight ends who made a strong push for this award, but in the end it was Nagasaki’s Robert Tonyan who edged out Christmas Island’s Logan Thomas. Thomas actually had a slightly better season, finishing as the TE3 with about 15 more points than Tonyan. But they both averaged 13.9 points per game and Tonyan was tied with teammate Travis Kelce with the most touchdowns among tight ends. Additionally, Tonyan made a bigger leap from last year, going from TE65 to TE6 in one year.
Honorable Mentions: Logan Thomas, TE/WAS (Christmas Island Crabs); Nyheim Hines, RB/IND (Russia Renegades); Robby Anderson, WR/CAR (Egypt Pharaohs)

Executive of the Year — San Juan Scorpions

Just as their season-long battle for the lead in points scored was, plus their high-scoring matchup in the Super Bowl, the contest for Executive of the Year was a close, two-horse race between San Juan and Nagasaki with a couple of honorable mentions behind them. In the end, the award went to the Super Bowl champion San Juan Scorpions. The Scorpions shrewdly retained running back Alvin Kamara, who went on to have an MVP season. They traded for Stefon Diggs in the offseason who posted his best numbers as a pro. They bolstered an already strong receiving corps (featuring two sophomores who were great draft picks) with free agent Robert Woods. They also acquired tight end Dallas Goedert, who finished as the tenth-best at his position in terms of points per game, despite missing five games due to injury. The Kamikazes had their own success story, signing undrafted free agent James Robinson, retaining Davante Adams, acquiring DeAndre Hopkins, Michael Thomas and A.J. Brown, and witnessing the ascension of Diontae Johnson and Robert Tonyan. In the end, though, San Juan’s triumph in the Super Bowl gave them the edge.
Honorable Mentions: Nagasaki Kamikazes; Egypt Pharaohs; Turkey Jerky

Coach of the Year — Ukraine Grainers

Several teams made a strong push for coach of the year. There was the Super Bowl champion Scorpions, who did a magnificent job throughout the season, but particularly in the playoffs. Then there was the Egypt Pharaohs who finished 8-5 and won the South for the second-straight year. Christmas Island received votes for making the playoffs at 6-7, advancing to the conference finals, and finishing fifth in points scored despite key injuries to several of its players. Ultimately, the award went to the Ukraine Grainers who suffered huge injuries to Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle — among others — won the North Division for the fourth time in five years, and finished third in scoring and overall record.
Honorable Mentions: San Juan Scorpions; Egypt Pharaohs; Christmas Island Crabs