Mid-Season Report: OPOY Candidates

With Week 9 over and done with, the NFL is officially halfway through the 2022 regular season. That means it's time to check in on the progress of various teams and players. Here are three leading candidates to take home Offensive Player of the Year honors thanks to their incredibly hot starts.

Wide Receiver Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins

No player is making quite so big an impact on a new team this year as wide receiver Tyreek Hill is on the Miami Dolphins. With a ludicrous 1104 receiving yards in only nine games, the former Kansas City Chief has somehow jumped a level since parting ways with quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Hill is a leading candidate to take home the OPOY and maybe even break Calvin Johnson's record for receiving yards in a season. Johnson hauled in 1964 yards in 2012, and Hill is currently on pace for 2086.

Wide Receiver Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams

Hill isn't the only wide receiver who has a shot at a truly meaningful record. Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp has nabbed 72 balls through only eight games, putting him on pace to break Michael Thomas's 2019 record of 149 receptions in a season. It would cap an amazing two seasons for the sixth-year wide receiver: Kupp led the league in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns last season before winning Super Bowl MVP. 

Running Back Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans

Few running backs have dominated over a four-year stretch like Derrick Henry has for the Tennessee Titans. The seventh-year player appears set to lead the league in rushing for the third time in four seasons with his 108.8 yards per game. Astonishingly, that mark is a little bit short of his standard since 2019: over his past 47 appearances, Henry has averaged a massive 114.3 rushing yards per game. With an AFC South crown appearing all but inevitable, King Henry still reigns supreme. 

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