{"id":158193,"date":"2024-01-13T12:00:51","date_gmt":"2024-01-13T17:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=158193"},"modified":"2024-01-13T07:27:13","modified_gmt":"2024-01-13T12:27:13","slug":"patriots-2023-season-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/01\/13\/patriots-2023-season-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"New England Patriots 2023 Season Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

Finishing with just four wins and moving on from head coach Bill Belichick<\/a>, the 2023 Patriots season will ultimately be remembered as the end of an unbelievable era in New England. Although the uncertainty of a new regime looms, there\u2019s plenty of reason for optimism. This team has all the resources necessary to make a big turnaround in the offseason. Before shifting our focus to the highly-anticipated offseason, it’s worth highlighting the standout moments from the 2023 season, albeit few. With that in mind, let’s give out some awards for the Patriots 2023 season.<\/p>\n

Patriots 2023 End-of-Season Awards<\/h2>\n

Team MVP: The Defense<\/h3>\n

It was extremely difficult to give the MVP award to any one player after the season we all just witnessed. There were a couple of defensive players (Christian Barmore and Jabrill Peppers) who had a case to make with outstanding seasons, but no individual player seemed to add the value the Patriots needed this year.<\/p>\n

As a unit, the Patriots 2023 defense was one of the best in the league<\/a>. They finished fourth in yards per play<\/strong> \u2013 first in rush yards per attempt and eighth in pass yards per attempt \u2013 and did so without any true stars at any position after losing Matt Judon for the entire year. Having such a stellar defense kept the Patriots competitive in many of their games this year; and without one, who knows how much worse it could\u2019ve gotten.<\/p>\n

Most Improved: Michael Onwenu – OT<\/h3>\n

Onwenu started the Patriots season at the guard position and certainly saw his fair share of struggles. Between healing an injury, other players in the rotation playing well, and another key injury, Onwenu was moved to tackle and almost instantly saw more production. PFF<\/a> graded him the ninth-best offensive tackle in the NFL since Week 9. That\u2019s no small sample size. The Patriots have found something in Onwenu and, hopefully, they can get a deal done to bring him back for next year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rookie of the Year: DeMario \u201cPop\u201d Douglas – WR<\/h3>\n

\u201cPop\u201d Douglas had the most receptions by a rookie receiver under Bill Belichick, finishing with 49. He was one of the only positives on an offense that SportfolioKings<\/a> EDP model has earning an average of 1.1 points per drive. This matches the Jets<\/a> offense for the league’s worst performance. With more stability at the quarterback position<\/a> the offense should take a big jump, and Douglas along with it.<\/p>\n

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Popping onto the scene \ud83d\ude4c@popshotta3<\/a> | #ForeverNE<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/3WqTKd0hxC<\/a><\/p>\n

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 3, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n