Walter Payton Man of the Year Nominees

The NFL announced the 32 nominees, one from each team, for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. Considered the most prestigious of the league's annual awards, the Walter Payton Man of the Year recognizes an NFL player for outstanding community service and activities off the field, as well as excellence on the field. At a time when most people highlight the turds in the NFL it's too easy to forget that so many players do so much to help make their community, country, and world a better place. There are far, far more good men in the NFL than bad but good work rarely makes headlines, or draws "clicks." The players aren't doing their good stuff for headlines or "clicks" so it's great that they get some recognition with this award. There's only one Walter Payton Man of the Year each year. J.J. Watt was an automatic choice last year but in most years literally any of the 32 nominees is deserving of the award. Not only that, there are dozens of players on each team that are deserving of being nominated. It's easy to award the Walter Payton Man of the Year because each nominee is deserving. At the same time, it's incredibly difficult because every nominee is deserving.

The 2018 Walter Payton Man of the Year Nominees. 

Arizona Cardinals S Antoine Bethea

Atlanta Falcons DT Grady Jarrett

Baltimore Ravens CB Brandon Carr

Buffalo Bills LB Lorenzo Alexander

Carolina Panthers DE Julius Peppers

Chicago Bears TE Trey Burton

Cincinnati Bengals DE Carlos Dunlap

Cleveland Browns LB Christian Kirksey

Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott

Denver Broncos LB Von Miller

Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford

Green Bay Packers NT Kenny Clark

Houston Texans LB Whitney Mercilus

Indianapolis Colts DE Jabaal Sheard

Jacksonville Jaguars QB Blake Bortles

Kansas City Chiefs P Dustin Colquitt

Los Angeles Chargers DT Corey Liuget

Los Angeles Rams OT Andrew Whitworth

Miami Dolphins WR Kenny Stills

Minnesota Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph

New England Patriots S Devin McCourty

New Orleans Saints RB Mark Ingram

New York Giants S Michael Thomas

New York Jets OT Kelvin Beachum

Oakland Raiders RB Marshawn Lynch

Philadelphia Eagles DE Chris Long

Pittsburgh Steelers DE Cameron Heyward

San Francisco 49ers K Robbie Gould

Seattle Seahawks LB K.J. Wright

Tampa Bay Buccaneers DT Gerald McCoy

Tennessee Titans DT Jurrell Casey

Washington Redskins TE Vernon Davis

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Congratulations and thank you for all that you do to the 32 nominees. And thank you to the hundreds of players that are deserving of being a nominee.