Who Will Be The 2021 NFL Comeback Player Of The Year?

• Dak Prescott has +170 odds to win the Comeback Player of the Year award.
• Saquon Barkley is next at +600, followed by Christian McCaffrey (+650) and Joe Burrow (+650).
• Derwin James is an intriguing dark horse candidate for the award at +1600.

LAS VEGAS - 2020’s Comeback Player Of The Year was Alex Smith, recovering from a potentially career-ending injury to play in the NFL once again.

2021 might not have anyone suffering from that magnitude of injury in the running (which is good, obviously, as those injuries are awful), but there are several very talented players who would be eligible for the award.

Comeback Player of the Year 2021 Odds

• Dak Prescott +170
• Saquon Barkley +600
• Christian McCaffrey +650
• Joe Burrow +650
• Nick Bosa +700
• Carson Wentz +900
• Julio Jones +1200
• Derwin James +1600

The Favorite - Dak Prescott

At the top of the odds boards is Dak Prescott, who has all the power of narrative and skill behind him.

Before suffering an injury in the early stages of the 2020-2021 season, the Dallas Cowboys QB was playing the best football of his life.

He led the league in passing yards by a significant margin, and was on a path to one of the greatest offensive seasons in NFL history. If he can recover to even 75% of that level, he’ll be a very solid player, and that level of play combined with the devastating nature of his injury makes him a big favorite for this award.

The Elites - Barkley, McCaffrey, Burrow, Bosa

Saquon Barkley is a solid contender for this award with +600 odds. Barkley, a top draft pick in many fantasy football leagues, was injured early in the season and did not return.

Fellow top fantasy draft pick Christian McCaffrey also suffered injury woes, although they were less pronounced. At times, it felt like McCaffrey was day-to-day every week of the season.

Joe Burrow was severely injured during the season, and is a solid dark horse candidate for this award. Burrow didn’t have an offseason to practice with the Cincinnati Bengals, but still managed to demonstrate NFL-level quality.

Now, entering his second season, he could improve significantly as many second-year players do.

Nick Bosa is an obviously elite talent who was sidelined by injury in the 2020-2021 season. With the San Francisco 49ers expected to make a serious playoff push, Bosa is a position to impress the voters this season.

Keep An Eye On Derwin James

Derwin James may be one of the most absurdly talented players in the NFL, and the only thing holding him back has been injuries. James was the runner up for Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2018, only to see his following two seasons decimated by injuries.

If he can return to form, he’s a serious contender for this award, especially if some of the top athletes don’t perform as well as they could.

This award could very well be Prescott’s to lose, but James has a real shot based on talent alone. His problem could be positional - as a safety, his impact on the game is not as obvious to viewers as the impact of a QB, DE or RB.

Still, he’s one of the most talented players in the league, and definitely worth keeping an eye on if Prescott and some of the other NFL favorites start to underperform.