Two San Francisco 49ers were named award winners by Barnwell at the league's midway point. They are head coach Kyle Shanahan and rookie defensive end Nick Bosa.
Barnwell named Bosa his Defensive Rookie of the Year, narrowly beating out Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Allen. Bosa has been phenomenal for the 49ers defense and an in-game difference-maker for the team, living up to his No. 2 overall pick status.
Bosa has 21 tackles, seven sacks, a pass defensed, an interception, and a forced fumble through eight games.
"Bosa has created those nine sacks on 111 pass-rushing opportunities, in contrast to Allen's seven sacks created on 147 pass-rushing reps," wrote Barnwell. "The Defensive Player of the Year hype surrounding the second overall pick might be a little inflated -- he might not even be the best member of the Bosa family for that discussion -- but he has made an instant impact for the league's most-improved defense."
Bosa, however, was not listed in the top three for Defensive Player of the Year.
Barnwell named Shanahan as his Coach of the Year, beating out Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots and Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints. Belichick dropped out of the top spot for the midseason award after the Patriots' 37-20 loss on Sunday night to the Baltimore Ravens, which leaves the head coach of the NFL's only remaining undefeated team at No. 1.
"After two difficult years of rebuilding the San Francisco roster and dealing with an injury to Jimmy Garoppolo, Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have seen their plan come together masterfully in 2019," wrote Barnwell. "The 8-0 49ers are beating teams up at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football. You can argue that they've been more dominant than the Patriots; the Niners have trailed for a total of just under 17 minutes in the second half this season, and not once since their Week 3 victory over the Steelers."
Added Barnwell: "Maybe it's too simplistic to just give the award to the coach of the one undefeated team left in the league. Given that the 49ers were 1-7 this time last season, I'm willing to keep things simple."
49ers tight end George Kittle was in the running for Offensive Player of the Year, but came in third behind the running back Christian McCaffrey of the Carolina Panthers — an understandable choice for the top spot — and wide receiver Michael Thomas of the Saints.
Two 49ers defenders made Barnwell's All-Pro team. They are defensive tackle Deforest Buckner and cornerback Richard Sherman.
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