LB Alex Singleton Selected as Broncos' Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year

This is a very deserving nominee for the NFL's most prestigious award.

Sep 22, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Denver Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton (49) greets fans after the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Denver Broncos have selected linebacker Alex Singleton for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award. The sixth-year linebacker is a team leader and productive member of Vance Joseph's defense, although he's been out for the season since suffering a torn ACL in Week 3.

The prestigious Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year honor is meant to recognize a player for outstanding leadership on the field and in the community. The way it works is, each of the NFL's 32 teams selects a nominee who's recognized during the media week leading up to Super Bowl LIX.

The NFL announces the winner during the NFL Honors program on Thursday, February 6. We'll see if Singleton makes it through the gauntlet of what's sure to be 31 other distinguished and deserving nominees.

Hailing from Montana State, Singleton has appeared in 79 regular-season games (50 starts). He's played for the Philadelpia Eagles and the Broncos. He was also drafted No. 6 overall by the CFL's Calgary Stampeders in 2016, before he entered the NFL.

Singleton has been a whirling dervish since arriving in Denver. With 31 starts, he's totaled 371 tackles (224 solo), two sacks, eight pass break-ups, one interception, and a forced fumble. The Broncos named him a team captain in 2024.

Singleton led the Broncos in tackles in 2022 (163) and 2023 (177). He's a tackling machine.

And this dude is tough. Despite tearing his ACL in Week 3 in Tampa, he played through the injury, finishing the game, and led the team in tackles. He played all 57 defensive snaps.

“My favorite thing in the world is just seeing how much joy the [@SpecialOlympics] athletes have.”

📸 » https://t.co/Mx7g9irhRJ #WPMOYChallenge + @alexsingleton49 pic.twitter.com/yHvnI6Avj8

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 5, 2024

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Singleton's big community impact has been with the Special Olympics. His older sister, Ashley, has been a Special Olympics athlete for two decades-plus. That's inspiration.

Singleton is featured in Special Olympics' School of Strength: Snack Zone video series, which is a national video nutrition campaign. The campaign targets athletes in their late teens and 20s and is the first of its king over the half-century of Special Olympics.

Multiple Broncos have been nominated for Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year over the years, including offensive tackle Garett Bolles (2023), offensive guard Dalton Risner (2022), safety Justin Simmons (2019-21), outside linebacker Von Miller (2018), and cornerback Chris Harris Jr. (2017).

The only Broncos nominee to take home the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award is John Elway back in 1992. The award was created in 1970, but was rebranded in 1999 to honor the late Chicago Bears Hall-of-Fame running back.

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