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LISTEN: Handing out Broncos' Midseason Awards, Including MVP, Most Improved & Biggest Surprise

With the Broncos at the bye, it's time to hand out our midseason awards.

On the most recent episode of the Building the Broncos podcast, Nick Kendell and I ran revealed our midseason awards for the Denver Broncos. With the team on bye, some of the midseason awards were positive, while some were on the negative side. 

This season has not unfolded the way most Broncos fans had hoped, but when going through these awards there was a major theme that began to emerge in the positive awards section that should give many hope for the future moving forward. 

That hope can be found in the fact that some of the best playmakers on the team are not the vested veterans, but the young guns still not having hit their peak seasons in the NFL. The other part of this is the fact that many of those young players that have emerged are ones that many would have scoffed at if they'd been told they would be the stars of the team in 2019.

I'm going to touch on a couple of the awards we handed out here in this article but for the full slate, be sure to listen to the podcast (embedded below). 

Most Surprising Player Award: Alexander Johnson 

Johnson is one such name who hauled in the Most Surprising Performance Award. He just won AFC Defensive Player of the Month. 

Who would have thought coming into this season with injuries to both Todd Davis and Josey Jewell that Johnson would now be viewed as not only as a great playmaker for the Broncos, but one of the best defensive playmakers in the entire league? 

The Broncos have figured out the secret sauce to maximize his talents and he has been a one-man wrecking crew ever since. The great news for the Broncos is that Johnson is a cost-controlled piece of the puzzle for another two seasons with the team beyond this year.

Guy We Can't Wait to See More From Award: Davontae Harris

Harris is another name that has emerged on defense. If the Broncos have learned anything this season it's that they should sign anyone with the last name Harris because they seem to turn into gold here in Denver. 

The second-year cornerback was cut by the still winless Cincinnati Bengals on the doorstep of the season. Who would have thought that he would emerge as the No. 2 cornerback here in Denver? Yes, some of that is because of injuries to others, but it is easy to see that he belongs in this league and should make the Broncos feel much better about their cornerback depth heading into next season. 

Every week, Davontae seems to get better, which is why I handed him the award. Vic Fangio has a way of taking cast-off players from other teams and turning them into stars. Harris might just be the next in a long line of players to join that list.

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Host Eats Crow Award: Courtland Sutton

Offensively, the Broncos have been a mess this season. That doesn’t mean that some players haven’t stuck out in a positive manner. Everyone in Denver knows the name Courtland Sutton now. 

It won't be too long until the entire NFL knows the name as well. He won my 'Host Eats Crow Award' and that dirty bird has never tasted better. I always knew that Sutton had the potential to be a great receiver, but there is always a worry with such raw prospects of how quickly it takes for them to turn into true players in the NFL. 

Sutton has shown one of the bigger leaps I can remember from year one to year two and honestly, I don’t think he has hit his ceiling yet.

The rebuilding process in Denver probably isn’t going as fast as many would like. These past few years have obviously been a very frustrating time in Broncos Country. 

However, this is the first year that the Broncos seem to be showing harbingers of good things ahead. There are more young players than what is listed here that have shown that the future could be bright — if the Broncos can figure out the quarterback position and the offensive line (find out what award the O-line received). 

Another big draft and some key free agent signings and the Broncos might finally climb out of the pit of misery that they have seen since winning Super Bowl 50. Make sure to listen in the podcast player below and sound off in the comment section with your thoughts on the awards. 

Follow Carl on Twitter @CarlDumlerMHH and @MileHighHuddle.