Every year since 2012, the NFL has hosted an annual awards and honors show the night before the Super Bowl. While no Redskins were nominated for major awards like MVP, offensive player of the year, or defensive player of the year, several Redskins players and personnel still were on the red carpet in Atlanta.
Veteran tight end Vernon Davis was nominated for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, given annually to a player to recognize his volunteer and charity work. Davis' primary charity work was done through his own foundation, the Vernon Davis Foundation. The Vernon Davis Foundation works to promote art education for young kids who come from a disadvantaged background. Davis would not go on to win the award, however, as Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long was the recipient.
When Vernon was asked how it felt to be nominated by his teammates for the award, he talked about how it showed that people care about and support him, and the camraderie that comes with being teammates.
Redskins running back Adrian Peterson was also on the red carpet in Atlanta. This past season, Peterson ran for 1,042 yards, which helped him move up to eighth all-time in career rushing yards. At age 33, he also became the oldest player to rush for over 1,000 yards since Redskins' running back John Riggins in 1984.
Adrian's secret to success at his age is putting in hard work and taking care of his body. He says that he does all of the little things that a lot of people don't do.
One player that Adrian Peterson passed on the NFL's career rushing yards leaderboard is Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown. Despite Peterson passing Brown in rushing yards, Brown still has a lot respect for Adrian Peterson and the young guys in this era.
Former Redskins quarterback and current Senior Vice President of Player Personnel Doug Williams was also in Atlanta, continuing his road trip as he's recently spent time in Florida for the East-West Shrine game, and in Alabama for the Senior Bowl. Since Williams has been out on the road to look at prospects for the NFL Draft, the Redskins have made several personnel changes. Quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Kevin O'Connell was promoted to offensive coordinator, and Rob Ryan was hired to coach inside linebackers among other hires.
Williams is a big fan of these hires, complimenting the merits of the coaches, and he looks forward to seeing what they can do with the guys on the roster.
