We’re already 1/4 of the way through the 2013 NFL season, and even though the frontrunner of the MVP award is more obvious than ever, the other awards still have several interesting players in the running. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the top candidates for each award as well as a sleeper with a chance to steal the title by season’s end.

MVP

The favorite: Peyton Manning, QB | Denver Broncos

Manning is off to an absurd, Madden-like start, posting 16 touchdowns without an interception to go along with 1,470 yards passing. His Broncos are the clear Super Bowl favorites and are on pace to shatter every scoring record imaginable. Manning’s mindset in this point of his career is like LeBron James’: it’s all about the titles. This would be Manning’s fifth MVP award in his career.

The sleeper: Reggie Bush, RB | Detroit Lions

Bush has been everything the Lions expected and more in the Motor City. In Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings, Bush gained 90 yards rushing and 101 yards receiving. In Week 4 against the Chicago Bears, he tallied 139 yards rushing and 34 yards receiving. If Detroit wasn’t able to coax Bush in free agency, I fully believe the team would be 1-3 instead of 3-1. That’s valuable. He might as well be labeled “Offensive Weapon” instead of running back.

Offensive Player of the Year

The favorite: Jimmy Graham, TE | New Orleans Saints

Graham could very well break every major tight end record this season; that’s perfect timing, as he is set to enter free agency next year. The former University of Miami basketball player also has cleaned up the alarming amount of drops he had in 2012. The curse of the bounty scandal seems to have been lifted from the Saints this season. Graham’s stats (27 receptions, 458 yards, six touchdowns) and his team’s record (4-0) prove that.

The sleeper: Julio Jones, WR | Atlanta Falcons

Jones is currently leading the NFL in receiving yards, and this is without a healthy Roddy White to shift attention away from him. The Falcons sit at a disappointing 1-3, which hurts Jones’s case, but he and Matt Ryan have carried the Atlanta offense with hardly any help. Atlanta sacrificed a heap of draft picks to get Jones in 2011, and he has been well worth the hefty price.

The favorite: J.J. Watt, DE | Houston Texans

Watt looms large over every other defensive player who wants a chance at this award. He makes a living in the backfield, erasing runners and passers alike, and there isn’t any aspect of the game that he struggles with. Three and a half sacks for Watt aren’t as impressive as Kansas City’s Justin Houston’s 7.5, but Watt is the only significant pass-rushing threat on his team, and as a 3-4 defensive end, he isn’t supposed to be sacking quarterbacks every game. The scary thing for the rest of the NFL is that Watt is only 24 years old. Getting last year’s Defensive player of the Year off his throne will be a mighty challenge, but there is another large lineman in the conference with a shot at the award.

The sleeper: Dontari Poe, NT | Kansas City Chiefs

If the NFL had an award for the most improved player, Poe would win it just as easily as Manning will win the MVP this season. Poe was a letdown as a much-hyped rookie last season, but he has improved drastically, destroying double teams and occupying blockers so Houston and Tamba Hali get a free shot at the quarterback. Nose tackles aren’t supposed to accumulate stats and get major awards, but 3-4 defensive ends were thought of the same way until Watt transformed the position. It might be premature to say Poe will change his position, but his play is starting to equal his massive potential, and the Chiefs couldn’t be happier.