As we have reached right around the midpoint of the season for most NFL teams, there have been things that have occurred that we expected and plenty that we didn't.

With all kinds of shake ups and team-saving performances around the league, here are some players (or things) who I would considered the MVPs of each team midway through the season.

The Patriots lose Rob Gronkowski and replace him with the best defense in football because none of the rest of us can ever have nice things.

The New England is currently +189 in net points through eight games, and their defense as a whole is the one to thank.

Buffalo Bills

Pass Defense, Led By CB Tre'Davious White

Buffalo's defense has been the catalyst for their 5-2 start. They're Top 3 in yards, Top 5 in points per game, and most importantly, one of the best in the league against the pass, yielding an average of just 200 yards per game through the air. Third-year corner Tre White has been the leader of the Bills No Fly Zone movement.

New York Jets

The Safeties

Outside of Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye, this whole season ain't pretty. It's an ugly one in New York.

Miami Dolphins

GM Chris Grier

He's made this team so bad they couldn't win if they tried -- and they are! Therefore he's not putting his coaches and players in a tough spot ethically while also preserving the tank. Bravo.

AFC NORTH

Baltimore Ravens

QB Lamar Jackson

Passing, running, leadership, creativity, dependability and accountability; Jackson has taken a giant leap this season, and is a big reason why the Ravens are sitting pretty atop their division. He has a combined yardage total of over 2,000 yards with 14 total touchdowns, has only thrown five interceptions and has a completion percentage over 63.

Cleveland Browns

EDGE Myles Garrett

I feel like we're so busy talking about the problems with the Browns offense that Myles Garrett is having one of the quietest monster sack seasons ever. He already has 10 sacks through seven games.

Pittsburgh Steelers

EDGE T.J. Watt

That Steelers defensive line has been awesome this season. Stephon Tuitt might have been the best bet from the group before getting hurt, but after him, Watt is having himself a stellar season to lead them with a team high four sacks.

Cincinnati Bengals

WR A.J. Green

Big shoutout to A.J. for taking his sweet time back from an ankle injury so he plays as little as possible (or even not at all) for a winless Bengals team.

AFC SOUTH

Houston Texans

QB Deshaun Watson

Outside of taking media members to school with X's and O's, Watson has been simply superb this season. Since upgrading his offensive line, Watson has led late-game comebacks, made jaw-dropping plays, and has straight dismantled defenses across the league. He's not just the Texans' MVP, he might be MVP of the whole league. He's completing nearly 70 percent of his passes this season while on pace to throw for career highs in yards and touchdowns.

Indianapolis Colts

HC Frank Reich

This answer could easily also be quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who has been great since being asked to take the reins from Andrew Luck after his retirement. But I have to go outside the box with this answer for how well the Colts are playing across the board. Losing your franchise quarterback isn't easy, especially in the manner the Colts did. Reich's bunch never wavered. That's leadership.

Jacksonville Jaguars

QB Gardner Freaking Minshew

Speaking of losing your quarterback, it must have been gut wrenching for the Jaguars to watch Foles go down in Week 1, but that only paved the way for Gardner Minshew to wow the league. With 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions, Minshew has Jacksonville at 4-4 and just a game out of first place in their division.

Tennessee Titans

WR A.J. Brown

The Titans seem to have a different identity each week. They want to be a physical, disciplined, consistent football team, as most do, but it doesn't always come out that way in the script. Because of this, they've had to ask some of their guys to step up in unique ways. When they call A.J. Brown's number, he often does. Brown leads the team in receiving yards with 337, and is tied for the team lead in touchdowns with two.

AFC WEST

Kansas City Chiefs

The Guys Who Popped Mahomes' Knee Back Into Place

We all know the reigning MVP was still very much in the conversation to win the award back-to-back. Then we saw his kneecap be in a place on his leg it isn't normally in. But thankfully the trainers on the field knew exactly what to do, popped it back, and because of that we should get Mahomes back in no time.

Before then, in just seven games, Mahomes had 15 touchdowns, one interception and over 2,000 yards passing.

Oakland Raiders

TE Darren Waller

Before this season, Waller's career high for yards in a season was 85 yards on 10 catches. In seven games played, he has 485 receiving yards (a team high) on 44 catches with two touchdowns. A special season for Waller already, which has been a treat to watch.

He trails on Hunter Henry in yards per game, and trails only Evan Engram an Zach Ertz in targets per game.

Denver Broncos

S Justin Simmons

Simmons' progression from last year to this year has been impressive. He's shown greater comfort and more confidence in an array of different coverage roles, and he's been in on 100 percent of the team's defensive snaps so far this season.

Los Angeles Chargers

I Don't Even Have Anything, I'm Just Sad.

This was the second year in a row I picked the Charger to be Super Bowl contenders in the AFC.

They could be so good, you guys.

Why aren't they good?

NFC EAST

Dallas Cowboys

WR Amari Cooper

Though this one could go to quarterback Dak Prescott, as MVP awards often do, I really do think that offense just would not be what it is or have the wins the team does without Cooper. Cooper is fourth in the NFL right now with 621 receiving yards. He also has five touchdowns and 16.3 yards per catch. He changes everything for that team, including the outlook of Prescott.

Philadelphia Eagles

QB Carson Wentz

Wentz has had to overcome so much on that offense. The Eagles offensive weapons have been fluctuating all season, and yet Wentz has been there to weather the storm. On a struggling Eagles team, Wentz gives them hope every week.

New York Giants

QB Daniel Jones

The rise of Daniel Jones has been fun to watch. Though things haven't gone as well as they did in his first start against Tampa Bay, Jones brought new life to the Giants offense, and gave them a sense of the struggles they are going through are all building towards improvement and better days.

He's more of a moral MVP, but an important one.

Washington Redskins

WR Terry McLaurin

My goodness, what a treat McLaurin has been. The third round gem of a draft selection in the 2019 NFL Draft has 458 receiving yards, five receiving touchdowns and a 16.4 yards-per-catch average, all team highs.

NFC NORTH

Green Bay Packers

QB Aaron Rodgers

Rodgers, like Deshaun Watson, isn't just an MVP for his team. He might be the MVP for the NFL.

Rodgers has thrown for over 2,00 yards with 16 passing touchdowns and just two interceptions, which has been a driving force in the Packers sitting at 7-1 at the top of the NFC North with one of the top projected playoff spots.

Minnesota Vikings

RB Dalvin Cook

Before this season, Dalvin Cook had only played in fourteen games through two years of his NFL career. In them, he rushed for a total of 969 yards and four touchdowns. This season, having played eight games, he leads the NFL with 823 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns.

That offense may have playmakers all over, but make no mistake, it runs through the league's leading rusher.

Chicago Bears

The Defense

With Trubisky's arm not doing much for the Bears offense, it's been up to the defense to keep games close, and that they have. Chicago is a Top 10 defense in terms of yards and a Top 6 defense in terms of points.

(It hasn't exactly amounted to wins, though.)

Detroit Lions

QB Matthew Stafford

The Lions have surprised a lot of people so far this season, me being one of them. They're 3-3-1 right now, but honestly could be even better. That's because of what Darrell Bevell has been doing as offensive coordinator. Bevell has been opening up the playbook to allow quarterback Matthew Stafford to do what he does best: throw it deep. Because of this, Stafford has over 1,700 yards, 13 touchdowns and just three interceptions.

NFC SOUTH

New Orleans Saints

QB Teddy Bridgewater

How many teams do you know that could lose Drew Brees and still go undefeated? I'm not sure what the exact number would be, but the Saints would be one of them, and that's because of Teddy Bridgwater. Now, wide receiver Michael Thomas leads the NFL in receiving, so if you put his name here, you wouldn't get much push back from me. But losing a starting quarterback and remaining elite as a team is hard to do. The Saints did because of Bridgewater.

Their goal this season was certainly a No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Bridgewater helped them keep that alive.

Carolina Panthers

RB Christian McCaffrey

McCaffrey's use has been insane this season, but what's even more impressive is that his production has been just as strong with it. CMC has rushed for over 618 yards already this season with an additional 305 receiving yards. Despite the crazy work load, he's nearly at career high numbers in both categories in terms of yards per touch.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

EDGE Shaq Barrett

Through seven games, Barrett is tied for the NFL lead with 10 sacks, which is crazy for a player who is currently on a one-year "prove it" type of deal. Without Barrett, this Bucs defense would have be dead in the water through the first half of the season.

Atlanta Falcons

The Fact That It's Halfway Over

That's all I got.

NFC WEST

San Francisco 49ers

Literally Everyone (But Mainly LB Fred Warner and EDGE Nick Bosa)

Fred Warner has evolved into one of the best linebackers in the league, and Nick Bosa might be the front runner for defensive player of the year with seven sacks in six games. That defense is scary good, and both Warner and Bosa are only 22 years old.

Seattle Seahawks

QB Russell Wilson

Here's Wilson's stat line for 2019 so far:

2,127 passing yards, 182 rushing yards, 20 total touchdowns, 1 interception.

When you watch Wilson play and the style in which he plays the position, you'd figure this is a guy who will make the spectacular plays for you, but also will be a player where you have to live with some turnovers. And yet he rarely turns it over.

Special year, special player.

He might win the whole MVP award when this season is through.

Los Angeles Rams

WR Cooper Kupp

Before the game against the Bengals, Kupp led the Rams with 572 receiving yards. What did he do on Sunday? Oh, just another 165 to add to the total.

With the Rams offense not dominating as much as it did last year, Kupp has been the go-to guy week-in and week-out.

Arizona Cardinals

QB Kyler Murray

The Cardinals may not look great this year, as a whole, but Kyler Murray looks promising. Even with his struggles, he's thrown for over 1,700 yards already with seven touchdowns. He has the four interceptions, but he's a rookie. The important part is that the investment in him appears to be worth it. You can see, at times, what might be with him when it all comes together.