10 early Walter Payton Award candidates to watch

The Walter Payton Award is the premier offensive award in FCS football and is oftentimes referred to as the Heisman Trophy of the FCS. Here are the 10 players leading the way for the award through three weeks of the 2024 season.

PAYTON AWARD: Complete history of the top FCS offensive honor

The non-quarterbacks

Only one non-quarterback has won the Walter Payton Award in the last 20 years — Cooper Kupp in 2015. Here are some top candidates to end that streak through Week 3.

WR Efton Chism III | Eastern Washington

There are wide receivers with more yards and touchdowns than Efton Chism III at Eastern Washington, but he leads the nation with 28 catches. Chism's 321 receiving yards rank sixth and his four receiving touchdowns rank second nationally through three games. 

The reason Chism is the best wide receiver candidate for the Payton Award is because of the volume he's expected to receive this year. The next closest receiver in catches on his team has 13. Chism should continue to receive the most targets of any wideout in the FCS, and with it will likely come leading stats.

RB Jamar Curtis | Lafayette

Lafayette's offense goes through Jamar Curtis. He has 47 carries in three games for six touchdowns. While Curtis hasn't gained 100 yards in a game yet this season, he has contributed more in the passing game. Because Curtis is the focal point of the offense, he makes the list over Lafayette wide receiver Elijah Steward, who leads the nation in receiving yards.

RB Eli Gillman | Montana

Eli Gilman has five rushing touchdowns and 281 rushing yards through three games. His case for the Walter Payton Award will be very touchdown-dependent as he won't get the bulk of the carries in the Montana backfield, even as the lead back. There are two other Grizzlies with 24 or more carries and Xavier Harris looks to be the receiving back amongst the quartet of running backs in Missoula. However, Gilman could remain a contender for the award if his touchdown production remains high.

ROTY: 2023 Jerry Rice Award winner Eli Gillman's top plays

RB ShunDerrick Powell | Central Arkansas

ShunDerrick Powell is the best running back in the country after Week 3. He has six rushing touchdowns and 475 rushing yards, leading the nation in both categories. He's doing so on only 54 attempts while adding in eight catches for 156 yards and two touchdowns. Powell leads the nation with 631 all-purpose yards; no one else has more than 461.

Keep in mind, Powell is accumulating these stats with Darius Hale — a top-10 running back in the FCS — sharing a backfield with him. Hale has 38 carries and five touchdowns on the year.

Powell's putting up elite numbers while splitting time, which is in the true outstanding spirit of the Walter Payton Award.

The quarterbacks

With the Walter Payton Award turning into a best quarterback award in recent history, here are the top QB contenders so far.

Paxton DeLaurent | Southeast Missouri State

In Paxton DeLaurent's last outing, he threw six touchdowns on 63 pass attempts to win a pivotal conference game against UT Martin that could determine an automatic bid. When Southeast Missouri State needed DeLaurent to step up, he performed like a Walter Payton Award candidate.

On the season, he has eight passing touchdowns — the third-most in the FCS — to just one interception. His 767 passing yards rank seventh nationally and he's completing 60 percent of his passes.

DeLaurent will have a chance to prove himself worthy of the Walter Payton Award in his next game against No. 7 Southern Illinois, which has the second-worst pass defense in the FCS. A big showing here could move him in poll position for the trophy.

MORE AWARDS: Buck Buchanan Award history | Jerry Rice Award history

Mark Gronowski | South Dakota State

Mark Gronowski is looking to become the third back-to-back Walter Payton Award winner ever, and the first since Sam Houston's Jeremiah Briscoe did so from 2016-17. So far this season he's thrown six touchdowns, the ninth most in the country, while rushing for another two scores. However, Gronowski has thrown four early interceptions, one fewer than his year-end total last season. He's been good so far this year, but he'll need to protect the football more during his path to repeat.

WINNER: 2022 Walter Payton Award winner Mark Gronowski's top plays

Clifton McDowell | McNeese

Clifton McDowell may have moved out of the spotlight after transferring to McNeese from Montana, but he's still putting on a show down in Lake Charles. McDowell has completed 62 percent of his passes for 586 yards with just one interception. He leads the nation in yards per attempt, his four rushing touchdowns are the second-most of any quarterback and he is the fourth-most efficient passer in the country.

McDowell is stuffing the stat sheet at McNeese and is already 1-0 in Southland play. If he can lead McNeese to a few upsets and make a run for the conference title, he could have a Payton-worthy résumé.

Cam Miller | North Dakota State

Cam Miller has been on a tear to start the season. He's top three in passing efficiency and has thrown for 708 yards and five touchdowns to zero interceptions. He has five rushing touchdowns, leading all quarterbacks and ranking third nationally amongst all positions. 

Miller might have had the first of many Walter Payton Award moments in a comeback against ETSU, and as long as North Dakota State remains in contention for a title, Miller should remain in contention for the award.

BISON: Bryce Lance continues family legacy at North Dakota State

Derek Robertson | Monmouth

Derek Robertson leads the nation in passing yards and passing touchdowns with 1,135 and 11, respectively. He's also sixth nationally in passing efficiency, despite completing just 50 percent of his passes. Monmouth may not be a championship contender this year, but if Robertson leads the nation in passing from wire-to-wire he might be a Walter Payton finalist.

DJ Smith | Mercer

DJ Smith has led Mercer to an undefeated start at 3-0 with a ranked win under its belt. Smith leads the nation in passing efficiency and is completing 78 percent of his passes through three weeks. Smith isn't dinking and dunking either; his 10.65 yards per attempt are the second-most in the nation. In total, Smith has 671 yards passing, six passing touchdowns — the ninth-most nationally — and one rushing touchdown.

While Smith didn't have his best game against Chattanooga, he still came out with the win. Given Smith's ability to efficiently push the ball downfield so far, his numbers could boom as he still plays the No. 1, No. 4, No. 6 and No. 16 worst pass defenses in the FCS later this season.

Honorable mentions

• QB Maverick McIvor | Abilene Christian — Let's see how McIvor performs against Idaho and Central Arkansas first.
• QB Tommy Mellott | Montana State — Mellott is QB1 this year at MSU, but he has two talented running backs he has to get touches in Scottre Humphrey and Adam Jones.
• QB Connor Watkins | Villanova — Villanova will have the wins, but will Watkins have the numbers? He's only completing 54 percent of his passes through three games and that's far from outstanding.