Rock Hill’s Ben Watson, Panthers Greg Olsen among NFL Man of Year nominees

Northwestern High School standout and New Orleans Saints tight end Benjamin Watson was announced as a nominee for the 2015 Walter Payton Man of the Year award on Wednesday.

“The Walter Payton Man of the Year award is a tremendous honor,” Watson said in a video on NFL.com as reported by Nola.com. “Being a 12-year veteran, I’ve seen the men who have won it and the respect that they garner. I understand that being a leader in this league, being in my 12th year ... younger guys look at me the way I looked those other guys.”

The son of a pastor, Watson’s mission has included speaking on national television as well as churches and conferences in the offseason and writing a book, “Under Our Skin,” about race releations.

Finalists will be selected in January, and the winner will be named the night before the Super Bowl at the “NFL Honors” show.

Also nominated on Wednesday was Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen. Olsen’s cause is to provide resources to improve the survival rate between surgeries for infants with a heart condition similar to the one his son T.J. had.

“Everything under the sun that these babies tend to struggle in, we would provide some of expert in their field to be in your home to help you take care of it,” Olsen said. “We feel like this is the most tangible, direct thing to impact that percentage and changes these babies lives forever.”

Olsen created a program with a children’s hospital in Charlotte called “The Heartest Yard.” Berry, who already had a program to help impoverished people in Uganda, spent more time in hospitals with cancer patients.

Carolina linebacker Thomas Davis, the 2014 Payton winner, founded a nonprofit that provides free programs to underprivileged children and their families. His foundation provides two college scholarships for high school seniors and had back-to-school and Christmas giveaways along with a program to provide Thanksgiving meals.

The NFL has dealt with lots of negative coverage about players over the past two years, including high-profile domestic violence cases and substance abuse issues. The man of the year program gives the league a chance to showcase players who have worked to help their communities.

Charles Tillman, the 2013 winner with Chicago, focused primarily on providing hospitalized children various forms of entertainment.

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 7:54 AM with the headline "Rock Hill’s Ben Watson, Panthers Greg Olsen among NFL Man of Year nominees."