Before Super Bowl LX between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium, the NFL’s best gathered at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco for the 2026 NFL Honors. Here are the award winners and why they were honored.
MVP
Matthew Stafford | QB | Los Angeles Rams
At 37 and in his 17th season, Stafford led the NFL with 4,707 passing yards and 46 touchdowns and posted a 5.8 touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio. He finished 313 yards and 15 TDs ahead of runner-up Drake Maye. Stafford also had an eight-game stretch without an interception in which he threw 28 straight touchdown passes — the longest streak of passing touchdowns without an interception since play-by-play tracking began in 1978. His season placed him among the elite quarterbacks who have topped 4,500 yards and 45 TDs in a year, a group that has historically produced MVPs.
Defensive Player of the Year
Myles Garrett | DE | Cleveland Browns
Garrett set a new single-season sack record with 23 sacks, surpassing the mark previously shared by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt. He did it while being double-teamed or chipped on 39.5% of his pass rushes, the highest rate among edge rushers, and also recorded 33 tackles for loss — the second-most since 2000. Garrett’s combination of pass-rush dominance and run-disruption made him the clear choice.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Tetairoa McMillan | WR | Carolina Panthers
The No. 8 pick delivered a standout rookie season with 70 catches on 122 targets for 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns, leading all rookies in receiving yards and setting a Carolina rookie record. He produced 27 explosive catches (16-plus yards) — the most among rookies — and was a reliable fourth-down target, helping elevate Bryce Young by giving him a bona fide No. 1 receiver.
Protector of the Year (inaugural)
Joe Thuney | G | Chicago Bears
Thuney earned the inaugural Protector of the Year after another first-team All-Pro season. The veteran left guard allowed zero sacks, played 99.57% of the Bears’ offensive snaps and led interior linemen in pass-block win rate by sustaining blocks for 2.5 seconds 98% of the time. His presence helped reduce sacks on rookie QB Caleb Williams by 44 compared with Williams’ rookie year and was a key factor in Chicago’s turnaround to an 11-win season, a division title and a playoff victory.
Comeback Player of the Year
Christian McCaffrey | RB | San Francisco 49ers
After being limited to four games in 2024 by bilateral Achilles tendinitis and a knee injury, McCaffrey returned to all-purpose dominance in 2025. He totaled 2,126 scrimmage yards (second in the NFL) and 17 total touchdowns (third) and started all 19 games including the playoffs. McCaffrey also led the league with 413 touches in the regular season, the most of his nine-year career, and was a weekly workhorse and matchup problem for opposing defenses.
Coach of the Year
Mike Vrabel | New England Patriots
Vrabel took over a team that had won four games each of the previous two seasons and guided the Patriots to a 14-3 regular-season record and a Super Bowl appearance. The 10-game improvement tied the best single-season turnaround in NFL history. Vrabel credited cultural changes — including a team exercise he called the “4 Hs” (history, hero, heartbreak, hope) — for building connectivity and buy-in across the roster.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Carson Schwesinger | LB | Cleveland Browns
The No. 33 overall pick led all rookies with 146 tackles and 11 tackles for loss, and he tied for third among rookies with two interceptions. Schwesinger, a former walk-on at UCLA, served as the Browns’ on-field signal-caller (wearing the green dot) and anchored a defense that also featured Garrett’s historic pass rush. His command, accuracy as a playcaller and consistent production earned him top rookie defensive honors.
Offensive Player of the Year
Jaxon Smith-Njigba | WR | Seattle Seahawks
Smith-Njigba posted the most prolific receiving season in Seahawks history with 1,793 yards (led the NFL) and 10 touchdowns, setting a franchise record for receiving yards. He averaged 10.9 yards per target, second only to the most efficient pass catchers, despite playing in Seattle’s run-heavy offense (47.6% designed rush rate). Smith-Njigba’s peak play included a 10-catch, 153-yard, 2-TD performance in the NFC Championship Game to help the Seahawks reach the Super Bowl.
Assistant Coach of the Year
Josh McDaniels | Offensive Coordinator | New England Patriots
Returning to New England, McDaniels helped transform second-year QB Drake Maye into an MVP-caliber player. Maye finished the season leading the league in completion percentage (72%), QBR (77.1) and yards per attempt (8.93). McDaniels’ early investment in building rapport with Maye — on and off the field — and his game-planning contributed to a top-tier Patriots offense that finished third in total yards per game.
Summary
The 2026 NFL Honors highlighted individual excellence across the league: Stafford’s late-career statistical peak earned him MVP, Garrett rewrote the sack record for DPOY, rookies McMillan and Schwesinger made immediate impacts, and veterans and coaches including McCaffrey, Thuney, Vrabel, Smith-Njigba and McDaniels were recognized for seasons that swung games and shaped teams’ success heading into Super Bowl LX.
