The NFL Honors spotlights this season’s outstanding players and coaches through various awards. This year, actor Jon Hamm will announce the winners of each award on Feb. 5, 2026, at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California.

The NFL has a nationwide team of 50 analysts who debate who deserves each award, then vote on whom they believe is the rightful winner.

The most well-known and most debated award is the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. For the finalists this year, Drake Maye (New England Patriots), Matthew Stafford (Los Angelous Rams), Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills), Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens), and Christian McCaffery (San Francisco 49ers) are all in contention for the award; however, the two who are heavily debated over, and likely to be the two finalists, are Stafford and Maye.

Maye, 23, is only in the second year of his career with the Patriots. The former third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft has led the Patriots to the second seed in the playoffs with a 14-3 record, tying the one-seeded Denver Broncos. While this is an impressive feat, critics argue he had too easy of a schedule.

Saint Paul’s junior Will Trosclair believes this stat shouldn’t be overlooked. “…Drake Maye has barely played any good teams this season, while Matthew Stafford has played many competitive teams,” said Trosclair

The Patriots have played 4 teams with winning records and have won only 2 of those games.

On the other hand, Stafford, 37, is toward the end of his career. Stafford was the first overall pick in the 2009 Draft by the Detroit Lions; in 2021, Stafford was traded from the Lions to the Rams, where he continues to play today. He led the Rams to the fifth seed in the Playoffs with a 12-5 record, narrowly losing the NFC West to the one-seeded Seattle Seahawks. Unlike the Patriots, almost half of the Rams’ schedule was against winning teams, 8 to be exact; the Rams went 5-3 in those games, proving they are a talented team.

Comparing Stafford’s and Maye’s stats, Maye accumulated 4,394 passing yards, ranking 4th most in the league this year; Stafford accomplished 4,707 yards, the most passing yards this season. Furthermore, Maye threw for 31 touchdowns, which was the third most in the league; however, Stafford threw for 46 touchdowns, the most in the league, according to ESPN.com.

To put Stafford’s achievements this season into perspective, he has 150 more passing yards than second-place Jared Goff, and Stafford has 12 more touchdowns than second-place Goff as well. Lastly, Stafford and Maye have the same number of interceptions; this proves that Stafford had a much better year passing than Maye.

Moreover, Stafford carried his team more than Maye due to the fact that the Rams’ defense was not as elite as the Patriots’.

While the two teams are very similar, according to ESPN.com, the Rams combined for 47 sacks, 8 fumbles, and 16 interceptions; the Patriots, meanwhile, combined for 48 sacks, 9 fumbles, and 10 interceptions. Going further, the Patriots’ defense allowed 320 points during the regular season, around 18 points per game; however, the Rams allowed 346 points during the regular season, around 21 points per game. Looking at the postseason, the Rams’ defense allowed 79 points in only three games; to compare, the Patriots’ defense only allowed 26 points combined in three games. In other words, the Patriots allowed a third of the amount of points the Rams’ defense allowed in the same number of games.

Even with a defense that wasn’t as dominant as the Patriots’, Stafford still led his team to the Conference Championship.

In sum, Stafford accomplished more with a harder schedule and a defense that was not as good as Maye’s. That is why Stafford deserves the MVP award over Maye.

Moving on, the next heavily debated award this year is the Offensive Player of the Year (OPOY). This year’s finalists are wide receiver Puka Nucua (Rams), wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Seahawks), running back Christian McCaffrey (49ers), running back Jonathon Taylor (Indianapolis Colts), and running back Bijan Robinson (Atlanta Falcons). While these five players all had an outstanding year, the two who stand out among the best are Nucua and Smith-Njigba.

Nucua, 24, a wide receiver (WR), is in the third season of his career with the Rams. He was picked at the 177th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and was a key figure in the best offense in the league.

Smith-Njibga, 23, is a WR who is also in the third season of his career with the Seahawks. The former 20th overall pick in the 2023 draft has finally proven that he is a WR1.

Looking at both players’ performances this season, both seem to have had a similar year; Smith-Njigba accomplished 119 receptions (4th highest among WRs) for 1,739 yards (1st among WRs) and 10 touchdowns (tied 6th among WRs), according to ESPN.com. For Nucua, he accomplished 129 receptions (1st among WRs) for 1,715 yards (2nd among WRs), and 10 touchdowns (tied 6th among WRs). While the stats are almost identical, Nucua accomplished more than Njigba. Nucua missed almost 2 games; he was taken out early in week 6 and didn’t return until week 9. Luckily for him, the Rams had a bye week 8, leading him to miss only the week seven game.

To put that into perspective, Nucua had almost the same year as Smith-Njigba while missing games, and Smith-Njigba went without injury the whole year.

That is only in the air; on the ground, Nucua ran for 105 rushing yards and a touchdown on just 10 carries, averaging 10.5 yards per carry, according to ESPN.com; De’Von Achane, Miami Dolphins running back, had the highest yards per carry at 5.7; Nucua nearly doubled that as a WR. According to ESPN.com, Smith-Njigba, on the other hand, had 36 rushing yards on 7 carries for no touchdowns, proving Nucua had a better year on the ground.

For the postseason, Nucua amassed 332 receiving yards on 24 receptions with 2 touchdowns, and Smith-Njigba had 172 yards on 13 receptions with 2 touchdowns, according to ESPN.com. Smith-Njigba had only played two games, to his credit, seeing as his team earned the number one seed and the bye. However, averaging their games out, Nucua averaged 110.6 yards a game on 8 catches; Smith-Njigba averaged 86 on 6.5 catches, proving once again that Nucua has had a bigger role in his offense when the games counted most.

Moreover, Nucua has more competition for targets: Davante Adams and Colby Parkinson. According to ESPN.com, Adams achieved 789 receiving yards (tied 34th among WRs) on 60 receptions (tied 44th among WRs) and had 14 touchdowns (1st among WRs); Parkinson didn’t have as many yards or receptions as Adams at 43 receptions for 408 receiving yards, but Parkinson did steal 8 touchdowns. That is 22 possible touchdowns Nucua could’ve had, along with 100 possible receptions.

Smith-Njigba had competition, but not as tough as Nucua had it. Smith-Njigba had to compete with veteran Cooper Kupp, who only had 47 receptions for 593 yards and 2 touchdowns, according to ESPN.com, which is very similar to the year Parkinson had, the third-best on the Rams.

To put it plainly, Nucua had the same year, if not better than Smith-Njigba, in fewer games and on a more competitive team. That is why Nucua deserves the OPOY award.

On the other side of the ball, there is Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY). This year’s finalists are Myles Garrett (Cleveland Browns), Will Anderson Jr. (Houston Texans), Aidan Hutchinson (Lions), Nik Bonitto (Broncos), and Micah Parsons (Green Bay Packers).

Garrett, 30, a defensive end (DE), proved he is still in the prime of his career. As the former 1st overall pick in the 2017 draft, he led the best defensive line in the NFL this year. More importantly, he broke the single-season record for sacks (23), which is an especially crazy feat considering the Browns were often losing, so Garrett was not in a position to accrue as many sacks.

Anderson Jr., 24, a DE like Garrett, is only in the third season of his career with the Texans. He was picked 3rd overall by the Texans in the 2023 draft. He led his defense to be one of the scariest and hardest defenses in the NFL, according to ESPN.com. For Anderson Jr., he recorded 12 sacks (tied for 8th among DEs) and 3 forced fumbles (tied for 7th among DEs). He led his defense to 47 sacks, 19 interceptions, and 14 forced fumbles, according to ESPN.com. To finish off their resume, the Texans’ defense allowed the fewest yards per game this season, 277.2, according to ESPN.com.

However, this award is not really up for debate. Garrett should win, and Garrett will win.

Saint Paul’s junior Mitchelle Plauche agrees. “I think Myles Garret deserves to win DPOY because he continued his streak of dominance. Personally, I don’t believe anyone comes close to him this year,” Plauche said.

Garrett had one of the greatest defensive seasons ever. While his team didn’t make the playoffs, it was not the defense’s fault; the Garrett-led defense achieved 53 sacks, 11 interceptions, and 14 fumbles. On top of that, the Browns allowed only 283.6 yards per game (4th among defenses) this season, according to ESPN.com, which is impressive considering Cleveland went 5-12 despite its abysmal offense.

The next award is the Offensive Rookie of the Year (OROY). This year’s finalists are wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (Carolina Panthers), quarterback Jaxson Dart (New York Giants), running back TreVeyon Henderson (Patriots), quarterback Tyler Shough (New Orleans Saints), and wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (Tampa Bay Buccaneers). For the rookies, Dart, Shough, and McMillan are the leading candidates to receive the award.

Dart, 22, was the 25th overall pick in the 2025 Draft by the Giants. Dart played in 14 games to start off his career. He earned the starting role by beating out veteran Russel Wilson and made his debut in week 4 against the Saints.

Shough, 26, was drafted with the 40th overall pick by the Saints. Shough played in 11 games and started for 9. He earned the starting role in week 9, taking the starting role away from Spencer Rattler.

McMillan, 22, was selected with the 8th overall pick in the 2025 Draft by the Panthers. McMillan started from week one and clearly made an impact on the offense. He played a significant role, especially towards the end of the season, in the team reaching the playoffs.

Comparing the quarterbacks (QB), Dart and Shough seem very similar. Shough accomplished 2,384 passing yards (25th among QBs) with 10 passing touchdowns (tied 30th among QBs) and 6 interceptions (tied 8th among QBs), according to ESPN.com; Dart accomplished 2,272 passing yards (26th among QBs) with 15 passing touchdowns (tied 25th among QBs) and 5 interceptions (tied 4th among QBs), according to ESPN.com. Again, they had very similar seasons; however, Shough had a more impressive season. As mentioned earlier, Shough played in only 11 games, starting 9 of them; Dart played in 14 games, starting all of them.

Shough was able to achieve as much as Dart in a shorter amount of time; thus, Shough had a more impressive season than Dart and deserves the award over him.

However, he will not win the award because of McMillan.

As Saint Paul’s junior Jackson Lorenz would put it, “…McMillian was the only rookie to have more than 1,000 receiving yards. How could he not get it?”

According to ESPN.com, McMillan obtained 1,014 receiving yards (tied 14th among WRS) on 70 receptions (34th among WRs) with 7 receiving touchdowns (tied 15th among WRs). McMillan led all rookie receivers in yards, even setting a new record for the Panthers with the most receiving yards as a rookie, and tied the most receptions for rookie receivers. He led his team with the most receiving yards, receptions, and touchdowns as a rookie.

McMillan was the only rookie on the list to lead his team to the playoffs as well as dominate since week one as a starter. He proved not only to the Panthers but also to the NFL that he is the WR 1 on the roster.

McMillan achieved all of these stats despite tragically poor quarterback play. Additionally, unlike Shough and Dart, McMillan’s team made it to the postseason, which should matter for some voters. That is why McMillan will win the OROY award.

As for Defensive Rookie of the Year (DROY), this year’s finalists include Abdul Carter (Giants), Nick Emmanwori (Seahawks), Carson Schwesinger (Browns), James Pearce Jr. (Falcons), and Xavier Watts (Falcons). All of these rookies had amazing seasons, but Schwesinger, Pierce Jr., and Watts stand out above all of the other rookies.

Schwesinger, 22, was the 33rd overall pick in the 2025 Draft. He proved to be a key role on the Browns’ defense.

Pierce Jr., 22, is a linebacker (LB), and he was selected with the 26th overall pick by the Falcons in the 2025 Draft. Along with his teammate Watts, a safety (S), who was taken with the 96th overall pick, Pierce Jr. led the Falcons in most of the major stats.

Pierce Jr. recorded 10.5 sacks, which was the most on the team, and 10 tackles for loss (TFL), which tied for second on the team; He also had a forced fumble during the season, tying for 2nd again, according to ESPN.com. For Watts, he led the team with 5 interceptions and had 96 total tackles, the 3rd most on the team; he would place third again with 11 pass deflections.

These two rookies led their defense to be a top 15 unit in passing defense, 4th in sack percentage, and 5th in interception percentage, according to ESPN.com.

Unlucky for them, though, Schwesinger is a rookie as well.

Schwesinger accomplished 2.5 sacks and 2 interceptions, which is decent for a rookie; however, when looking at tackles, he obtained 67 solo tackles (16th among LBs) and 156 total tackles (6th among LBs), and he led the league in tackle assists among LBs, with 89, according to ESPN.com.

As mentioned earlier, despite stars like Myles Garrett leading the defense, Schwesinger stood out at times, and he played a major role in the Browns’ creating a top 5 defense in the NFL.

Schwesinger dominated every single game he was in, with over half of his games having double-digit total tackles. Even with Pierce Jr. and Watts’s great seasons, his season was incredible, and he outshone all other rookie defenders. Schwesinger deserves the DROY award.

The next award is the Comeback Player of the Year (CPOY) award. This year’s finalists are running back Christian McCaffery (49ers), quarterback Dak Prescott (Cowboys), wide receiver Stefon Diggs (Patriots), defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (Lions), and quarterback Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville Jaguars). Though they all had a good year, McCaffery and Prescott have the greatest chance of winning the award.

McCaffery, 29, was selected with the 8th overall pick in the 2017 Draft by the Panthers. McCaffery would continue to play for the Panthers until he was traded in 2022 to the 49ers. McCaffery came into the year fresh off an injury that ended his previous season, limiting him to only 3 games, so fans were sceptical about whether he would perform as well as he used to, especially given his age and mileage at the position. He would go on to set new expectations.

Prescott, 32, was selected with the 135th overall pick in the 2016 Draft. Like McCaffery, he suffered a season-ending injury in week 8 of 2024 that required surgery, which sidelined him for the rest of the year. However, he came back even stronger and proved he was still a great QB.

McCaffery had 1,202 rushing yards (8th among RBs) that would rank third most in his career, according to ESPN.com. On top of that, he had 17 total touchdowns and amassed 2,126 scrimmage yards, receiving and rushing yards combined. To finish his videogame-like numbers, he only had 2 fumbles all year.

Saint Paul’s pre-freshman Gavin Cocus mentioned an interesting point of view. “Christian McCaffery had to carry his team when many star players were injured for weeks… who else could’ve achieved that?”

McCaffery led his beat-up team to the playoffs on top of his amazing season. In total, the 49ers lost 9 starters to injury. While some returned later in the season, others’ seasons were over. Yet, McCaffery still prevailed and led his team to the 6th seed. He would help the team win their wild-card matchup against the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles; however, they would fall short in the divisional round to the Seahawks, who ended up making the Super Bowl.

Prescott achieved 4,552 passing yards (3rd among QBs) with 30 touchdowns (4th among QBs) and 10 interceptions (tied 23rd among QBs). Unlike McCaffery, on the other hand, he was unable to lead his team to the playoffs, even with the two star receivers the Cowboys have: CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. To his credit, though, the Cowboys had the 30th overall defense, according to foxsports.com, so they consistently had to play from behind and score points.

However, McCaffery still outperformed Prescott in stats and wins.

McCaffery recorded numbers that had him in the MVP conversation, not Prescott. Continuing, McCaffery had a much more major and impactful role on his offense, especially considering all of the 49ers’ injuries. Therefore, McCaffery deserves the CPOY award.

Lastly, the Coach of the Year (COTY) award. This year’s finalists are Mike Vrabel (Patriots), Liam Coen (Jaguars), Ben Johnson (Chicago Bears), Mike Macdonald (Seahawks), and Kyle Shanahan (49ers). All five coaches led their teams to have a great season, but Coen, Vrabel, and Johnson led their teams to an amazing year and comeback.

Coen, 40, shockingly, is in his first season as the head coach of the Jaguars. Coen was an offensive coordinator for the Buccaneers and Rams before he became the head coach of the Jaguars.

Coen took over the 4-13 Jaguars and brought the team to a 13-4 record, literally turning the team’s record around. While the other two coaches had young star quarterbacks, Coen had a quarterback whom most fans lost hope in. However, Coen believed in him and turned his career around.

Coen’s brilliant offensive mind turned the offense around and molded them into the 4th highest scoring offense. Moreover, he turned the defense around as well. Last year, the Jaguars’ defense was 4th in rushing defence and 20th in pass defense; this year, the defense was 1st in rushing defense and 8th in passing defense, according to ESPN.com. This proves that Coen isn’t just a genius offensively, but defensively as well.

Vrabel, 50, was a former Patriot player himself. This is Vrabel’s first season as head coach for the Patriots. The Patriots acquired Vrabel from the Tennessee Titans.

Vrabel took the 4-13 Patriots and turned them into a 14-3 powerhouse. Additionally, Vrabel led his Patriots to their 12th Super Bowl appearance, the most in NFL history. A big reason for the team’s turnaround is Vrabel’s connection with his players.

Patriot wide receiver Stefon Diggs testifies to this, “… He’s like another father figure, too. He’s taught me a lot in a short span of time,” Diggs said. Other players agree and respect his experience, like center Garret Bradbury. “He played, obviously, and at a high level, so he knows the players’ perspective,” Bradbury said.

Along with being personable, Vrabel turned the Patriots’ offense into an unstoppable force. Last year, the Patriots had the 31st overall offense; the Patriots ranked dead last in passing yards per game with 176.2 and 30th in scoring with 17 points per game, according to Foxsports.com.

Vrabel took over this offense and flipped them into the 3rd overall offense; the Patriots ranked 4th in passing yards per game with 250.5 and 2nd in points per game with 28.8. Vrabel took a team left in the mud and turned it into a feared force.

Johnson, 39, is in his first year as head coach for the Bears, as well. Before being a head coach, he was the Lions’ offensive coordinator.

Johnson came in when the Bears went 5-12 and made the Bears 11-6 team the next season. Johnson turned QB Caleb Williams into a star. Before, critics said Jayden Daniels should’ve been the number one pick in the 2024 Draft instead of Williams. However, Johnson proved this season that they made the right choice.

Williams averaged 181.9 passing yards per game in 2024, the 2nd worst in the NFL, barely beating out the Patriots, who had 176.2 passing yards per game. However, Johnson turned Williams into a top 10 passing QB this year. Williams ranked 10th this season with 225.1 passing yards per game.

Johnson did the same with the rushing offense. In the previous season, the Bears averaged 101.6 yards per game, ranking 26th in the league. Johnson flipped the Bears’ rushing game and turned them into the 3rd best rushing unit in the league with 144.5 rushing yards per game. Johnson completely reformed the offense and made them a dominant unit.

All three coaches led their teams from being at the bottom of their divisions to winning them. All had an amazing first year as a head coach. Yet, someone has to win. That coach will be Vabrel.

Featured Image Photo Credit: NFL.com