Tonight, the 15th NFL Honors will take place at 9:00 p.m. EDT in San Francisco, California. The National Football League will announce the winners of several prestigious awards, including Coach of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, and, of course, MVP. Let’s run through the list of awards and tell you who we think deserves to win, as well as who will actually end up taking home the hardware.
Assistant Coach of the Year
Who deserves to win: Klint Kubiak. Offensive Coordinator, Seattle Seahawks.
Who will actually win: Josh McDaniels. Offensive Coordinator, New England Patriots.
In Kubiak's first season as the OC of the Seahawks, he had to work with a completely retooled offense that traded away its starting quarterback (Geno Smith) and number-one wide receiver (DK Metcalf) last off-season. On top of that, Seattle took a gamble and paired Kubiak with Sam Darnold, who was coming off a dreadful end-of-season performance. Despite all that, the Seahawks saw their scoring jump from 22.1 to 28.4 points per game, while wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba set franchise records for receiving yards (1,793) and catches (119) in a single season. However, Josh MacDaniels will, understandably, receive a lot of credit for the second-year jump that quarterback Drake Maye has taken. McDaniels, who has long been viewed as one of the best offensive coordinators in the NFL, is more likely to win this award.
Comeback Player of the Year
Who deserves to win: Aidan Hutchinson. Defensive End, Detroit Lions.
Who will actually win: Stefon Diggs. Wide Receiver, New England Patriots.
This is one of those categories where every player is deserving of the award. Diggs, Hutchinson, Trevor Lawrence, Christian McCaffrey, and Dak Prescott all have a legitimate case to be the Comeback Player of the Year. Aidan Hutchinson might have the most compelling argument of all the nominees. His tibia and fibula fracture was absolutely brutal. So much so that some members of the media questioned if Hutchinson would ever be the same player again. Not only did he make a full recovery from that devastating injury, but he also recorded a career-high 14.5 sacks on his way to a Pro Bowl berth. Unfortunately for him, Stefon Diggs will win this award. He's a 32-year-old wide receiver who put up 1,000 receiving yards coming off a torn ACL. Plus, he's the AFC Champions’ best receiving option. The fact that Diggs finally made it to the Super Bowl just a year after tearing his ACL really helps his candidacy.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Who deserves to win: Carson Schwesinger. Linebacker, Cleveland Browns.
Who will actually win: Carson Schwesinger. Linebacker, Cleveland Browns.
This is the first award on our list where our thinking aligns with that of the AP voters. He finished the year with far and away the most total tackles amongst rookies (156). That mark was good for sixth amongst all defenders in the NFL this season. On top of that, he led all rookies in solo tackles (67). We also can't forget that Schwesigner recorded 2.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, three passes defended, and two interceptions. All of the other nominees played in line with rookie expectations, while Schwesigner looked like an NFL veteran and a legitimate Pro Bowl candidate. This feels like one of the easier decisions that will be made tonight.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Who deserves to win: Tetairoa McMillan. Wide Receiver, Carolina Panthers.
Who will actually win: Jaxson Dart. Quarterback, New York Giants.
In an offense that lacked a true number-one wide receiver, Tetairoa McMillan was drafted with the eighth overall pick to be a difference maker for the Panthers. It's safe to say that he has successfully filled that role. He was undoubtedly the most important pass catcher in Carolina, leading the team in targets (122), catches (70), receiving yards (1,014), yards per reception (14.5), receiving touchdowns (seven), big plays (17), and first downs (55). Nobody else on the Panthers had more than 39 catches or 394 receiving yards. McMillan was basically out there doing everything by himself. Regardless, AP voters will almost always pick a quarterback for an award over another player, and Jaxson Dart led all rookie QBs in total touchdowns with 24. Add on the fact that he plays in the United States’ biggest media market, and it becomes obvious who the voters will likely choose.
Defensive Player of the Year
Who deserves to win: Myles Garrett. Defensive End, Cleveland Browns.
Who will actually win: Myles Garrett. Defensive End, Cleveland Browns.
This is the only slam-dunk on the list. There really isn't much to discuss here. Myles Garrett broke the single-season sack record with 23 in 17 games. Let’s give some perspective on how dominant he was. From Weeks Eight to 12, Myles Garrett recorded 13 sacks in four games. By comparison, fellow DPOTY nominee Nik Bonitto - who was arguably the best defender on the NFL's top-ranked pass-rushing team - had 14 sacks over the course of the entire 2025-26 regular season. I guarantee that Myles Garrett will win his second Defensive Player of the Year award tonight.
Offensive Player of the Year
Who deserves to win: Bijan Robinson. Running Back, Atlanta Falcons.
Who will actually win: Christian McCaffrey. Running Back, San Francisco 49ers.
Since 2016, a quarterback has only been named Offensive Player of the Year twice (Matt Ryan in 2016 and Patrick Mahomes in 2018). So, in all likelihood, Drake Maye won’t win this award. I also think that Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba will be hurt by their touchdown totals (11 and 10, respectively). This award should come down to Bijan and CMC, who finished first and second in scrimmage yards this season. Bijan gets the nod from me because he had more scrimmage yards than CMC while playing for one of the most unimaginative offensive coordinators in the NFL. On the other hand, CMC gets to play under a brilliant offensive playcaller in Kyle Shanahan. McCaffrey will probably win, though, since he put up 2,126 scrimmage yards while playing with two different quarterbacks and several different wide receivers for most of the year. In a season where San Fran lacked consistency at several key spots on the offense, CMC was the lone constant for the Niners, which was a huge reason why they won 13 games.
Coach of the Year
Who deserves to win: Liam Coen. Jacksonville Jaguars.
Who will actually win: Mike Vrabel. New England Patriots.
The voters will probably have a hard time deciding between Vrabel and the Chicago Bears' Ben Johnson, but the coaching job done this year by Liam Coen was remarkable. The Bears and the Patriots added several key contributors on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball that helped them achieve such quick turnarounds. Chicago brought in two new pass catchers and a bunch of new starters along the offensive line. New England handed out over $340 million in contracts last off-season. Who did the Jaguars add? Travis Hunter (who only started seven games), Jourdan Lewis, Dyami Brown, and Patrick Mecari. Liam Coen won the most competitive division in the AFC with basically the same roster that went 4-13 last year. With that being said, Mike Vrabel has a 4-13 team in the Super Bowl, and that will be too tempting for voters to pass up.
MVP
Who deserves to win: Josh Allen. Quarterback, Buffalo Bills.
Who will actually win: Matthew Stafford. Quarterback, Los Angeles Rams.
I may get a lot of flak for this, but by definition, Josh Allen is the most valuable person who was nominated for this year's MVP award. Kyle Shanahan is the most valuable member of the San Francisco 49ers. Mike Vrabel is the most valuable person in New England. Trevor Lawrence put up good numbers, but a lot of his success can be attributed to the system installed by Liam Coen. Matthew Stafford might be the most valuable person on the Rams, but I think that title still belongs to head coach Sean McVay, who has shown that he can win with almost any quarterback. Meanwhile, if you remove Josh Allen from the Buffalo Bills, they're not a playoff team. Hell, without him in the building, Buffalo has one of the weakest rosters in the NFL! If we’re being realistic, though, Josh Allen won't win the MVP award tonight. The fact is that either Drake Maye or Matthew Stafford will be named MVP. It'll most likely be Stafford because he is toward the end of his career and may never have a season this productive again. Voters will recognize that and give him their support, almost like it’s a legacy MVP award. Drake Maye and Josh Allen will both have plenty of other chances to be named MVP, but this will probably be Stafford's last chance. For that reason, he will win the MVP award for the 2025-26 NFL season.
