NFL Honors 2026: Browns DE Myles Garrett named Defensive Player of the Year

With the NFL Honors ceremony taking place, the most prestigious awards in football were handed out on Thursday night. One of the more popular categories on an annual basis is Defensive Player of the Year. Five players were considered finalists — Will Anderson Jr., Nik Bonitto, Myles Garrett, Aidan Hutchinson, and Micah Parsons.

And while all of them had great seasons, there was not too much debate about this one. Garrett put together a historic season on the field, capping it off by winning Defensive Player of the Year. It’s the second time the Cleveland Browns star has won the award (2023).

Garrett broke the single-season sack record with 23, standing alone at the top. Quarterbacks feared going up against him, even if the Browns finished with a 3-14 record. Only four games saw Garrett go without recording a sack, two of which were against the Pittsburgh Steelers. But in 13 different games, Garrett got at least one.

“I don’t even think about it as a want — I just think about something that I’m going to knock down,” Garrett said on chasing the record. “It’s already been written in my mind that it’s going just how far I’m going to take it. So, just going to go out there and do what I do, and whatever number I end up at.”

The highlight came in late October with Cleveland making a trip up to Foxborough. Garrett sacked soon-to-be Super Bowl starting quarterback Drake Maye five times. Two weeks later, he recorded four against the Baltimore Ravens, an AFC North foe. Six different games of more than one sack are on the resume.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker TJ Watt previously shared the record with 22.5 sacks. Strahan set the record in 2001, and he stood alone until 2021 when Watt tied him.

As for the DPOY award, Garrett becomes the ninth person to win multiple. Six players have now been named Defensive Player of the Year on two occasions. Garrett will be looking to join Aaron Donald, Lawrence Taylor, and JJ Watt as players who have earned the honor three times. Thankfully, there appears to still be a lot in the tank for Garrett.

But for now, celebrations for a fantastic 2025 season are going to take place. Just another chapter in what should turn into a Hall of Fame career.

On3’s Nick Geddes contributed to this report