In a little less than a month, the NFL Honors ceremony will hand out awards for this past season of work, including the MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookies of the Year and many more. 

None of us here at NFL Trade Rumors has an official vote on the ballot. But supposing we did, this is what it would look like. 

Voters: 

• CEO Nate Bouda
• Editor in chief Logan Ulrich
• Lead writer Wyatt Grindley
• Staff writer Tony Camino
• Staff writer Tony Williams
• Staff writer Ethan Woodie

Most Valuable Player

Rams QB Matthew Stafford (4 first-place votes)

• Others receiving first-place votes: Patriots QB Drake Maye (2)

TW: Drake Maye has been the popular pick due to New England’s resurgence, but I’m going with Stafford, who orchestrated the most efficient passing attacks in the league, per ESPN. The Rams also faced a top-10 strength of schedule, while New England was dead last.

WG: While Drake Maye may have had a bigger impact on his team’s season, this year is all about giving Matthew Stafford his flowers as the league’s best quarterback. Even at 37, the former first overall pick threw for 46 touchdowns, which ties him with Drew Brees for seventh-most in a single season. He also led the league in passing yards and bolstered his all-time rankings, now sitting at sixth in yards and seventh in touchdowns (just two behind Philip Rivers). 

TC: True toss-up between Maye/Stafford and I’m fine with either. Maye gets the nod for slightly better charted data, worse pass game weapons, leading division winner.

LU: I legitimately considered just flipping a coin to decide between Maye and Stafford. It’s that close. Stafford has the edge when it comes to traditional stats, leading the league by a healthy margin in passing yards (4,707) and touchdowns (46). Maye was devastatingly efficient, throwing for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns while adding another 450 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. He led the NFL in both completion percentage (72 percent) and yards per attempt (8.9 YPA) — not an easy feat to accomplish by any means. Maye led the Patriots to a 14-3 record and the No. 2 seed while Stafford’s Rams slipped to 12-5 and the No. 5 seed. But the Rams’ schedule was notably more difficult and they actually finished ahead of the Patriots in point differential. 

Ultimately the actual decision has to come down to something subjective because the statistical case for either is so robust. I think if you subtracted Stafford from the Rams and Maye from the Patriots, Los Angeles would have a more difficult time managing. Maye can do things Stafford can’t but the Rams ask Stafford to do a lot more than the Patriots ask of Maye. 

Offensive Player Of The Year

Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba (5 first-place votes)

• Others receiving first-place votes: 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey (1)

NB: I seriously considered going with Puka Nacua here. The numbers are close and Puka did that in one less game. Some of the plays he made were game-altering and I think he has a real case for this award. In the end, I went with JSN because he was so consistently great all year and was by far the best offensive player on the best NFC team this regular season.

WG: Smith-Njigba posted 1,793 receiving yards, which is the eighth-most in a single season in NFL history. He helped Seattle to a 14-3 record in their first season with Sam Darnold at quarterback, shattering longstanding franchise records held by Hall of Famer WR Steve Largent along the way. At just 23 years old, the former Buckeye is already one of the best wide receivers in football and has an exciting future ahead.

TW: Smith-Njigba is as deserving of the award as anyone and can be schemed to win both inside and outside. He led the league in receiving yards and opened up the offense in both phases. Seattle struck gold when they decided to draft Smith-Njigba when they still had WR D.K. Metcalf and WR Tyler Lockett. When it comes down to it, Smith-Njigba had more of an impact in his offense than any other non-quarterback this season.

LU: McCaffrey came with 76 yards of the second 1,000/1,000 season of his career. He was a centerpiece for a 49ers team that was racked with injuries on both offense and defense, and a big reason the 49ers are in the playoffs despite all that is McCaffrey’s ability to produce. 

Defensive Player Of The Year

Browns DE Myles Garrett (consensus)

• Editor’s note: Garrett received some third-place votes for MVP on our ballot

WG: It has been 39 years since a defensive player has won MVP (Lawrence Taylor in 1986), and Garrett has made the biggest impact by a defender in quite some time. With his chase and conquest of the 23-sack record, Garrett helped Cleveland end the season with wins over the Steelers and Bengals by heavily influencing their offensive game plans. He would be just the third defensive MVP in league history after Taylor and Canton, Ohio native DT Alan Page, who won it with the Vikings in 1971. It could be some time before we see a defensive player who deserves the award more than Garrett.

LU: Setting the new single-season sack record is an accomplishment worthy of being a unanimous selection here. Normally this award goes to players on teams with more success, but Garrett’s accomplishment is made even more impressive against the backdrop of the Browns’ struggles. 

TW: This is self-explanatory. Garrett is far and away the defensive player of the year, and he was even before he set the single-digit sack record. He’s still the best EDGE rusher in all of football and is showing no signs of slowing down. A sure-fire future first-ballot HOF’er. 

Offensive Rookie Of The Year

Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan (consensus)

WG: McMillan edges out Emeka Egbuka for both the award and the playoffs. He caught 70 passes for 1,014 yards (franchise record for a rookie) and seven touchdowns and looks like the team’s No.1 receiver for the foreseeable future at just 22 years old. McMillan was a wise investment for Carolina with the eighth overall pick and was a great compliment to the rushing game. 

LU: With the way Tyler Shough has played since taking over, he might have locked up the award with a full season of work. As is, McMillan has carried a heavy burden as the Panthers’ No. 1 receiver all year and performed admirably. He’s a big reason they snapped their playoff drought this year. 

TW: McMillan has elevated the team’s passing attack almost single-handedly and has been a huge contributor in the jump that QB Bryce Young and the team’s offense has made from last year to this year. Egbuka seemed as if he was a shoo-in to take the pole position but fell off in the second half of the year.

NB: It was McMillan or Jaxson Dart. Normally, I’d probably lean towards giving the quarterback the edge, but I ultimately felt better about McMillan’s case in the end.

Defensive Rookie Of The Year

Browns LB Carson Schwesinger (4 first-place votes)

• Others receiving first-place votes: Seahawks S Nick Emmanwori (2)

WG: Schwesinger is without a doubt the Defensive Rookie of the Year and has gone from a walk-on at UCLA to being the first-pick of the second round by the Browns, to their unquestioned leader in the middle of the defense in just his first season. Playing injured for parts of the year, Schwesinger finished sixth with 156 total tackles in 16 games, to go along with two and a half sacks, three pass deflections, 11 tackles for loss and two interceptions.

TW: Schwesinger was drafted in the second round and immediately became the anchor of the team’s defense, similar to how Lions LB Jack Campbell became Detroit’s. He had the sixth-most tackles in the league and was 27th in TFL. He should become a stalwart in the middle of Cleveland’s defense for years to come.

LU: Schwesinger may be the heavy favorite, but I give a slight edge to Emmanwori, who has not just been solid in a big role for the league’s best defense, but has become a legitimate weapon for the Seahawks’ defense. 

Coach Of The Year

Patriots HC Mike Vrabel (2 first-place votes)

• Others receiving first-place votes: Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald (2), Jaguars HC Liam Coen (1), 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan (1)
• Editor’s note: this was the closest award on the ballot by far. It came down to third-place scoring and eight different coaches received votes. 

NB: Vrabel, Macdonald, Coen are all worthy IMO. I chose Vrabel because of how rudderless New England was at this time last year and how solid the team has become in such a short period of time. They’re getting great contributions out of young and old players and look like they have a real shot at representing the AFC in the Super Bowl. 

TW: I’m going back to strength of schedule here. You can only play who’s in front of you but Macdonald’s Seahawks look like the cream of the crop in the NFC and came out of a loaded NFC west with two legitimate contenders in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The defensive unit was one of, if not the league’s best, and his offensive unit made the Texans’ defense look mortal early on in the season.

TC: Coen didn’t benefit as much from an expected jump from a young QB & came in with Gladstone to basically start over with 13 wins year 1.

LU: Traditionally this award goes to the coach who either outperformed expectations the most or piloted the biggest year-over-year improvement in the win column. That’s the energy behind Vrabel and Coen’s candidacy. Established coaches like Shanahan have a harder time “exceeding expectations” but I think the work Shanahan did in San Francisco should be highlighted. The injuries this team overcame this year would have sunk many other franchises, and Shanahan’s offensive expertise continues to be a notable edge for the 49ers. 

Comeback Player Of The Year

49ers RB Christian McCaffrey (5 first-place votes)

• Others receiving first-place votes: Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (1)

TW: McCaffrey played all 17 games for the first time in his career and posted his second-highest total in receiving yards. He’s the heart and soul of San Francisco’s offense and one of the main reasons why they’re back in the playoffs once again.

WG: If not for this award, I would have listed McCaffrey as a candidate for Offensive Player of the Year. He has rebounded from injuries back to his old form and led the NFL in touches in touchdowns in 2025. While Falcons RB Bijan Robinson posted 1,478 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 287 carries, along with 820 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 79 catches, McCaffrey surpassed this with 1,202 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns to go with 102 receptions for 924 yards and seven touchdowns, while appearing in 17 games for the first time in his career.

EW: Prescott rebounded from a hamstring injury that limited him to just eight games in 2024. In 2025, he threw for 4,552 yards and 30 touchdowns and was PFF’s seventh-highest graded passer and led an explosive Cowboys offense that won seven games despite fielding the league’s worst defense.