Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett won his second career NFL Defensive Player of the Year award Thursday night, doing so this time in unanimous fashion.
Garrett received the award at the start of the NFL Honors show in San Francisco, with the hardware capping a historic season in which he recorded 23 sacks to set the NFL’s single-season record.
“It doesn’t just start with me,” Garrett said. “It starts with great teammates, a great organization, great coaches being able to put us in position. I’m thankful for every single one of my teammates to help get me up here. It’s not possible without them.”
Garrett, who also won the award in 2023, led the league with 33 tackles for loss. He became the ninth player to win multiple Defensive Player of the Year awards since it was first issued in 1971 and the only active player to do so.
Garrett received all 50 first-place votes. Texans edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. finished second, and Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons finished third.
Offensive Player of the Year
Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba continued the dynamic start to his career by joining running back Shaun Alexander as the only Seahawks players to win the award.
In his third season, Smith-Njigba led the NFL with a career-high 1,793 receiving yards, the eighth most in any season in NFL history. Smith-Njigba set Seahawks records this season in both receiving yards and receptions (119).
Smith-Njigba received 14 first-place votes, outlasting 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (12) and Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (eight). Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (six), Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (five), Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (three), Bills quarterback Josh Allen (one) and Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (one) also received first-place votes.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan emerged from a talented group of first-year standouts to win the award.
McMillan, the eighth pick in the 2025 draft, led all rookies in receiving yards (1,014) and touchdown catches (seven), and his 70 receptions were third among first-year players. He broke Kelvin Benjamin’s single-season Panthers rookie receiving record and joined him as the only rookies in franchise history to have 1,000 receiving yards.
McMillan received 41 first-place votes. Saints quarterback Tyler Shough finished second, receiving five first-place votes, and Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson finished third with one first-place vote. Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (one) and Seahawks guard Grey Zabel (two) also received first-place votes.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Four years ago, Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger was a walk-on at UCLA. Now, he’s the NFL’s top rookie defender.
Schwesinger, the 33rd pick, led all rookies with 157 tackles and 11 tackles for loss. He also added 2.5 sacks and two interceptions.
Schwesinger received 40 first-place votes. Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori finished second with seven first-place votes, and Falcons edge rusher James Peace Jr. finished third with two first-place votes. Falcons safety Xavier Watts also received a first-place vote.
Comeback Player of the Year
McCaffrey bounced back from an injury-plagued 2024 season that limited him to just four games to win the award.
In 2025, McCaffrey’s 2,126 yards from scrimmage trailed only Robinson (2,298), and his 17 scrimmage touchdowns were behind only Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (20) and Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (18).
McCaffrey received 31 first-place votes. Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson finished second with nine first-place votes, and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott finished third with six first-place votes. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (two), Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (one) and Saints wide receiver Chris Olave (one) also received a first-place vote.
Coach of the Year
It took Mike Vrabel just one season to return the Patriots to the winning ways he experienced during his time as a player with New England, as he won the award for the second time.
Vrabel led the Patriots’ turnaround from 4-13 to 14-3 — tying George Seifert (1989 49ers) and Jim Caldwell (2009 Colts) for the most wins by a head coach in his first season with a team in NFL history — and guided New England to its first AFC East title since 2019 and a Super Bowl berth.
Vrabel, who received his first Coach of the Year award with the Titans in 2021, joined Bill Belichick (2003, 2007, 2010) and Bill Parcells (1994) as Patriots coaches to win the award.
Vrabel received 19 first-place votes, while Jaguars coach Liam Coen finished second with 16 first-place votes and Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald finished third with eight first-place votes. Bears coach Ben Johnson (one) and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan (six) also received first-place votes.
Protector of the Year
The NFL’s inaugural Protector of the Year award, given to the league’s top offensive lineman, went to Chicago Bears guard Joe Thuney.
Thuney led all qualifying guards in ESPN’s pass block win rate metric (97.6%) and ranked third out of 62 qualifying guards in run block win rate.
The award was chosen by a panel of former standout linemen: LeCharles Bentley, Jason Kelce, Shaun O’Hara, Orlando Pace, Will Shields and Andrew Whitworth.
Other awards:
• Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner won the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award, which recognizes a player for excellence on and off the field. The award was established in 1970 and renamed in 1999 after the late Hall of Fame running back. Each team nominates one player who has had a significant positive impact on his community.
Wagner’s mom, Phenia Mae, died because of complications following a stroke in May 2009. She was 47. His charitable work honoring her legacy through financial assistance for stroke research and rehabilitation with the Phenia Mae Fund earned him the award.
“I cannot be up here and not talk about my mom,” he said. “She is and will ever be my rock, she’s the reason why I’m standing up here. She’s the person that had confidence in me when I didn’t even have confidence in myself.”
• Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was named Assistant Coach of the Year. Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores finished second and third in voting, respectively.
• McCaffrey won the Salute to Service award for his work supporting U.S. service members.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
