Award season is upon us, with the final nominations for the major NFL accolades now out in the open. Award winners will be announced at NFL Honours presented by Invisalign, on Thursday 5th February, at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, as one of the highlights of Super Bowl Week from the Bay Area.

The show will also feature the announcement of the prestigious Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year, the newest Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 and the brand new Protector of the Year Award designed to honour the league’s best offensive lineman in 2025, voted for by the players themselves.

In total, eight categories of awards, with five names in consideration for each, have been announced by the league, ranging from brand new players in 2025, diligent and noteworthy assistant coaches and, of course, the Most Valuable Player award which, barring a Christian McCaffrey-sized upset, will almost certainly go to a quarterback as usual.

The full list of awards and nominees is as follows:

Most Valuable Player

Josh Allen (QB, Buffalo Bills)
Trevor Lawrence (QB, Jacksonville Jaguars)
Drake Maye (QB, New England Patriots)
Christian McCaffrey (RB, San Francisco 49ers)
Matthew Stafford (QB, Los Angeles Rams)

Coach of the Year

Liam Coen (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Ben Johnson (Chicago Bears)
Mike Macdonald (Seattle Seahawks)
Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco 49ers)
Mike Vrabel (New England Patriots)

Assistant Coach of the Year

Vic Fangio (Philadelphia Eagles)
Brian Flores (Minnesota Vikings)
Vance Joseph (Denver Broncos)
Klint Kubiak (Seattle Seahawks)
Josh McDaniels (New England Patriots)

Comeback Player of the Year

Stefon Diggs (WR, New England Patriots)
Aidan Hutchinson (DE, Detroit Lions)
Trevor Lawrence (QB, Jacksonville Jaguars)
Christian McCaffrey (RB, San Francisco 49ers)
Dak Prescott (QB, Dallas Cowboys)

Defensive Player of the Year

Will Anderson Jr (DE, Houston Texans)
Nik Bonitto (LB, Denver Broncos)
Myles Garrett (DE, Cleveland Browns)
Aidan Hutchinson (DE, Detroit Lions)
Micah Parsons (DL, Green Bay Packers)

Offensive Player of the Year

Drake Maye (QB, New England Patriots)
Christian McCaffrey (RB, San Francisco 49ers)
Puka Nacua (WR, Los Angeles Rams)
Bijan Robinson (RB, Atlanta Falcons)
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR, Seattle Seahawks)

Defensive Rookie of the Year

Abdul Carter (LB, New York Giants)
Nick Emmanwori (S, Seattle Seahawks)
James Pearce Jr (DE, Atlanta Falcons)
Carson Schwesinger (LB, Cleveland Browns)
Xavier Watts (S, Atlanta Falcons)

Offensive Rookie of the Year

Jaxson Dart (QB, New York Giants)
Emeka Egbuka (WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
TreVeyon Henderson (RB, New England Patriots)
Tetairoa McMillan (WR, Carolina Panthers)
Tyler Shough (QB, New Orleans Saints)

*Players highlighted in red are Dutton’s picks to win the award