2026 NFL Honors: Who won the league's biggest awards?

Before the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots meet at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, for Super Bowl LX (Sunday, 6:30 p.m. ET, NBC), the best of the NFL are gathered at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco for Thursday's NFL Honors.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett kicked off the event by winning Defensive Player of the Year. Carolina Panthers wideout Tetairoa McMillan was named Offensive Rookie of the Year. Chicago Bears guard took home the inaugural Protector of the Year award. San Francisco 49ers do-it-all back Christian McCaffrey won Comeback Player of the Year.

Here's a look at who took home the awards and why:

Defensive Player of the Year

Myles Garrett | DE | Cleveland Browns

The preeminent pass rusher of his generation, Garrett turned in a record-breaking season to win his second DPOY award. Garrett's 23 sacks broke the single-season record that was previously shared by Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Strahan and Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt. Garrett achieved this feat despite being double-teamed or chipped on 39.5% of his pass rushes this season, per NFL Next Gen Stats, more than any other edge rusher.

While all the focus was on Garrett's pursuit of the sack record, he took pride in being an all-around player; his 33 tackles for loss were the second most by a player since 2000, only behind J.J. Watt's 39 in 2012.

"When you got that much attention for you every week and you're still putting up the numbers that he's putting up, that's pretty special," Browns defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire said. -- Daniel Oyefusi

Offensive Rookie of the Year

Tetairoa McMillan | WR | Carolina Panthers

Tetairoa McMillan called his rookie year average, but the Carolina wide receiver was anything but.

The eighth pick of the 2025 draft had 70 catches on 122 targets for 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns to lead all rookies in receiving yards and setting a Carolina rookie record in that category.

Twenty-seven of his catches were considered explosive (16-plus yards), more than any other rookie in 2025.

He also had seven receptions on fourth down, six producing first downs. He helped elevate the game of quarterback Bryce Young, who finally had a true No. 1 receiver in his third NFL season.

"He was elite,'' Young said before breaking for the offseason. "He's a special player.'' McMillan calling himself average just speaks to how high his expectations are.

"There's a lot more out there that could have been had,'' he said. "I hold myself to a high standard, so average.'' -- David Newton

Protector of the Year

Joe Thuney | G | Chicago Bears

Thuney earned first-team All-Pro honors for a fourth straight season and paid immediate dividends for the Bears' revamped offensive line after being traded from Kansas City to Chicago in March 2025.

The 33-year-old left guard did not allow a sack and logged the second-most snaps of anyone on the Bears' offense (99.57%). Quarterback Caleb Williams took 44 less sacks than his rookie season in large part due to the improvements Chicago made along the interior of the line.

Thuney was tied for the lead among all interior offensive linemen in pass block win rate by sustaining his blocks for 2.5 seconds 98% of the time.

When rookie Ozzy Trapilo went down with a season-ending knee injury in the playoffs, Thuney moved to left tackle for Chicago's divisional round matchup with the Rams. That marked his second-straight postseason where he'd move to tackle.

While not tied to his individual performance, Thuney's contributions for each of the three teams he's played for highlight his consistency over the past 10 seasons.

He won two Super Bowls with the Patriots and helped them capture the AFC East four out of five seasons (2016-20). Then with the Chiefs, he won two Super Bowls and this year, was a part of the Bears' turnaround from five to 11 wins, a division title and playoff victory. -- Courtney Cronin

Comeback Player of the Year

Christian McCaffrey | RB | San Francisco 49ers

After bilateral Achilles tendinitis and a right knee injury limited him to four games in 2024, McCaffrey returned to his usual, versatile self in 2025. This is McCaffrey's first Comeback Player of the Year award after finishing second in 2022. He earned it by virtue of his 2,126 scrimmage yards (second in the NFL) and 17 total touchdowns (third). Perhaps more important, McCaffrey started all 19 games, including playoffs. In the regular season, he had a league-high 413 touches, 44 more than the next closest player and the highest total of his nine seasons in the league.

When it was over, McCaffrey called 2025 "one of the hardest years of my life" because of the offseason spent rehabbing from his knee injury and strengthening his Achilles to take on the rigors of another season. As injuries mounted around him, McCaffrey was the one constant in San Francisco's offense, playing a pivotal role in helping the 49ers go 12-5 and reach the NFC Divisional Round.

"I think this was one of the most impressive seasons by an individual player ever," coach Kyle Shanahan said of McCaffrey. "Just in terms of what a warrior and man he is week in, week out. ... He commits himself 24 hours a day, seven days a week to get his body ready to go out there and compete. I've never been around anything like that." -- Nick Wagoner

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