As we close the book on another round of the National Football League postseason, it is still actual football season for two teams. For them, it will culminate at the Super Bowl in Santa Clara in two weeks. For the other 30 teams, it’s no longer football season. Instead, it’s awards season, with the finalists lists for the seven major awards giving the rest of us something to root for.

On Friday, the NFL announced the five finalists for each of their major awards, meaning these are the top five vote getters for each trophy. The winners will be announced next Thursday at the NFL Honors awards ceremony. 

For now, let’s get on the record with predictions for each of the seven major awards, only one of which includes a Houston Texan as a finalist. Here we go:

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER 

FINALISTS: Josh Allen, BUF; Trevor Lawrence, JAC; Drake Maye, NE; Christian McCaffrey, SF; Matthew Stafford, DET

MVP PREDICTION: Stafford

It will likely come down to Stafford and Maye, with one winning and the other finishing runner up. I think Stafford gets the nod for the strength of the Rams’ schedule (as opposed to the Patriots’ cake walk), and in part because of his tenure. He’s never won an MVP. As an aside, Lawrence landing in the top five is tough to look at for a Texans fan.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

FINALISTS: Drake Maye, NE; Christian McCaffrey, SF; Puka Nacua, LAR; Bijan Robinson, ATL; Jaxon Smith-Njigba, SEA

OPOY PREDICTION: Smith-Njigba

Smith-Njigba led the NFL in receiving yards this season, with nearly 1,800 yards through the air. Nacua finished second in receiving yards, and will likely finish second in the voting here. Typically, this award goes to a non-QB, so you can write off Maye as a possible winner here.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

FINALISTS: Will Anderson, HOU; Nik Bonnitto, DEN; Myles Garrett, CLV;  Aidan Hutchinson, DET; Micah Parsons, GB

DPOY PREDICTION: Garrett

When you break the single season sack record, one of the more hallowed benchmarks in league history, you’re going to win the Defensive Player of the Year award. Garrett’s 23 sacks got him the record, surpassing the 22.5 sack mark for T.J. Watt and Michael Strahan. In any other year, Anderson probably wins it when you combine his sack numbers (12 sacks), pressure rate (tops in the NFL), and ability to stop the run (elite). 

OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

FINALISTS: Jaxson Dart, NYG; Emeka Egbuka, TB; TreVeyon Henderson, NE; Tet McMillan, CAR; Tyler Shough, NOLA

OROY PREDICTION: McMillan

McMillan was a major catalyst for the Panthers finally making the playoffs again after a decade long absence, notching over 1,000 yards receiving. Egbuka got off to a red hot start, but cooled off in the second half of the season, much like his team, the Bucs. Shough was impressive down the stretch, winning four of the final five games of the season for the Saints.

DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

FINALISTS: Abdul Carter, NYG; Nick Emmanwori, SEA; James Pearce, ATL; Carson Schwesinger, CLV; Xavier Watts, ATL

DROY PREDICTION: Schwesinger

Schwesinger was the 6th leading tackler in the NFL, and 11 of those tackles were for a loss of yardage. If and when the Browns ever become relevant, Schwesinger is the face of the franchise on that side of the ball, as Garrett ages out of stardom over the next few years. 

COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR

FINALISTS: Stefon DIggs, NE; Aidan Hutchinson, DET; Trevor Lawrence, JAC; Christian McCaffrey, SF; Dak Prescott, DAL

CPOY PREDICTION: Hutchinson 

All five of these players bounced back from season ending injuries in 2025, and all performed at a high level in 2026. I’m going with Hutchinson based solely on his injury, a gruesome broken leg, being the nastiest of the five injuries. 

COACH OF THE YEAR

FINALISTS: Liam Coen, JAC; Ben Johnson, CHI; Mike Macdonald, SEA;  Kyle Shanahan, SF; Mike Vrabel, NE 

COY PREDICTION: Vrabel 

These are all worthy candidates, but typically to win the award, there needs to be a major turnaround element, going from a few wins to double digit wins. Coen, Johnson, and Vrabel all fit that bill. I’m going with Vrabel for having the biggest turnaround quantitatively, a ten win improvement. 

This article appears in Private: Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026.

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