New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough wasn’t expected to win the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award on Thursday night, and sure enough, it went to Panthers receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
What wasn’t expected is that Shough’s own father-in-law, Derek Wormdahl, announced the winner.
Each of the five finalists for the award had someone close to them on stage before the award was announced, and each gave a short speech detailing what made their finalist so special: McMillan’s mother, Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson’s wife, Shough’s father-in-law, Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart’s mother and Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka’s friend and trainer.
In a bizarre twist, however, after the five speeches, the camera panned back to Wormdahl, who had the tablet used to reveal the winner. And so Shough’s father-in-law announced that McMillan won the award.
An hour later, the Defensive Rookie of the Year announcement had a similar setup, except the father of the winner, Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger, announced his own son as the winner. All of the other awards had presenters not directly connected to the finalists.
The moment recalled the 2025 NFL Honors at the Saenger Theatre, when Drew Brees was on stage to introduce the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, widely expected to go to Saints defensive end Cam Jordan. But instead, Brees announced Jaguars defensive end Arik Armstead as the winner.
It was still a nice moment for the Shough family. Wormdahl’s speech praised Shough and mentioned his daughter Jordan, who is expecting the couple’s first child later this month. He also mentioned the couple’s dog, Murphy.
“These past few years, my family has had the privilege of watching Tyler grow, not just as an athlete but as an individual, as a husband and most meaningfully of all, as a dad-to-be,” Wormdahl said. “In fact, I’m here tonight because my daughter Jordan is home awaiting their first child. Tyler, we’re beyond proud and cannot wait to see what the future holds for you, for Jordan and for your little one, and of course for Murphy dog.”