NFL Honors picks: CBS Sports experts predict annual awards winners

It’s Super Bowl week in the Bay Area, which means it’s also awards week in the NFL. The NFL Honors show is Thursday night, when MVP, Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and other award winners will be announced.

As with every season, this one was full of twists and turns on both the team and individual level. Halfway through the season, Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor were potential MVP or Offensive Player of the Year candidates. Then Jones got hurt, and the Indianapolis Colts didn’t make the playoffs. Through six games, Myles Garrett “only” had four sacks, on pace for another outstanding year, but not a historically dominant one. Then he finished with 23 sacks, setting the single-season record.

Long story short, things change in the blink of an eye. With the regular season long in the rearview mirror, though, CBS Sports’ NFL experts have submitted their votes for top individual accolades.

Voters (12): Garrett Podell, Joel Corry, JP Acosta, John Breech, Kevin Steimle, Bryan DeArdo, Douglas Clawson, Tyler Sullivan, Jared Dubin, Jordan Dajani, Mike Renner, Zach Pereles

MVP

1. Drake Maye, Patriots (7votes)
2. Matthew Stafford, Rams (5)

In — spoiler alert — the closest vote of all of the major awards, Maye edges out Stafford. Stafford was the first-team All-Pro selection, which, historically, points to him winning MVP. But it’s not an absolute. In fact, just last year, Lamar Jackson was the first-team All-Pro quarterback, but Josh Allen won MVP. Maye led the NFL in completion percentage (72%), yards per attempt (8.9), passer rating (113.5) and expected points added per dropback (0.28) this season.

Defensive Player of the Year

1. Myles Garrett, Browns (12 votes)

The only unanimous pick from our experts, Garrett was an easy choice after his record-setting campaign. Perhaps the race for second place will be more intriguing, with four other superstar edge defenders — Will Anderson Jr., Nik Bonitto, Aidan Hutchinson and Micah Parsons — named as finalists alongside Garrett.

Offensive Player of the Year

1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seahawks, (9 votes)
2. Puka Nacua, Rams (2)
3. Christian McCaffrey, 49ers (1)

Smith-Njigba led the NFL in receiving yards (1,793), Nacua led the NFL in receptions (129) and receiving yards per game (107.2), and McCaffrey led the NFL in touches (413) and was second in yards from scrimmage (2.126). But Smith-Njigba, with his remarkable consistency, gets the nod. His 16 games with at least 70 receiving yards were tied for the most in a single season in league history.

Defensive Rookie of the Year

1. Carson Schwesinger, Browns (9 votes)
2. Nick Emmanwori, Seahawks (2)
3. James Pearce Jr., Falcons (1)

Schwesinger racked up 156 tackles in a strong rookie season, and he added 11 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and two interceptions for good measure, too. The last rookie with at least 150 tackles, double-digit tackles for loss, two sacks and two interceptions was Shaquille Leonard in 2018; he won Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Offensive Rookie of the Year

1. Tetairoa McMillan, Panthers (10 votes)
2. TIE: Jaxson Dart, Giants; Grey Zabel, Seahawks (1)

McMillan is the easy choice in the eyes of most of our voters after a 70-catch, 1,014-yard, seven-touchdown debut campaign, but Dart and Zabel also earned a vote. Dart threw for 15 touchdowns and ran for nine more despite only playing in 12 games; Zabel has been a key addition along the interior of the offensive line for Super Bowl-bound Seattle.

Comeback Player of the Year

1. Christian McCaffrey, 49ers (8 votes)
2. Aidan Hutchinson, Lions (2)
3. TIE: Stefon Diggs, Patriots; Dak Prescott, Cowboys (1)

After playing in just four games last year due to Achilles tendinitis and a PCL sprain, McCaffrey played in 17 games for the second time in his career and was seemingly the only healthy 49ers offensive skill player all year. As Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings and others all missed time, McCaffrey just kept going. He recorded his second season with at least 1,000 rushing yards and 900 receiving yards, tying Marshall Faulk for most all time.

Coach of the Year

1. Mike Vrabel, Patriots (6 votes)
2. Mike Macdonald, Seahawks (4)
3. Kyle Shanahan, 49ers (3)

The Patriots are the first team to make the Super Bowl after losing 13 or more games the previous season, and Vrabel’s role in that turnaround earns him his second Coach of the Year award (he also won it in 2021 with the Titans). Macdonald, who will stand opposite Vrabel in Super Bowl LX, and Shanahan were close behind.