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 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.
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 new 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
