The 2026 season has been a ride. We’ve seen the Browns win football games. We’ve seen the Texans defense look human. And we’ve seen the 49ers avoid season-wrecking injuries. We’ve seen the Chargers charger quicker than they’ve ever chargered. It’s been fun.
So let’s take a looksie at which players and coaches would win the postseason awards if the season ended today, and who are some people that could win if they keep their momentum going during the second half of the season.
I covered these awards in mid-October. So for posterity and accountability’s sake, I’ll list the mid-October (MO) winner too.
Comeback Player of the Year: Patrick Mahomes
- MO Winner: Patrick Mahomes
Patrick Mahomes is still unquestionably the guy, and if he can get an award that he’s never gotten, he’s going to get it. There’s no reason to overthink this.
The other people in the running are George Kittle, Travis Hunter, Malik Nabers, and probably Tank Dell … and while they’ve been good, they haven’t been better-than-Mahomes good.
Coach of the Year: Liam Coen
- MO Winner: Klint Kubiak
The reality of the Coach of the Year award is that it goes to the head coach who overachieves. Mike Vrabel and the Patriots in 2025, Kevin O’Connell and the Vikings in 2024, Kevin Stefanski and the Browns in 2023, Brian Daboll and the Giants in 2022 … you get it.
Liam Coen is doing something special with the Jaguars. We all kind of knew that they were going to be a good team, but no one knew they would be leading the NFL in point differential at the halfway point in the season (+108).
There are two ways to think about that differential: One is that the difference between the No. 1 team and the No. 2 team (49ers with +79) is more than the difference between the No. 2 team and the No. 6 team. That’s impressive.
The other way to think about it is that the Chargers have the lowest point differential with -98. That means the Jaguars are better than the Chargers are bad … and that’s almost more impressive.
The bottom line is that Coen’s team isn’t just winning; they’re beating teams. I want to live in a world where dominant coaches win Coach of the Year.
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Arvell Reese
- MO Winner: Sonny Styles
Sonny Styles (Commanders linebacker) and David Bailey (Jets EDGE) are still awesome; no one is saying that they aren’t … But Arvell Reese (Giants linebacker)? This guy is becoming more and more of an animal every single week.
It’s insane. You want a blitzer? Easy. You want a coverage guy? No problem. You want a guy who can drop into coverage and then make a play at the line of scrimmage? That’s second nature. You want a guy who can change the flow of the game on a whim? That’s kind of his thing.
The dude is a playmaker at one of the most difficult and complex defensive positions in the current NFL. You could tell me that he resents any offensive coordinator who thinks they can take him out of a game, and that he uses that anger to take it out on a ball carrier, offensive tackle, or unfortunately placed tight end.
I’m not going to predict that he wins DPOY too … But I’m not going to predict that he doesn’t win it.
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Denzel Boston
- MO Winner: Denzel Boston
This is still gross because the offensive rookies that have really been standing out aren’t on great offenses. So when I’m looking for a potential Offensive Rookie of the Year, I’m looking at guys who help their offenses function. Right now, that’s Denzel Boston, the Browns’ second-round wide receiver.
Not only is he the leading receiver on the Browns, but he’s also leading all rookies in receiving yards. I still think there’s a chance that Carnell Tate can grow, be a dominant piece in the Titans’ offense, and win the OROY … But for the time being it’s Boston, and it’s hard to argue against that.
Offensive Player of the Year: Jahmyr Gibbs
- MO Winner: Kenneth Walker
We’ve seen games where Kenneth Walker has gotten shut down. If that happens, the Chiefs’ offense turns into a fart, and they lose.
We’ve seen games where Jaxson Smith-Njigba gets shut down (whether it’s his fault or not), and the Seahawks offense turns into a fart, and they lose.
We haven’t seen games where Jahmyr Gibbs gets shut down and the Lions offense looks like a fart. There was the Week 2 game against the Bills where he had 16 carries for 52 yards and no touchdowns … The Lions did lose that game, but it wasn’t because their offense turned into a fart (the defense allowed 41 points).
The bottom line is that Gibbs leads the league in yards from scrimmage (1,132 yards) and total touchdowns (11 touchdowns). What he’s doing is awesome … Will he hold up? Maybe? Hopefully?
His career high in carries is 250, and his career high in total touches is 320 … We’re halfway through the season, and he’s already at 177 carries (70.8 percent of his career high) and 211 total touches (65.9 percent of his career high). There’s a legitimate chance he’s redlining, but we’re going to give him his props while we can.
Defensive Player of the Year
- MO Winner: Will Anderson Jr.
Will Anderson Jr. is a disgusting football monster. He’s terrifying to watch. He’s brutally effective at his job. He can, and does, change games with the way he plays … The dude is playing like a Defensive Player of the Year, and he’s been playing like that for over a year now.
He leads the NFL in sacks with 9.5. He’s third in quick pressures. He’s second in total pressures. He’s a top-three scary player in the whole NFL, and if the season ended today, he’d be the deserved DPOY.
All that being said, I have a sinking feeling that Jeffery Simmons will end up being the DPOY. Hopefully, this is just because he was part of a very recent and very massive trade from the Titans to the Bears … But he has been awesome in the two games he played with his new team.
If that shine doesn’t wear off, being on a sexier team (like the Bears) will probably help him a whole lot. I’m not saying he’ll get it undeservedly or anything like that … but there is something nice about the DPOY going to someone who’s on an ultimately non-competitive team (like the Texans).
Most Valuable Player
- MO Winner: Josh Allen
Hopefully MVP debates go back to normal, more like, “Both player A and player B are great, but A probably deserves it more.” Last year’s whole thing of, “It’s Matt Stafford and if you think it’s Drake Maye you’re an idiot,” was exhausting.
I think we’re in luck, because Josh Allen and Joe Burrow are both having pretty sick seasons right now. But for the time being, Burrow’s got to be the guy who wins MVP.
We know that the way the Bengals win games is through their offense scoring a billion points, and we know that their offense is a pass-first unit. Joe Burrow is not just the most accurate quarterback in the NFL, but he’s also averaging the most passing yards (298.3 per game) and touchdowns (2.9 per game) of any quarterback. Sure, there are some hiccups here and there, but this dude has mostly been phenomenal … and he needs to be, because that defense is still a pretty big liability.
Does it help that he has Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins as his top targets? Yeah, duh … But we didn’t knock Saquon Barkley for getting 2,000 rushing yards behind an extremely dominant Eagles’ offensive line, and we’re not going to knock Burrow for throwing to talented pass catchers. That’d be dumb.
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