Who are the nominees for the 2026 NFL Honors? Shortlist for MVP, Coach, Comeback, Defensive and Offensive awards

This weekend the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots will go had-to-head at Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California. The eyes of the world will be on Levi’s Stadium for the NFL championship game, one of the greatest prizes in all of sport.

However the Vince Lombardi Trophy is not the only award on offer this week. Last month the NFL announced the finalists for its annual NFL Honors, celebrating the top performances from this season of professional football.

The most illustrious is the Most Valuable Player category, with five names selected for the final shortlist. Last year’s winner Josh Allen is in the running to retain the award. Four of the five MVP candidates are quarterbacks, with LA Rams QB Matthew Stafford and Patriots star Drake Maye believed to be the front-runners. Trevor Lawrence and Christian McCaffrey round out the five-player shortlist for the MVP award.

The outcomes of the Conference Championship games may have significantly influenced the NFL Honors voting. Second-year quarterback Maye has been a revelation this year and he led the Patriots to a victory over the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. Maye put up 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns in the regular season, ushering the Patriots into a post-Brady era. Here’s a look at the full list of nominees for the NFL Honors 2026...

NFL Most Valuable Player

Josh Allen - Buffalo Bills

Trevor Lawrence - Jacksonville Jaguars

Drake Maye - New England Patriots

Christian McCaffrey - San Francisco 49ers

Matthew Stafford - LA Rams

NFL Coach of the Year

Liam Coen - Jacksonville Jaguars

Ben Johnson - Chicago Bears

Mike Macdonald - Seattle Seahawks

Kyle Shanahan - San Francisco 49ers

Mike Vrabel - New England Patriots

NFL Best comeback of the year

Stefon Diggs - New England Patriots

Aidan Hutchinson - Detroit Lions

Trevor Lawrence - Jacksonville Jaguars

Christian McCaffrey - San Francisco 49ers

Dak Prescott - Dallas Cowboys

NFL Defensive Player of the Year

Will Anderson Jr - Houston Texans

Nik Bonitto - Denver Broncos

Myles Garrett - Cleveland Browns

Aidan Hutchinson - Detroit Lions

Micah Parsons - Green Bay Packers

NFL Offensive Player of the Year

Drake Maye - New England Patriots

Christian McCaffrey - San Francisco 49ers

Puka Nacua - LA Rams

Bijan Robinson - Atlanta Falcons

Jaxon Smith-Njigba - Seattle Seahawks

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