In the lead-up to the Super Bowl every year, we eagerly watch “NFL Honors,” during which the league announces the winners of the league’s most prestigious awards. But we have nothing official to regularly track the ebbs and flows of the potential front-runners throughout the season.
In “NFL Honors Watch,” I’ll pick a leading candidate for several of the major awards. My colleague Eric D. Williams already has you covered on the MVP front-runners with his MVP Stock Watch. This series will focus on the other major on-field honors unveiled during Super Bowl week: Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Offensive Rookie of the Year, Defensive Rookie of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and Assistant Coach of the Year.
Here are my leading candidates for each of those awards entering Week 11:
Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is in the conversation, but Taylor’s MVP-level play gives him the clear edge for this award through 10 weeks.
Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is on pace for nearly 2,000 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns. (Photo by Matthew Maxey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
In Week 10, the Colts superstar had the best single-game rushing performance by an NFL player this season: 244 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns, including the walk-off winner, in Indianapolis’ 31-25 overtime victory over Atlanta in Berlin. Taylor also had three catches for 42 yards.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Taylor is on pace to win the rushing triple crown for the second time in his career. He leads the league in carries (189), rushing yards (1,139), rushing touchdowns (15), scrimmage yards (1,399) and combined rushing and receiving touchdowns (17).
Of the leading candidates here, including Packers star edge rusher Micah Parsons, Bonitto’s performance stood out in Week 10: 1.5 sacks, eight pressures, three quarterback hits and two tackles for loss to help the Broncos to an ugly 10-7 victory over the Raiders.
The former second-round pick benefits from having one of the league’s deepest and most talented defenses around him, but he has become a truly dominant force getting after the quarterback. Bonitto leads the NFL in pressures (51) and quick pressures (27), those which come under three seconds, according to Next Gen Stats. Among qualified pass rushers (minimum of 164 pass rushes), he also leads the league in Pro Football Focus’ PRP metric (14.0), which combines sacks, hits and hurries relative to how many times they rush the passer.
Bonitto ranks third in the NFL with 9.5 sacks, despite registering just 222 pass rushes, which ranks 44th in the league, per NGS.
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka
Right now, this race appears to be coming down between Egbuka and Colts tight end Tyler Warren. And the former gets the slight edge entering Week 11, after catching six passes for 115 yards and a touchdown in Tampa’s narrow loss to New England — Egbuka’s third 100-yard receiving game of the season.
Even if you take away his 31-yard reception, Egbuka still averaged 16.8 yards per catch on his other five catches against the Patriots. The former Ohio State star leads all rookies in receiving yards (677) and receiving touchdowns (6).
With Mike Evans and Chris Godwin sidelined by injuries, rookie Emeka Egbuka has become Bucs QB Baker Mayfield’s primary target. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
In a year when few defensive rookies have popped, Carter is making his presence felt as a pass rusher — even if the sack numbers aren’t there yet (just 0.5 for the year). He recorded a pressure in the Giants’ loss last week to the Bears, giving him 35 for the year, which tops all rookies and is tied for 14th in the NFL.
McCaffrey had a quiet day as a rusher in the Niners’ loss to the Rams last week (12 carries, 30 yards), but had eight receptions on 10 targets for 66 yards — the seventh time this season he’s registered at least 60 receiving yards.
Making his return in 2025 after missing 13 games last year, the former All-Pro remains on pace for over 1,100 yards rushing and receiving. He leads the NFL with 249 scrimmage touches.
After missing 13 games last season, Christian McCaffrey is back to being a do-everything running back for the 49ers. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Coach of the Year: Colts Head Coach Shane Steichen
Steichen’s terrific work with the Colts this season rolled on in Germany, where Indianapolis secured its eighth victory — matching its full-season total from 2024.
As the offensive play-caller, he has benefited from a historic year from Taylor but has continued to maximize Daniel Jones, who has seven turnovers in the past two games. The resurgent quarterback still leads the NFL in passing yards (2,659) and passing success rate (53.5%).
Assistant Coach of the Year: Broncos Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph
Joseph’s defense held the Raiders to seven points in Week 10. If you want to dock him for the caliber of opponent, keep in mind that his unit has been stifling offenses all year. The Broncos rank first in passing yards allowed per play (4.9), sacks (46), sack rate (11.8%), pressures (167) and pressure rate (42.9%), and sit third in scoring defense (17.3 points allowed/game), per NGS.
Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.
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