2026 NFL Midseason Awards: Expert Picks for Super Bowl Winner, MVP, Coach of the Year, OPOY and More

The NFL season is at the halfway point, with the Giants and Commanders kicking off Week 10 of the 18-week schedule on Thursday night.

As usual, the first half of the season held its share of surprises. The Rams entered the year as Super Bowl favorites, but now hang on the outside of playoff contention while dealing with a slew of injuries. The Giants lead the NFC East even though they already use three different starting quarterbacks. The Chargers – a team with 11 straight wins – are the only winless team in the league.

So, to recalibrate the situation, we asked our NFL staff – writers, editors and analysts at CBS Sports HQ – for their updated awards picks as well as playoff and Super Bowl projections. Here’s what they said:

Voters: Tyler Sullivan, JP Acosta, Josh Edwards, Leger Douzable, Michael Renner, Zach Pereles, RJ White, John Breech, Garrett Podell, Jordan Dajani, Jared Dubin, Carter Bahns, Pete Prisco, Bryan DeArdo, Kevin Steimle

Choice of rewards

MVP

1. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (11 votes)
2. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (2 votes)
T3. 49ers QB Brock Purdy, Packers QB Jordan Love (1 vote)

Burrow is the obvious choice here after a wonderful first half of the season that included at least four total touchdowns in each of his last four games. He leads the NFL in completion percentage (74%), passing touchdowns (23) and passer rating (114.8).

Offensive Player of the Year

1. Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba (6 votes)
T2. Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Chiefs RB Kenneth Walker III (4)
3. Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase (1)

Smith-Njigba is the pick, but it’s a close race. In his quest to become the first wide receiver to win Offensive Player of the Year twice, the Seahawks star leads the NFL in receiving yards (1,036) and receiving touchdowns (9) and is second in receptions (71). But Gibbs, who leads the NFL with 1,132 scrimmage yards, and Walker, fourth in that category, aren’t far behind in our experts’ eyes.

Defensive Player of the Year

1. Texans EDGE Will Anderson Jr. (6 votes)
2. 49ers LB Fred Warner (5 votes)
3. Bear DT Jeffery Simmons (3 votes)
4. Bengals DT Dexter Lawrence (1 vote)

Anderson leads the NFL with 9.5 sacks and his 12 tackles for loss rank second. After finishing second last year, he’s in a good position to win his first Defensive Player of the Year award, but he faces tough competition. Warner is tied for the NFL lead with five forced fumbles, and his 77 tackles are tied for eighth this season.

Offensive Rookie of the Year

1. Browns WR Denzel Boston (7 votes)
2. Jonah Coleman, Broncos running back (3)
T3. Titans WR Carnell Tate, Raiders QB Fernando Mendoza (2)
5. Browns WR KC Concepcion (1)

Boston leads all rookies in receiving yards (507) and receiving touchdowns (3), while Concepcion is tied for the rookie lead in receptions (37), giving the Browns two strong candidates. Mendoza could be the wild card here as he takes over as the Raiders’ starter following the Kirk Cousins ​​trade to Minnesota.

Defensive Rookie of the Year

1. Giants LB Arvell Reese (9 votes)
2. Jets EDGE David Bailey (6 votes)

This race is truly neck and neck and could remain so throughout the season. Reese just had a three-sack game, becoming the youngest player ever with a three-sack game. He is also the only player to have 65 tackles, eight tackles for loss and one interception this year. Bailey, meanwhile, leads all rookies with 7.5 sacks and 31 pressures. His five forced fumbles are also tied for the league lead.

Comeback Player of the Year

1. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (9 votes)
2. 49ers LB Fred Warner (4)
T3. Bengals QB Joe Burrow, Texans WR Tank Dell (1)

Mahomes returned for Week 1 after tearing his ACL and LCL in December 2025. The Chiefs star ranks top 10 in completion percentage, yards per attempt, interception touchdown rate and passer rating.

Protector of the year

1. Lions T Penei Sewell (12 votes)
2. 49ers T Trent Williams (2)
3. Bengals T Amarius Mims (1)

Sewell made the transition from right tackle to left tackle almost seamlessly. In 298 pass-blocking snaps, he has allowed just one sack and three quarterback hits, and he remains a mauler in the running game. Pro Football Focus considers him the No. 1 tackle in both total and run blocking; he is fourth in pass blocking.

Most Improved Player

1. Porte WR Luther Burden III (2 votes)
T2. 49ers QB Brock Purdy, Texans QB CJ Stroud, Bears QB Caleb Williams, Packers WR Christian Watson, Bills DL Deone Walker, Packers S Evan Williams, Bills EDGE Greg Rousseau, Buccaneers CB Jacob Parrish, Steelers RB Jaylen Warren, Packers QB Jordan Love, Packers WR Matthew Golden, Bengals WR Tee Higgins, Vikings QB Kirk Cousins ​​(1)

If there’s any consensus here, it’s that there are plenty of options. Although “Most Improved Player” is not an award given by the Associated Press like MVP and most other major awards, it is given by the Pro Football Writers of America. Each of at least four winners was a quarterback, but in the history of the award dating back to 2000, there have been winners in almost every case.

Coach of the Year

1. Giants coach John Harbaugh (7 votes)
2. 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan (4)
3. Bears coach Ben Johnson (2)
T4. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, Jaguars coach Liam Coen (1)

In his first year in New York, Harbaugh has the 5-2-1 Giants on track for the playoffs, even after losing Jaxson Dart for the season in Week 2. His significant role in acquiring JJ McCarthy certainly helps his candidacy. He has won the award once, in 2019.

Assistant Coach of the Year

1. Vikings DC Brian Flores (11 votes)
2. 49ers DC Raheem Morris (2 votes)
T3. Packers DC Jonathan Gannon, Steelers DC Patrick Graham (1)

Flores dominates this vote, and for good reason. The Vikings are second in yards per game and yards per play, and first in sack rate and red zone efficiency. Minnesota’s 14.5 points allowed per game are also the best in the league.

Executive of the Year

1. James Gladstone, Jaguars general manager (7 votes)
2. Bears GM Ryan Poles (6)
3. Browns general manager Andrew Berry (2)

Gladstone’s bold deals for defensive lineman Jordan Davis and safety Jessie Bates III could push the Jaguars to the top of the AFC and beyond. The Poles, meanwhile, made the biggest deal of the year, sending two first-round picks to the Titans for Jeffery Simmons. Gladstone and Poles lead teams that lead their divisions.

Division and wild card picks

AFC

• AFC East: Bills (15 votes)
• AFC North: Bengals (15 votes)
• AFC South: Jaguars (15 votes)
• AFC West: Broncos (9 votes), Chiefs (6)
• AFC wild cards: Steelers (15 votes), Patriots (11), Chiefs (8), Broncos (6), Texans (5)

NFC

• NFC East: Giants (11 votes), Cowboys (4)
• NFC North: Bears (9 votes), Packers (3), Lions (2), Vikings (1)
• NFC South: Buccaneers (12 votes), Falcons (2), Panthers (1)
• NFC West: 49ers (15 votes)
• NFC wildcards: Lions (11 votes), Packers (11), Vikings (8), Seahawks (7), Bears (6), Rams (2)

Super Bowl Picks

Winner

1. Jaguars (4 votes)
2. 49ers (3)
T3. Bears, Bengals, Broncos (2)
T6. Packers, invoices (1)

Losing

1. Bear (5 voices)
T2. Jaguars, 49ers (4)
T4. Bengals, bills (1)