Pro football's biggest stars converged at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on Thursday night for the 15th annual NFL Honors ceremony. In addition to the announcement of the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, awards were handed out to the most deserving players and coaches around the National Football League, including Matthew Stafford (MVP), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Offensive Player), Christian McCaffrey (Comeback Player of the Year) and Mike Vrabel (Coach of the Year).
For each of those awards, there was room for a healthy debate as to who had the best case to go home with the hardware, but there was one specific award that lacked any such drama.
After setting the single-season NFL record with 23 sacks, Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was a stone cold lock to be named Defensive Player of the Year, and accordingly, the seven-time All-Pro became just the second player ever to win the award by a unanimous vote, joining Houston Texans legend J.J. Watt, who did the very same in 2014.
Speaking of the Houston Texans... in a world where Myles Garrett didn't stampede around and through overmatched offensive tackles on a weekly basis, this award could've very well gone to third-year edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. As it stands, Anderson finished second in the voting, edging out the likes of Micah Parsons, Nik Bonitto and Aidan Hutchinson for the distinction of runner-up.
In any normal year, Anderson's season would've garnered a much more enthusiastic campaign. The former 3rd overall pick finished the season with career high totals in sacks (12.0), tackles (54), tackles for loss (20), forced fumbles (3) and fumble recoveries (2). He was also among the league-leaders in quarterback pressures, and had more third down pressures than any player in the NFL. There's also something to be said about the fact that Anderson was the best player (and the unquestioned leader) on the league's best defense.
"My D-Line, Rankins, Danielle, my coach, all those guys, they give me so much confidence to go out there and be my best," Anderson said during the Red Carpet pre-show, giving credit to his supporting cast. "You see the growth from my rookie year to now. Each year just getting better and better. I think that's what football is about. It's the challenge of that one percent of you getting better each year on your craft."
This year over year growth and improvement is something that Anderson has embodied since his rookie season... a season that ended at the 13th annual NFL Honors ceremony when he was named the Defensive Rookie of the Year, joining teammate CJ Stroud who earned the very same award on the offensive side of the ball. But never one to rest on his laurels, Anderson's trajectory has continued upward, and that could mean it's only a matter of time until he collects even more hardware.