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It's Super Bowl week in the NFL, and all attention is rightfully on the big game. However, there is another event to look forward to this week in the 2023 NFL Honors. The NFL's annual award show will take place on Thursday night, where the best of the best in the NFL will receive their recognition.
This marks the 12th annual edition of the award show. As usual, the NFL will announce its annual award winners, as well as which players made the cut for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A new addition this year is a revised voting system, which allows voters to name their runner-ups with ease.
With the basics out of the way, let's go more in depth with the specifics of this event.
How to watch NFL Honors:
The 2023 NFL Honors will air at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, Feb. 9 on NBC, NFL Network and Peacock. The event is taking place at Symphony Hall in Phoenix, going alongside the Super Bowl in Glendale on Sunday. The award show has regularly followed the big game, going back to the first edition in 2012 in Indianapolis.
Who is hosting NFL Honors?
World-famous musician Kelly Clarkson will be hosting the 2023 NFL Honors on Thursday night. Notably, Clarkson will be the first woman to host the event, as the previous 11 shows all had male hosts. The award-winning singer will also be the first musician to host the show, as the other hosts have all been movie or television personalities.
Which awards will be presented?
Here, we'll list out all of the major awards and the finalists for each. We have already made our predictions for who will win each of the eight major awards.
Most Valuable Player:
- Finalists: Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen, Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow, Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes
A quarterback has won MVP for the last nine seasons, and with four of five finalists being QBs, it seems like that trend will continue. Still, Jefferson deserves a ton of credit for his ridiculous season and earning a spot as a finalist. Another notable fact is that we'll see two finalists, Hurts and Mahomes, face off in the Super Bowl. If the pundits and oddsmakers are correct, these two will also be the top two in MVP voting.
Offensive Player of the Year:
- Finalists: Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill, Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes
Three of the four finalists are also up for MVP, but that doesn't disqualify Hill as the outlier. In fact, all of these players would be fantastic choices after the seasons they had. Wide receivers have won the award in two of the last three years, and that will likely continue as Jefferson is a heavy favorite.
Defensive Player of the Year:
- Finalists: San Francisco 49ers DE Nick Bosa, Kansas City Chiefs DT Chris Jones, Dallas Cowboys LB Micah Parsons
A pass-rusher has won the award in seven of the last eight seasons, and sure enough, all three finalists are pass-rushers. All three players have had outstanding years with career-highs in sacks, and there's no wrong choice here. That said, Bosa appears to be the heavy favorite, according to the oddsmakers.
Offensive Rookie of the Year:
- Finalists: San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy, Seattle Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III, New York Jets WR Garrett Wilson
With one quarterback, one running back and one wide receiver, there's a good diversity of players up for this award. It's particularly impressive that Purdy managed to qualify after only starting five games in the regular season, but that's a testament to how good he was. Wilson is the favorite for the award, but not overwhelmingly so. If he wins, he would be the second wide receiver in a row to win the award after Ja'Marr Chase did so last year.
Defensive Rookie of the Year:
- Finalists: New York Jets CB Sauce Gardner, Detroit Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson, Seattle Seahawks CB Tariq Woolen
Although not quite as diverse as the OROY finalists, this group is still plenty unique. Hutchinson is the lone pass-rusher of the group, but Woolen was a diamond and the rough while the other two were top-five picks. Still, Gardner is the heavy favorite for the award, and will likely be the first cornerback to win the award since Marcus Peters in 2015. If Gardner and Wilson win, the Jets would become the first team with both Rookie of the Year winners since the 2017 New Orleans Saints.
Comeback Player of the Year:
- Finalists: New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley, San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey, Seattle Seahawks QB Geno Smith
This award is unique in that there are two different criteria at play. While Barkley and McCaffrey came back from repeated injuries, Smith came back from being a backup for several years to shine as Seattle's new starter. There doesn't seem to be an overwhelming consensus on this one, so it should be one of the more suspenseful awards of the night.
Coach of the Year:
- Finalists: New York Giants HC Brian Daboll, Buffalo Bills HC Sean McDermott, Jacksonville Jaguars HC Doug Pederson, San Francisco 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan, Philadelphia Eagles HC Nick Sirianni
Once again, there's a good variety of candidates on display here. Daboll and Pederson brought their teams from the basement to the playoffs, McDermott and Shanahan guided their teams through great adversity and Sirianni took his team to the next level, and now has a chance at Lombardi. Three of the last five winners have been first-year coaches, which bodes well for Daboll and Pederson. Sirianni appears to be the odds-on favorite, but again, there's no clear consensus here.
Assistant Coach of the Year:
- Finalists: Detroit Lions OC Ben Johnson, San Francisco 49ers DC DeMeco Ryans, Philadelphia Eagles OC Shane Steichen
Two offensive coaches and one defensive coach are up for this award. Ryans is also unique in the fact that he is the only one to become a head coach this offseason, joining the Houston Texans. However, the other two did interview for positions as well. In the eyes of many pundits, Ryans seems to be the favorite for this award.
Hall of Fame finalists:
Below is a list of finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A select number of these players will receive their gold jackets on Thursday, but not all will make it this year. Players in their first year of eligibility are marked with an asterisk.
- DE Jared Allen
- OT Willie Anderson
- DB Ronde Barber
- DE Dwight Freeney*
- PR/KR/WR Devin hester
- WR Torry Holt
- WR Andre Johnson
- CB Albert Lewis
- CB Darrelle Revis*
- OT Joe Thomas*
- LB Zach Thomas
- LB DeMarcus Ware
- WR Reggie Wayne
- LB Patrick Willis
- S Darren Wilson
To see who wins the awards and who makes the Hall of Fame, tune in to the NFL Honors on Thursday night.
