The NFL Honors ceremony, which presents the league’s post-season awards, is next week, and for the first time ever, it will include the Protector of the Year award. The award will be given to the best offensive lineman of the 2025 season. As expected, Detroit Lions right tackle Penei Sewell is a finalist for the award.
The other five finalists are:
- Broncos OT Garett Bolles
- Broncos G Quinn Meinerz
- Bears G Joe Thuney
- Dolphins C Aaron Brewer
- Chiefs C Creed Humphrey
For Sewell, this is the latest in several honors for the former first-round pick. Earlier this offseason, Sewell was named First-Team All Pro for the third consecutive season, and he has now made four straight Pro Bowls. PFF also named Sewell their Protector of the Year after posting a 95.5 PFF grade, best among all offensive lineman.
“The fifth-year right tackle’s PFF overall grade (95.5) ranks third among all offensive linemen over the past three seasons and first among right tackles in that span,” PFF’s Zoltán Buday wrote. “While his PFF run-blocking grade (95.1) is the highest by any right tackle over the past five years and trails only Trent Williams’ 2021 season among all offensive linemen.”
The official Protector of the Year award is voted on by a panel of former offensive linemen based on the following criteria: skill metrics, impactx, leadership, durability, and strength of opponent. To learn more about the award, check out the official NFL’s announcement here.
To see if Sewell walks away with the award, you can watch the NFL Honors show on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC and NFL Network. Aidan Hutchinson is the only other Lion up for an award. He is a finalist for both Defensive Player of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year.
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