The Detroit Lions were nominees for three different awards at the 2025 NFL Honors, but none of the three nominees walked away Thursday night a winner.
It wasn’t that big of a surprise that Aidan Hutchinson walked away empty-handed. He didn’t have much of a shot for Defensive Player of the Year when Myles Garrett set the NFL sack record in a single season. Garrett was the unanimous choice for DPOY. Hutchinson had a closer shot at winning Comeback Player of the Year after posting 14.5 sacks the season after a gruesome leg injury. Unfortunately for Hutchinson, he finished second behind 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey. The veteran running back posted 2,126 scrimmage yards a year after an injury-filled 2024 season limited him to just four games played.
But the biggest snub of the night came at the hands of Lions right tackle Penei Sewell. He was up for the very first Protector of the Year award, and despite being far-and-away the best offensive linemen by PFF measures, the award went to Chicago Bears guard Joe Thuney.
Now, admittedly, it’s impossibly hard to compare two players at two entirely different positions. Additionally, I don’t want to take anything away from Thuney—a three-time First Team All-Pro player and a four-time Super Bowl champion. However, this does feel like it’s more of a legacy award for a player who has been playing at a very high level for a decade.
Sewell, while maybe not his best year, was still absolutely dominant. He wa an absolute monster in the run game, and he only allowed two sacks and just 19 pressures all season, per PFF. Among offensive tackles who played at least 940 snaps, Sewell’s 19 pressures allowed was tied for the fewest among 33 qualifying tackles. His 98.2 PFF pass blocking efficiency ranked second only to Denver’s Garrett Bolles, who was also a finalist for the award.
Unlike the other awards at the NFL Honors, Protector of the Year was decided by a panel of former offensive linemen. So, I suppose they’re the experts….
Here’s a breakdown of the voting for each category the Lions were up for:
Comeback Player of the Year:
- Christian McCaffrey: 31 first-place votes — 395 overall points
- Aidan Hutchinson: 9 first-place votes — 221 overall points
- Dak Prescott: 6 first-place votes — 167 points
- Trevor Lawrence: 2 first-place votes — 130 overall points
- Stefon Diggs — 40 overall points
Defensive Player of the Year:
- Myles Garrett: 50 first place votes — Unanimous
- Will Anderson Jr.: 77 points
- Micah Parsons: 63 points
- Nik Bonitto: 52 points
- Aidan Hutchinson: 42 points
Note: Protector of the Year does not have a vote breakdown, so we don’t know where Sewell finished in voting.
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