Here's a complete recap of Thursday night's NFL Honors ceremony, including all of the winners, the 2023 NFL Hall of Fame inductees, and video from a special moment with Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin:
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Here's who won the 2023 NFL Honors top awards
Most Valuable Player: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes dominated the voting for the AP NFL Most Valuable Player award. The 27-year-old Mahomes is the third player to win his second MVP before turning 28, joining Brett Favre (27) and Jim Brown (22). Mahomes was the 2018 NFL MVP in his first full season as a starter.
Coach of the Year: Brian Daboll, New York Giants
Brian Daboll won AP Coach of the Year after leading the New York Giants to their first playoff appearance in six years. Daboll received 16 first-place votes and 123 total points to outpace 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who got 12 votes for first and 100 points. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson finished third with 75 points, including five first-place votes.
Assistant Coach of the Year: DeMeco Ryans, San Francisco 49ers
DeMeco Ryans, who spent the past two seasons as the defensive coordinator of the 49ers, was named AP Assistant Coach of the Year. He is now the head coach of the Texans.
Defensive Player of the Year: Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers
Nick Bosa made it a landslide for the AP Defensive Player of the Year award. San Francisco’s All-Pro defensive end received 46 first-place votes after leading the NFL with 18 ½ sacks in the regular season. Bosa and the 49ers lost to the Eagles 31-7 in the NFC title game. He joked that he's ready to start the season now. “One weekend in Las Vegas is enough for me,” Bosa said.
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner, New York Jets
Jets cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner won the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year award. Gardner, the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, started every game for the Jets. He had two interceptions and allowed just 33 catches on 73 targets.
Offensive Player of the Year: Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
Justin Jefferson ran away with the AP Offensive Player of the Year award. Minnesota’s All-Pro wide receiver got 35 first-place votes and earned 192 points, outdistancing runner up Mahomes by a significant margin. “It means a lot, especially where I come from, this doesn’t happen,” Jefferson said. “I was always doubted, wasn’t highly recruited. Having this award is amazing.”
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Garrett Wilson, New York Jets
Jets receiver Garrett Wilson edged out Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker for the AP Offensive Rookie of the year award. “This means everything.,” Wilson said. “You put in a lot of work to end up in this point and to see it come to fruition, it’s awesome.” Wilson and Gardner are the third teammates to win the offensive and defensive rookie awards in the same season. Alvin Kamara and Marshon Lattimore did it with the Saints in 2017 and Detroit’s Mel Farr and Lem Barney did it in 1967. “I was more happy for Garrett,” Gardner said.
Comeback Player of the Year: Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
Geno Smith, who earned his first Pro Bowl berth after becoming a full-time starter for the first time since 2014, is the AP Comeback Player of the Year. The Seattle Seahawks quarterback threw for 4,282 yards, 30 TDs and led Seattle to an NFC wild-card berth.
Walter Payton Man of the Year: Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was the Walter Payton Man of the Year. The prestigious award recognizes an NFL player for outstanding community service activities off the field, as well as excellence on the field.
Here's the NFL's 2023 Hall of Fame class
Joe Thomas
Picked third in the draft by Cleveland, Joe Thomas stepped in as an immediate starter and never moved until a torn triceps ended his final season in 2017. Thomas played 10,363 consecutive snaps before that injury as one of the only dependable parts on one of the NFL’s sorriest franchises. Thomas was a Pro Bowler in all 10 healthy seasons, a first-team All-Pro six times and a second-team selection two other years. But he never even made it to the playoffs a single time with the Browns.
Darrelle Revis
Darrelle Revis was always moving, whether it was following top receivers from one side of the field to the other as the game’s top lockdown cornerback of his era. Revis’ best stretch came in New York with the Jets, where he was a first-team All-Pro from 2009-11 and finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2009 when he repeatedly shut down top receivers by sending them to “Revis Island.”
DeMarcus Ware
DeMarcus Ware was a four-time All-Pro in Dallas and then helped Denver win a Super Bowl in the 2015 season. He led the NFL in sacks twice and finished with 138 1/2 sacks in his career.
Zach Thomas
Zach Thomas was a five-time All-Pro who spent 12 of his 13 seasons with Miami before finishing with one year in Dallas. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1996, had at least 100 tackles in his first 11 seasons.
Ronde Barber
Ronde Barber was a key cog to the Tampa-2 defensive scheme as a cornerback for the Buccaneers. He was a three-time All-Pro, led the NFL with 10 interceptions in 2001 and won a Super Bowl the next season.
Joe Klecko
Joe Klecko (left) was a mainstay on the Jets famed “New York Sack Exchange,” earning Pro Bowl honors at nose tackle, defensive tackle and defensive end in a 12-year career that ended with one season on the Indianapolis Colts. Klecko was an All-Pro twice, including in 1981 when he unofficially led the NFL with 20 1/2 sacks and finished second to Lawrence Taylor in the Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Chuck Howley
Chuck Howley was a five-time All-Pro in 15 seasons with Chicago and Dallas with his biggest claim being the only player from a losing team ever picked as Super Bowl MVP. Howley won MVP after intercepting two passes in Super Bowl V when Dallas lost to Baltimore 16-13. He ended up on the winning side the following season when he two takeaways in a 24-3 win over Miami.
Ken Riley
Ken Riley’s 65 career interceptions in 15 seasons with Cincinnati rank fifth highest in NFL history and second to Dick “Night Train” Lane’s 68 for players who were exclusively cornerbacks.
Don Coryell
Don Coryell didn’t have the team success comparable to other coaches to get voted into the Hall, winning 111 regular-season games for the Cardinals and Chargers and never reaching a Super Bowl. But his impact on the game with his famous “Air Coryell” offense in San Diego was transcendent as he took advantage of rule changes that opened up the passing game in the late 1970s and put together an offense that still influences the game today.
