Complete List of NFL Honors and Awards for 2022 Season

Since the 2011 season the NFL has held its annual NFL Honors ceremony recognizing outstanding achievements on the field of play by players and coaches. The ceremony for the 2022 NFL awards was held on February 9, 2023 at Phoenix Symphony Hall in Arizona. Among awards granted were the NFL player of the year award–the AP Most Valuable Player award, defensive and offensive rookies of the year, coach of the year and the heralded Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

A pair of New York Jets rookies won NFL awards, showing some promise for that team in the future. A talented young coach was named assistant coach of the year after landing a head coaching job. And a superstar quarterback took home the second MVP award in his illustrious career. Who else were the big winners of the night? Let’s find out.

---

AP Most Valuable Player

Taking home the most coveted of all individual NFL trophies at the 12th annual NFL Honors ceremony was Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. This was Mahomes’ second NFL player of the year award, his other MVP coming in the 2018 season. During the 2022 campaign, Mahomes threw for 41 passing touchdowns and a career-high 5,250 passing yards. He finished the season with a 67.1 completion percentage, another career high, and a 79.0 QBR. Topping off his incredible season was a victory in Super Bowl LVII, where his Chiefs were crowned as the 2022 NFL Champions. Cementing his place as one of the best NFL winners, Mahomes was named Super Bowl MVP. How will he follow up this success in the future?

---

AP Coach of the Year

In his first year as a head coach, Brian Daboll took the New York Giants to the playoffs with a 9-7-1 record, a huge improvement over the previous year’s 4-13 mark. After beating the Minnesota Vikings in their first playoff game since the 2016 season, Daboll’s Giants would lose to division rival and the eventual NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles during the divisional round.

---

AP Comeback Player of the Year

“They wrote me off, I ain’t write back though!” This was Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith’s quote after an opening week Monday night victory over the Denver Broncos, led by Seattle’s former QB, Russell Wilson. After an injury-plagued four seasons with the Jets followed by unremarkable stints with the Giants and Chargers, Smith signed with the Seahawks in 2019 before being named the starter for the 2022 season. By this time, nobody had expected him to win many games, much less gain an invite to the NFL season awards. But after throwing for 4,282 yards and 30 touchdowns, he led the Seahawks to a 9-8 record and a playoff berth, in one of the 2022 season’s more remarkable storylines.

---

AP Offensive Player of the Year

After three explosive seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, wide receiver Justin Jefferson is already on his way to Canton. Amassing a 76.8% vote share, Jefferson beat out the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts for the most prestigious offense-specific of all the NFL awards. In the 2022 season, Jefferson caught 128 passes for 1,809 yards and eight touchdowns. Already one of the most feared offensive weapons in the league before his 25th birthday, Jefferson has averaged 96.5 yards per game in his first three seasons, the most all time.

---

AP Defensive Player of the Year

Racking up 164 total tackles and a league-leading 18.5 sacks, 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa was named a near-unanimous NFL player of the year on defense, gaining 46 of 50 first place votes at the NFL Honors. He also finished sixth in voting for the MVP award, the highest among defensive players. 

---

AP Offensive Rookie of the Year

When the Jets drafted Ohio State wideout Garrett Wilson 10th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, they knew they were getting a good player. They did not know they would be getting an instant NFL awards winner. Despite the Jets’ season-long quarterback drama, Wilson emerged as the team’s top target, hauling in 1,103 yards and four touchdowns. Though he has not made a Pro Bowl yet, Wilson is already one of the AFC’s budding young stars.

---

AP Defensive Rookie of the Year

Has any team had a better first round draft than the 2022 New York Jets? Selecting Cincinnati defensive back Sauce Gardner fourth overall, head coach Robert Salah was given two rookie of the year NFL winners in the top 10. Gardner won AP Defensive Rookie of the Year with a whopping 96.8% of the vote share in the category. Gardner finished the season with 51 solo tackles, 24 assists and a pair of interceptions.

---

Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year

One of the most prestigious NFL trophies has little to do with scoring touchdowns, recording sacks or even winning games. The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year can be thought of as the NFL player of the year award for off-field endeavors and service. The 2022 award went to charity-minded Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. Prescott is the founder of the Faith Fight Finish Foundation (FFFF), which focuses on colon cancer research, mental health and bridging the gap between law enforcement and communities. Prescott has also been recognized for candidly speaking about his own mental health following the onset of COVID-19 pandemic and tragic passing of his brother in April 2020.

---

AP Assistant Coach of the Year

Two-time Pro Bowl linebacker DeMeco Ryans may have hung up his playing cleats after the 2015 season with the Philadelphia Eagles but that hasn’t stopped him from creating nightmares for NFL offenses. As the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, Ryans coached the top overall defense in the NFL in 2022, including AP Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa. NFC West offenses can take a slight breath of relief as Ryans’ achievements resulted in him being named the coach of the team that drafted him, the Houston Texans, in January 2023.

---

Week after week, NFL fans watch as some of the most gifted athletes compete head to head on the field of play. And while the ultimate goal for all players and coaches is a Super Bowl victory, being recognized at the end-of-year NFL awards ceremony is still a tremendous honor. 

The NFL Honors ceremony for the 2022 season was a grand celebration of the season that was, and a look ahead at the promise of future seasons. Patrick Mahomes won his second MVP, how many more will he add to his legacy? How will the Jets build on the young talents of Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson? How will DeMeco Ryans fare as a head coach? Only time will tell, until then we’ll all be watching.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 23rd, 2023 at 11:45 am and is filed under NFL Awards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.