Overview

• The Protector of the Year award, recognizing the NFL's best offensive lineman, will be presented for the first time at the 2025 NFL Honors ceremony.
• A panel of six former offensive line greats, including Andrew Whitworth and Jason Kelce, will select the winner using criteria such as skills, impact, leadership, durability, and strength of opponents.
• This is the first new end-of-year award added to the NFL Honors since the Offensive Line of the Year award, which was discontinued in 2018.
• Dion Dawkins and Andrew Whitworth were instrumental in advocating for this recognition, aiming to highlight the critical yet underappreciated role of offensive linemen.
• The award seeks to inspire future generations of linemen while celebrating their essential contributions to team success in the NFL.