TeamFB7 makes its picks for the deserving winners for NFL midseason awards as the schedule crosses the halfway point.
Every NFL team has played at least eight games with some having played nine, putting the 17-game schedule right at the mid-point entering Week 10 of the season.
Narratives can still shift, injuries are an unpredictable variable and there’s a lot of meaningful football to be played regardless.
But nonetheless, the races for the major individual awards are coming into tight focus — enough so to justify at least bestowing unofficial honors on the deserving midseason “winners.”
NFL Midseason Awards For 2026
Here’s who deserves to take home those awards if the season ended today, which of course it doesn’t.
NFL Midseason MVP
Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love
We’re going against the grain here, considering that Love has the fourth-best MVP odds per DraftKings Sportsbook at +600, behind Bengals QB Joe Burrow (+175), Bills QB Josh Allen (+275) and 49ers QB Brock Purdy (+425).
But hear us out …
Love leads the NFL with 2,618 passing yards (in nine games) while throwing 19 touchdowns and 6 interceptions (with 2 rushing TDs).
But the case for Love is about the context as much as the stats.
It’s almost impossible to win consistently in the NFL without a reliable rushing attack and with a weak offensive line, and yet the 6-3 Packers are doing that with five wins in their last six games after their season looked bleak in the early weeks.
Green Bay’s defense has played a big role in that, for sure — the rest is pretty much Love and the wide receiver tandem of Christian Watson and Matthew Golden.
Green Bay ranks dead-last in rushing at 68.2 yards per game. Here’s the rest of the bottom 5, starting at No. 31: Raiders (4-5), Bengals (6-2), Texans (3-5), Eagles (2-7).
So the Packers and Bengals are the exceptions there, and not coincidentally Love and Burrow were our top choices for midseason MVP.
Burrow leads the NFL in passing yards per game at 298.3 (2,386 in eight games) with a league-best 23 TDs (3 more than any other QB) and 6 INTs.
He would be a fine choice for midseason MVP as well, but we’re giving Love the slight edge for a few reasons:
– Love’s offensive line has been a mess. Right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele, the team’s best lineman, sustained a season-ending torn patellar tendon in his knee in Week 2 and has been replaced by second-year tackle Anthony Belton (graded 69th out of 71 OTs by PFF). Center Sean Rhyan has missed the last two games with an ankle injury, his backup Jacob Monk promptly sustained a quad injury that sent him to injured reserve, leaving 2025 seventh-round pick John Williams to man the position. Jordan Morgan is in his first full season as the Packers’ starting left tackle and is graded 57th out of 71 qualifying OTs by PFF. And the guard situation has been a mess — starting left guard Aaron Banks has played a total of 137 snaps over four games due to knee, toe and groin injuries, 15-year NFL veteran Kevin Zeitler was signed in late September after drawing minimal interest over the offseason and has played just 20 snaps but may not factor prominently into the team’s plans and 12th-year veteran Laken Tomlinson was signed in late September off the Cowboys’ practice squad while logging the most snaps at guard. In all, Green Bay has used 13 different offensive line combinations in nine games.
– Love has multiple touchdowns in every game this season and hasn’t thrown more than 1 INT in any game while Burrow threw 2 picks in a loss to Jacksonville and 3 INTs vs. the Titans in a game the Bengals won in overtime. We’re picking nits and splitting hairs here, but that’s how close the debate is, so it matters.
– Love is playing the absolute best football of his career, averaging 315.4 passing yards over the last five games with 11 TDs, 3 INTs and 2 rushing TDs. That stretch including Love throwing for 367 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs to lead the Packers to a 31-7 win over the NFC North rival Bears in a statement game (even with Chicago playing a backup QB) and then 372 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs (plus a rushing TD) in a 45-27 road win at New England last week. Burrow’s Bengals don’t have any win that matches either of those (they blew out the Ravens with Lamar Jackson injured) while they’ve lost their two biggest games, to the Steelers and Jaguars.
In summation …
As for the other top candidates …
Allen is leading a 7-1 Bills team that absolutely would not be in that position without him — his value is inarguably as strong as any player in the league. But he hasn’t consistently been peak MVP-mode Allen week to week. He ranks 12th in passing yards (and YPG) with 2,027, 12 TDs and 6 INTs in eight games and his 9 rushing TDs stand out, but he hasn’t been as much a weekly threat on the ground overall as in the past with while rushing for 23 yards or less in five of his eight games.
And Purdy has slowed just a little since his torrid start while dealing with a depleted WR corps, throwing for 1,980 yards, 17 TDs and 5 INTs in eight games with 2 rushing TDs.
Love, Burrow, Allen and Purdy all deserve strong consideration here — and any of the four (and a couple others) could still win it in the end — but Love is our pick for now.
NFL Midseason Offensive Player Of The Year
Seattle Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
The reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year deserves to be considered the frontrunner to win it again — and claim our very unofficial midseason award.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba actually has the second-best odds for the honor per DraftKings at +280, behind Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs (+165).
Gibbs has been the best part of an all-around elite offense, rushing for 847 yards and 9 TDs on 4.8 yards per carry while catching 34 passes for 285 yards and 2 TDs. His NFL-leading 1,132 combined yards in eight games is 2 more than Falcons RB Bijan Robinson has in nine games for the second-most on that list, while Gibbs ranks second in rushing yards per game, third in total rushing yards, tied for second in rushing TDs and tied for first in total TDs scores.
The case for Gibbs to win the award is strong.
The case for Smith-Njigba is just a little stronger as literally the only consistent offensive weapon on his team, while playing a third of his games so far with a backup QB.
He leads the NFL with 71 receptions for 1,036 yards (132 more than any other player) and 9 receiving TDs (2 more than anyone else). That includes seven 100-yard outputs in nine games, including two games with at least 150 receiving yards.
The Seahawks have struggled to do anything offensively outside of JSN with WR Cooper Kupp (22-238-2) and TE AJ Barner (23-210-1) the biggest producers in the pass game otherwise, while the rushing attack has been inconsistent and injury-marred.
We’ll give Smith-Njigba the slight edge over Gibbs for that reason with Chiefs RB Kenneth Walker III (872 rushing yards on 5.5 YPC, 172 receiving yards and 11 total TDs) also in the conversation.
NFL Midseason Defensive Player Of The Year
Houston Texans EDGE Will Anderson Jr.
Will Anderson Jr. finished second in DPOY voting last season and is the overwhelming favorite to win the award for the first time, with +150 odds from DraftKings, followed by 49ers LB Fred Warner (+600) and Bears DT Jeffery Simmons (+800).
The Texans’ defense hasn’t been anywhere close to the elite level it played at last season, but that isn’t reflective of Anderson’s impact.
He leads the league with 9.5 sacks and tied for the league with 14 tackles for loss in eight games, adding 35 total tackles, a pass deflection and a forced fumble. Per PFF, his 43 total pressures ranks fourth.
NFL Midseason Offensive Rookie Of The Year
Cleveland Browns WRs Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion
Nobody is running away with this award, and the odds-on favorite is actually Raiders QB Fernando Mendoza (+300), as he now takes over the starting job following the trade sending Kirk Cousins to Minnesota. But Mendoza has barely played yet, so he doesn’t qualify for midseason consideration.
We’ll give that to the Browns rookie wideouts, who have combined to lead one of the more surprisingly competent passing attacks in the league.
Denzel Boston, the No. 39 overall pick in the draft out of Washington, has 32 receptions for a team-high 507 yards and 3 TDs with three games of at least 89 yards. KC Concepcion, the No. 24 overall pick out of Texas A&M, is close behind with 37-437-1, including 251 yards over the last three games.
Titans WR Carnell Tate is in the conversation with a 34-413-1 line, but his presence hasn’t changed the reality that the Titans are one of the worst teams in the league.
NFL Midseason Defensive Rookie Of The Year
New York Jets EDGE David Bailey
David Bailey, the No. 2 overall pick out of Texas Tech, has been everything the Jets could have hoped for, racking up 7.5 sacks (tied for fourth in the NFL), 11 tackles for loss (third), 44 tackles and 5 forced fumbles (tied for first).
Bailey has the second-best DROY odds per DraftKings at +250, behind Giants LB Arvell Reese (+100), who has a team-high 68 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 8.5 tackles for loss, an interception, a forced fumble and 4 passes defended for a team that has exceeded expectations so far.
Reese has a very strong case, but for a rookie to be among the most disruptive edge rushers in the league right away is rare.
We’ve give Bailey the slightest edge in what is a two-man battle for this prize the rest of the way.
NFL Midseason Comeback Player Of The Year
San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle
This is a pretty wide-open race still to unfold the rest of the season.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is the overwhelming betting favorite (-125 odds per DraftKings), and he’s been solid in his return from knee surgery with 2,037 passing yards, 14 TDs and 4 INTs plus a rushing TD for a 5-2 Kansas City team. But he’s not performing near his peak levels and was shut down in a loss to the Seahawks (165 yards, 0 TDs and 1 INT).
Kittle, who was incredibly ready for the season opener despite tearing his Achilles in January, leads the 49ers with 38 receptions for 483 yards and 5 TDs.
He’s been the one healthy reliable constant in the Niners’ passing attack with the receiving corps depleted by injuries across the board. With that, Kittle is on pace for one of the top three seasons of his heralded 10-year career, while remaining an impactful blocker in the run game. And he’s doing it for a 7-1 San Francisco team.
It was a tough call, but he’s the pick over Mahomes, Niners LB Fred Warner, Browns QB Deshaun Watson, Giants WR Malik Nabers and, heck, Giants QB J.J. McCarthy, among others.
NFL Midseason Coach Of The Year
New York Giants coach John Harbaugh
John Harbaugh has proven to be the best new hire this season, immediately transforming a Giants team that won 4 games last season and 3 the year prior.
Harbaugh’s Giants have already surpassed those marks with a 5-2-1 start that would likely be 6-2 had RB Cam Skattebo not fumbled in field goal range in overtime vs. the Commanders.
Harbaugh has done this despite losing starting QB Jaxson Dart to an early season-ending injury and since rotating through Jameis Winston and now the aformentioned McCarthy.
The Giants lead the NFC East with a 3-game advantage in the loss column and look bound for the playoffs for the first time since 2022 and just the second time in the last decade.
The Bears’ Ben Johnson, the 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan, the Browns’ Todd Monken, the Jaguars’ Liam Coen and others deserve consideration, but Harbaugh deserves the award … so far.
