Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett has been named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in his career. The award recognizes his dominant season, during which he set a new NFL single-season record with 23 sacks.
The announcement came during the NFL Honors ceremony. Garrett, who previously won the award two years ago, was presented the trophy by Hall of Famer Michael Strahan. Reports indicated the vote was unanimous in his favor.
"Based on the season I had, I was hoping it was unanimous," Garrett said backstage. "I think I did enough to earn it." The star pass-rusher, who just turned 30, now has 125.5 career sacks and is on pace to challenge the all-time top-five list.
The awards show also celebrated other top performers. New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel earned his second NFL Coach of the Year award after leading a dramatic team turnaround. Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford won a tightly contested vote for the NFL Most Valuable Player award in his 17th season.
Other major winners included Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (Offensive Rookie of the Year), San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (Comeback Player of the Year), and Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Offensive Player of the Year).