McCaffrey wins AP Offensive Player of the Year; Garrett is AP Defensive Player of the Year

LAS VEGAS — Christian McCaffrey ran away with the AP Offensive Player of the Year award announced at NFL Honors on Thursday night.

San Francisco’s All-Pro running back received 39 of 50 first-place votes and earned 222 points, outpacing Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill in voting from a nationwide panel of 50 voters that includes media members who regularly cover the NFL, former players and coaches.

Myles Garrett beat out T.J. Watt for AP Defensive Player of the Year.

Cleveland’s All-Pro edge rusher received 23 first-place votes and 165 points to Watt’s 19 first-place votes and 140 points from a nationwide panel of voters that includes media members who regularly cover the NFL, former players and coaches.

First-place votes are worth five points, second-place votes are three and third-place votes are one.

C.J. Stroud won the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award in a landslide. The Houston Texans’ quarterback received 48 of 50 first-place votes with Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua getting the other two.

Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. won the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year award, outgaining both Jalen Carter and Kobie Turner by two first-place votes. Anderson and Stroud are the fourth teammates to win the offensive and defensive rookie awards in the same season. Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner swept the awards last year for the New York Jets.

Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski edged Houston coach DeMeco Ryans for AP Coach of the Year honors by one first-place vote. Stefanski led the Browns to their third playoff appearance since 1999 despite losing quarterback Deshaun Watson, star running back Nick Chubb and right tackle Jack Conklin to season-ending injuries and starting five QBs.

Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz won the AP Assistant Coach of the Year award after guiding the league’s No. 1 ranked unit. Schwartz received 25 first-place votes and finished with 160 points, easily outpacing Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.

Hill received seven first-place votes and finished with 139 points. Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb came in third with 45 points, including one first-place vote. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson got three first-place votes, finishing fourth.

McCaffrey, a unanimous choice for All-Pro, led the NFL with 1,459 yards rushing and had 14 rushing TDs for the NFC champion 49ers. He also had 564 yards receiving for seven scores.

Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons finished third for Defensive Player of the Year with 89 points, including seven first-place votes. Cornerback DaRon Bland, Parson’s teammate, got the other first-place vote and came in fifth behind Raiders edge Maxx Crosby.

Watt, who won the award in 2021, led the NFL with 19 sacks. But Garrett had the better all-around season for the NFL’s top-ranked defense.

Despite constant double-teams, Garrett had 14 sacks, 30 quarterback hits, 17 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and forced offensive coordinators to avoid his side of the field.

Bland set an NFL record with five interception returns for a touchdown but was named on only six ballots. He got two second-place votes and three for third to go with the one first.

Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick, threw for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, five interceptions and had a passer rating of 100.8, third-best by a rookie. He helped the Texans go from worst to first place in the AFC South and led them to a playoff win in the wild-card round.

Stroud led the league in passing yards per game (273.9) and had the best touchdown-interception ratio at 4.6, becoming just the third player in NFL history to finish first in both categories, joining Joe Montana (1989) and Tom Brady (2007).

Nacua set a rookie record with 105 receptions and 1,486 yards receiving yards. Lions tight end Sam LaPorta finished third.