Myles Garrett Wins First Significant Hardware of Awards Season After Record-Breaking Campaign

The Cleveland Browns' star edge rusher is also up for AP's Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Dec 7, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) riles up the crowd against the Tennessee Titans during the fourth quarter at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

There’s still three games to play in the 2025-’26 NFL season -- including Super Bowl LX -- but award season is upon us.

The Cleveland Browns have been very well represented so far.

The Pro Football Writers of America named Browns’ defensive end Myles Garrett their Defensive Player of the Year. Garrett’s recognition comes one day after the PFWA named Browns’ linebacker Carson Schwesinger their Defensive Rookie of the Year.

In the case of Garrett, this is the second time he’s taken this award home. Garrett was recognized as PFWA’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 for the first time. He’s the only Browns’ player to achieve this honor since it was instituted in 1992.

There was little debate regarding Garrett as the prohibitive favorite, after a record-breaking season that saw him set a new single season sack record with 23 during the 2025 season. As part of his memorable campaign, Garrett achieved one 5.0 sack game and one 4.0 sack game on the road to the new league-best.

Although the PFWA’s Awards aren’t as widely recognized as The Associated Press’, they could serve as a prelude for AP’s Awards, which will be announced during the NFL Honors Award show next Thursday, Feb. 5 at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. Since 2018, the same player has taken PFWA’s and AP’s Defensive Player of the Year awards, and since 2014, the same player has won the PFWA’s and AP’s Rookie of the Year awards.

Garrett was also included in PFWA's All-NFL and All-AFC teams.

One more prominent PFWA award winner revealed this Thursday has ties to the Browns’ organization. Head coach Mike Vrabel was recognized as PFWA’s 2025 Coach of the Year, after leading the New England Patriots to the franchise’s first division title since 2019 and the club’s first AFC Championship Game since 2018 in his first year with the organization.

Vrabel spent the 2024 season in Cleveland working under a Coaching and personnel consultant title.

The PFWA has handed out a Defensive Player of the Year Award and a Defensive Rookie of the Year Award since 1992.

Which other main NFL awards could Myles Garrett take home?

The NFL and AP released the official list of finalists for their awards this Thursday. Garrett is joined by Houston Texans’ Will Anderson Jr., Denver Broncos’ Nik Bonitto, Detroit Lions’ Aiden Hutchinson and Green Bay Packers’ Micah Parsons for the top defensive award.

Schwesinger is joined by New York Giants’ Abdul Carter, Seattle Seahawks’ Nick Emmanwori, Atlanta Falcons’ James Pearce Jr., and Falcons’ safety Xavier Watts for defensive rookie honors. Schwesinger is also up for the Pepsi Rookie of the Year Award, a fan-voted award.

Previously, Garrett was named Pro Football Focus' Defensive Player of the Year, and Dwight Stephenson Award winner, the latter as the league's highest graded player for the season, according to PFF's metrics. Garrett has now been the highest graded defender according to PFF for four staight seasons.