Overview

• The NFL officially announced the Protector of the Year award, recognizing the league’s top offensive lineman starting with the 2025 season.
• A panel of former NFL linemen, including Jason Kelce, Orlando Pace, and Andrew Whitworth, will vote on the award using metrics like skills, impact, and durability.
• Buffalo Bills tackle Dion Dawkins and former tackle Andrew Whitworth spearheaded the effort to create the award, addressing a long-standing recognition gap for offensive linemen.
• This is the first new NFL end-of-year award since 2016, when the short-lived Offensive Line of the Year honor was introduced and later discontinued.
• The award aims to highlight the critical contributions of offensive linemen to team success and inspire future talent to pursue the position.