2026 NFL quarter-season awards: MVP, top rookies and coaches - ESPN

Can you believe we're already four games into the NFL season? It still feels like we're trying to figure out which teams have a real shot at competing for a Super Bowl. But today, I'm here to identify the players and coaches who have been at the top of their game in 2026. It's time for my annual quarter-season awards, where I hand out hardware for the best performances from Weeks 1 through 4.

Keep in mind that these are my picks — who I believe deserves each award through four games — as opposed to my prediction for who will ultimately win each award at the end of the year… two entirely different things. I'm basing my picks on data and what I've seen on film. I also have some slightly different rules and beliefs that I use in my picks than the end-of-season electorate does. I'll mention them as we go through each award.

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One broader one is that availability matters. Players who aren't playing aren't helping their teams. At the end of the season, missing anything more than a couple of games really hurts a player's chances of winning an award unless they've completely dominated the competition. Shrunk down to a four-game sample, missing even one half of football is enough to seriously poke holes in a player's résumé. There are a handful of stars, with Baltimore receiver Zay Flowers as the most prominent case, where simply being unavailable for some part of the first four weeks is holding an otherwise impressive start back.

Let's go award by award, from Defensive Rookie of the Year to MVP. I'll look back at these eight awards after Week 9 when I put together my midseason award rankings to see who held on to their crown and who fell off quicker than expected.

Jump to an award:
DROY | OROY