The National Football League has developed a new way to honor those in the trenches this year—an area of the roster that's both essential yet somehow overlooked—with some postseason hardware to honor the best offensive lineman. That award has been called Protector of the Year, and it will be handed out at this year's NFL Honors for the very first time.
Among this year's inaugural finalists are six deserving candidates, two of whom have strong ties to the Kansas City Chiefs: center Creed Humphrey and current Chicago Bears left guard Joe Thuney.
The full list of nominees has been leaked, per ESPN reporter Jeremy Fowler:
- Garett Bolles, Denver Broncos
- Aaron Brewer, Miami Dolphins
- Creed Humphrey, Kansas City Chiefs
- Quinn Meinerz, Denver Broncos
- Penei Sewell, Detroit Lions
- Joe Thuney, Chicago Bears
Humphrey is used to racking up hardware at this time of year. He was already named to his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl (after just five NFL seasons so far) earlier this winter. In addition, he was named a first-team All-Pro for the second consecutive year.
However, given the fact that there are 10 offensive linemen who will earn such honors this year—either as Pro Bowlers for one conference or another, and as first- or second-team All-Pros—that typically leads to a bit of a logjam when it comes to induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. All-time great linemen with all of the requisite hardware can be forced to wait years for their turn as the entrants slowly make their way into Canton.
The NFL's new Protector of the Year Award could become a real differentiator for Creed Humphrey down the road—if he wins it.
This is where a single award that honors one over the others could become a real differentiator for a player like Humphrey. It might seem too early to talk about that sort of thing, given that he's just into his second contract with the Chiefs, but the ability to earn such a pretigious honor could put one potential HOF candidate over another when all is said and done.
The Protector of the Year Award was an effort largely driven by someone familiar with the sort of work being lauded, Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins, who worked behind the scenes to push the league to honor the best up front. The Protector of the Year is based on five criteria, per the NFL: skill metrics, impact, durability, strength of opponent, and leadership. A full explanation can be found here.
Interestingly, the Chiefs also have multiple ties among those officially selecting the winner. Former Chiefs legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Will Shields is one of six persons responsible for determining the first POTY winner. In addition, Travis Kelce's brother, Jason Kelce, a former All-Pro center for the Philadelphia Eagles is another. Orlando Pace, LeCharles Bentley, Shaun O'Hara, and Andrew Whitworth round out the panel.