The NFL announced on Wednesday that there will be a new piece of hardware up for grabs this season. The Protector of the Year award will go to the league’s top offensive lineman. The Chargers will have two strong candidates in serious contention in 2025.
The award will be voted on by “former offensive line greats,” according to ESPN‘s Brooke Pryor and Alaina Getzenberg.
In a league where pretty much every position outside of quarterback is overlooked for MVP, it’ll be nice for the guys in the trenches to get some love.
“At long last, the hog mollies are getting some love,” writes Nick Shook of Around The NFL.
Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt Strong Candidates for Inaugural Award in 2025
Fifth-year left tackle Rashawn Slater should be near the top of the list of players in contention for the award.
Shortly after selecting Joe Alt at #5 in last year’s NFL Draft, the Chargers wisely picked up Slater’s fifth-year option. At just over $19 million, LA maintained continuity at left tackle and pushed off free agency until after this season.
Slater responded with his best season as a pro in 2024. He registered career highs in overall grade (90.9) and pass-blocking grade (89.9) last year. Slater finished the regular season with the 5th-highest overall grade (91.1) of any offensive lineman, according to PFF.
PFF‘s Jim Wyman praised Slater’s 2024 season, writing that he was “particularly dominant during the second half of the season.”
“After allowing two sacks against the Browns in Week 9, he didn’t surrender any more over the rest of the season, including the playoffs,” wrote Wyman.
The Athletic‘s Daniel Popper ranked Slater at #4 on his list of the top 30 players to hit the free agent market in 2026. Popper notes that both Slater and the Chargers had incentives to wait to negotiate an extension. Following a Pro Bowl season and massive extensions for the Lions‘ Penei Sewell ($28 million AAV) and the Buccaneers‘ Tristan Wirfs ($28.125 million AAV), Popper writes that Slater “is deserving of resetting the market” for offensive tackles.
PFF
On the other side of the offensive line stands 6’8″, 322 lb. Joe Alt. Alt finished 7th in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting last year. He garnered a higher percentage of the votes than Drake Maye, Ladd McConkey and #1 overall pick Caleb Williams. The massive first-year lineman earned the highest overall PFF grade of any rookie tackle (77.6). Despite allowing a team-high 6 sacks, Alt ranked in the top 20 of all offensive tackles in the league.
Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports listed Alt as an honorable mention among the top candidates for the award.
“Joe Alt is only entering Year 2 after arriving as Jim Harbaugh‘s first pick atop the Los Angeles staff, but he might already be Justin Herbert‘s most promising protector,” writes Benjamin.
Dion Dawkins and Andrew Whitworth Pushed for Creation of Award
Up until now, the ultimate honor for offensive linemen has been a selection to the All-Pro team. Slater earned an All-Pro Second Team spot in 2021, but has been searching for that elusive All-Pro First Team nod ever since.
Now, the Protector of the Year award will “shine a light on the most overlooked, yet essential position in the sport,” writes Around The NFL‘s Nick Shook.
“Now, they’ll have a new piece of hardware to pursue — all while preventing the opposition from reaching their most important teammates,” writes Shook.
According to Shook, NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent credited Dion Dawkins of the Buffalo Bills and former offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth with being “truly instrumental” in the creation of the award.
The committee will be comprised of the following six former offensive linemen. They will use “a criteria of skills, metrics, impact, leadership, durability and strength of the opponent,” according to Vincent.
- Hall of Famer Will Shields (12-time Pro Bowler, 2-time All-Pro)
- Hall of Famer Orlando Pace (7-time Pro Bowler, 3-time All-Pro, Super Bowl Champion)
- Jason Kelce (7-time Pro Bowler, 6-time All-Pro, Super Bowl Champion)
- Shaun O’Hara (3-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl Champion)
- Andrew Whitworth (4-time Pro Bowler, 2-time All-Pro, Super Bowl Champion)
- LeCharles Bentley (2-time Pro Bowler)
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