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The Associated Press announced finalists for its season-long NFL awards on Thursday and three Denver Broncos are candidates to take home hardware.
Sean Payton has been nominated for Coach of the Year after leading a team with a 5.5 over/under win total to a 10-7 record. Denver reached the NFL playoffs for the first time since 2015 despite carrying the largest dead money salary cap hit in NFL history, and Payton did it with a rookie quarterback.
Payton’s competition for the award is Dan Campbell (Detroit Lions), Kevin O’Connell (Minnesota Vikings), Dan Quinn (Washington Commanders) and Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs).
Additionally, Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain was nominated for Defensive Player of the Year and quarterback Bo Nix was nominated for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Surtain allowed just 306 passing yards in 2024, the fewest among qualified cornerbacks. His competition for DPOY is Zack Baun (LB, Philadelphia Eagles), Myles Garrett (DE, Cleveland Browns), Trey Hendrickson (DE, Cincinnati Bengals) and T.J. Watt (LB, Pittsburgh Steelers).
Nix’s 29 passing touchdowns this season were the second-most in NFL history. His competition for OROY is Brock Bowers (TE, Las Vegas Raiders), Jayden Daniels (QB, Washington Commanders), Malik Nabers (WR, New York Giants) and Brian Thomas (WR, Jacksonville Jaguars).
Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph did not make the list of Assistant Coach of the Year finalists, but former Broncos coach Vic Fangio (now a DC with the Eagles) did make the cut.
Fans should note that these awards were voted on at the conclusion of the regular season, so postseason results did not influence the voting.
The AP‘s award winners will be announced during NFL Honors on Feb. 6. The awards show will begin at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on Fox and NFL Network, but the program will not air live in all time zones.