Kevin O’Connell, Jared Allen among Vikings recognised at NFL Honors

Super Bowl week serves as the culmination to every NFL season, and what better time than the week leading up to the big game to recognise the league’s outstanding performers from the last few months. The 14th Annual NFL Honors ceremony was held in New Orleans on Thursday night and saw the league’s biggest names receive their due acclaim.

The highlight of the ceremony saw Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen named Most Valuable Player, as well as picking up the Art Rooney Award for outstanding sportsmanship. Meanwhile, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley made up for missing out on the big award by being named Offensive Player of the Year, and Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II received the Defensive Player of the Year award.

Vikings in the mix

Vikings eyes were on the Coach of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year awards, for which head coach Kevin O’Connell and quarterback Sam Darnold were respectively nominated, the latter of which was introduced by wide receiver Justin Jefferson and Vikings legend Randy Moss.

But while Super Sam missed out on his gong to the Bengals’ Joe Burrow, KOC beat out the challenge from divisional rival Dan Campbell of the Lions and Super Bowl-bound Chiefs coach Andy Reid to become the first Vikings coach to be named Coach of the Year since Bud Grant in 1969.

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores was also nominated for Assistant Coach of the Year, but missed out to his offensive counterpart at the Lions, Ben Johnson.

Also making an appearance on behalf of the Vikings were safeties Cam Bynum and Josh Metellus, who had the opportunity to re-enact their viral White Chicks celebration from the week 14 win over the Atlanta Falcons along with one of that movie’s stars, Terry Crews, himself a former NFL defensive player.

Hall of Fame at last

One of the biggest cheers of the night, though, will have been for former Vikings defensive end Jared Allen, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his fifth year of eligibility. The defensive end, who played for the Vikings from 2008 to 2013, joined Eric Allen, Antonio Gates and Sterling Sharpe in receiving a gold jacket on Thursday, adding to the honour of being an inaugural inductee into the NFL London Games Ring of Honour he received earlier this season. Allen led the league with 22.0 sacks in 2011 and currently sits 12th on the all-time sack leader list.

All the winners from the 2025 NFL Honors

  • Most Valuable Player: Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
  • Offensive Player of the Year: Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
  • Defensive Player of the Year: Patrick Surtain II, CB, Denver Broncos
  • Offensive Rookie of the Year: Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders
  • Defensive Rookie of the Year: Jared Verse, OLB, Los Angeles Rams
  • Comeback Player of the Year: Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
  • Coach of the Year: Kevin O’Connell, HC, Minnesota Vikings
  • Assistant Coach of the Year: Ben Johnson, OC, Detroit Lions
  • Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year: Arik Armstead, DE, Jacksonville Jaguars
  • Salute to Service Award: George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers
  • Deacon Jones Award: Trey Hendrickson, DE, Cincinnati Bengals
  • Jim Brown Award: Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
  • Art Rooney Award: Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
  • Moment of the Year: Hail Maryland, Washington Commanders
  • FedEx Air Player of the Year: Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
  • FedEx Ground Player of the Year: Ja’Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
  • Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year: Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders
  • NFL Fan of the Year: Megan Stefanski, Detroit Lions
  • Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025:
    • Eric Allen, DB
    • Jared Allen, DE
    • Antonio Gates, TE
    • Sterling Sharpe, WR

Do you think any Vikings missed out on an award? Let us know on social media or via email at UKVikingsFanClub@gmail.com