NFL Protector of the Year Odds Tracker – Penei Sewell Opens as Favorite

• The NFL’s newest player award, Protector of the Year, has seen odds open at select sportsbooks
• Penei Sewell has opened as the heavy favorite to win the first ever NFL Protector of the Year honor
• See the latest Protector of the Year odds below & how the odds have changed since opening

For the first time ever, the NFL is going to hand out a Protector of the Year award at the NFL Honors. The purpose of this award is to honor the league’s best offensive lineman, a typically underappreciated position in the NFL. What’s even more unique about this award is that it will not be voted on by the Associated Press, rather a panel of former offensive linemen. We will see LeCharles Bentley, Jason Kelce, Shaun O’Hara, Orlando Pace, Will Shields, and Andrew Whitworth vote on the award based on a criteria of skills, metrics, impact, leadership, durability, and strength of the opponent.

All of that information is vital to anyone looking to bet on the NFL Protector of the Year. Bettors will also, of course, need to consider the odds to win NFL Protector of the Year before placing a bet as well. I have rounded up the odds for all the top contenders below, which currently sees Penei Sewell listed as the heavy favorite. As the season goes on, and more sportsbooks open odds for this award, you will also be able to look back at how the odds have changed.

Odds to Win NFL Protector of the Year

*It should be noted that Tristan Wirfs underwent surgery on his right knee July 8 and is expected to miss several games to start the season. Sportsbooks are always quick to shorten their odds when a player is gaining momentum, but can often be delayed in removing players/teams or making their odds longer when bad news strikes. This is especially so when it comes to newer markets that don’t see much betting handle coming in. So, please don’t waste your money betting Wirfs at such short odds when he may miss half the season.

With this award being so new, only DraftKings and bet365 have NFL Protector of the Year odds. I suspect FanDuel will likely add these odds before kickoff, but I don’t have that same confidence in every other sportsbook.

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Penei Sewell is the current favorite to win NFL Protector of the Year. The Lions standout tackle is given +500 odds to win the award at bet365, and DraftKings lists him a little shorter at +450. This means his implied probability to win the award is between 16.7% (bet365’s odds) and 18.2% (DraftKings’ odds). A $10 bet on Sewell at bet365, who has the better odds to bet, would stand to win $50 and return $60.

The player with the next-best odds is Lane Johnson of the Eagles, who is given +800 odds. Philadelphia’s offensive line is well represented in the top contenders for the first NFL Protector of the Year award, as Jordan Mailata is tied for the third-best odds with Trent Williams at +1200, and Eagles guard Cam Jurgens is also among the top 15 contenders.

Top 5 Top 10 11 to 25 26 to 50

Protector of the Year Predictions & Betting Advice

Here is my betting advice for NFL Protector of the Year as of July 15. As I mentioned above, my first bit of advice will be to not bet Tristan Wirfs at his current price. He’s expected to miss several games and should be getting much longer than +2500 odds as a result, in my opinion. I could absolutely see a world where the Bucs offensive line struggles without Wirfs, and maybe Baker Mayfield is taking a lot of sacks without his star tackle, only for that issue to be resolved when Wirfd returns. However, you should get far better odds than +2500. So, I will be staying away from Wirfs at this price, and recommend you do too.

When I first heard about this award, I was quite excited (as a bettor) about the potential of leaving the press to vote on it – I felt we’d be able to simply follow the names generating buzz, and there likely wouldn’t be many since the press hasn’t typically focused on players in the trenches (unless they’re racking up sacks). As a fan of the league, and a major advocate of games being won in the trenches, I’m glad the award will be decided by a panel of former offensive linemen. But as a bettor, this is going to make betting the award a fair bit tougher. Simply put, players and members of the media watch games in much different ways.

So, while Sewell is certainly the offensive lineman who gets the most media coverage, I don’t think the six former players who make up the panel are going to get the same tunnel vision. With that in mind, I think Sewell’s +800 odds are way too short.

I also think it’s worth noting that three of the six panel members are former centers – Bentley played both guard and center during his career, while Kelce and O’Hara were full-time centers. I believe there will be a major appreciation for the added duties centers take on, specifically making the calls for the full line. I believe there is one center in the league who stands above the rest at the position, and has been so consistently impactful that he receives as much attention as some of the league’s top tackles: Creed Humphrey of the Chiefs.

If the Chiefs come out hot, which I expect them to after getting embarrassed in the Super Bowl, and Patrick Mahomes is kept clean while the running game sees some solid improvements, I think these six panel members will not only notice, but give a lot of that credit to Humphrey, the guy anchoring the line. I think the +3300 odds at bet365 present great value!

NFL Protector of the Year Trends

Since this is a brand new award, being handed out for the first time in the 2025-26 NFL season, there are no current trends. However, as we see the award handed out, I will gather all past data and trends to display here.