The NFL's best player through four games is ...? Barnwell makes picks for eight different awards — SkimNews
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- Bill Barnwell rolled out his annual quarter-season awards covering eight categories from DROY to MVP, basing picks on film and data rather than predicting who will win at season's end.
- Arvell Reese earned the No. 1 DROY spot after logging over 99% of the Giants' defensive snaps and leading the league with 27 solo tackles, with New York shifting him to edge duties after Brian Burns suffered a season-ending torn ACL.
- Hezekiah Masses took the No. 2 DROY spot as a fifth-round Raiders cornerback tied for the NFL lead with three interceptions, though Barnwell flagged that two of those picks came off Chargers and Saints drops rather than sticky coverage.
- Denzel Boston (Browns WR), Kahlil Benson (Chiefs OT), and Kenyon Sadiq (Jets TE) lead the OROY rankings, with Benson emerging as an undrafted free agent revelation at left tackle after Josh Simmons went down with a back injury, allowing just one sack in four games.
- Top offensive rookies have been largely absent: Raiders QB Fernando Mendoza has yet to take a regular-season snap, Cardinals RB Jeremiyah Love has played only 50% of Arizona's offensive snaps, and Saints WR Jordyn Tyson is on injured reserve — those three top-four picks have combined for just 131 total snaps.
- Rookie defensive participation is trending up sharply — 24 rookies have suited up for at least 50% of their teams' defensive snaps this season, compared to 22 in 2025, 13 in 2024, and 16 in 2023, per Barnwell's count.
- Availability is Barnwell's load-bearing criterion: he noted that in a four-game sample, missing even a single half of football is enough to seriously undermine an award case, singling out Ravens receiver Zay Flowers as the most prominent example of an impressive start being held back by missed time.
Why it matters: Through just four games, the award races are already being shaped by who's healthy enough to play — Barnwell docked Zay Flowers for missed time, while 24 defensive rookies are logging 50%+ of their team's snaps, up from 13 in 2024. For contenders evaluating 2026 draft capital, the small-sample winners like Reese, Boston, and undrafted left tackle Benson offer the first real data point of who can sustain it across a larger body of work.
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