NFL Protector of the Year Picks Recap
Sean Green (@SeanTGreen) and Ryan Kramer (@KramerCentric) are talking best bets in this 2026 NFL Protector of the Year picks podcast. They’re joined by CJ Sullivan (@CJSullivan_) from Bottom Line Bombs to work through the Protector of the Year board and lock in their offensive-line award longshots. Additionally they break down the $20 million Circa Survivor contest and CJ’s Surviving CJ giveaway.
Protector of the Year is the one futures market nobody prices like the rest, and that is what makes the NFL Protector of the Year odds worth digging into. This is the honest award. Six former offensive linemen vote on it, two guards, two tackles, two centers, and last year every finalist came back the same way. Joe Thuney won it as a guard, so throw out the reflex to just grab a name tackle off the top. The judges reward the guys who actually did the job, which cracks the whole board wide open.
Digging to the Bottom of the NFL Protector of the Year Odds
Longshots first. Sean’s headliner is Erik McCoy at 200-1. McCoy has two Pro Bowls in the last three years, he is the leader of that New Orleans line, and Warren Sharp already has the Saints’ front ranked 16th in the league. If this offense takes a Bears-style jump and the run game cooks, the voters are going to want to hand something to the group that made it happen. At 200-1 you are not asking for much to go right.
Kramer’s longshot is Wyatt Teller at 150-1. Houston is leaning into a gap-scheme run game, which is the exact reason you go get a mauler. Teller built his reputation on being an ass-kicker under Bill Callahan in Cleveland, he is a former Hokie, and nobody has even named the leader of that Houston line yet. Give me a piece.
Then the plays with real buzz behind them. Aaron Brewer at 30-1 is Sean’s smash. Brewer was the runner-up last year, Brandon Thorn said he would have given him the award outright, and Brewer has said out loud that winning this thing is the goal. He is a second-team All-Pro who just got paid, and the O-line community already talks about him like a winner. That is a lot of the recipe at 30-1.
The 25-1 Tickets and the Chalk on Top
Kramer went back to the well on Andrew Thomas at 25-1. He had Thomas at a monster number last year and had to shred the ticket after the injury, one of the worst bad beats of his life. The read has not changed. Thomas is one of only two left tackles in the league with a pass-block win rate over 93%. The other is Lane Johnson, and Sean is on Johnson at 18-1 over Jordan Mailata.
Zach Tom got love too. Sean called him the best right tackle in football and put him down at 30-1, and CJ built his own card around Brewer at number one with Rashawn Slater and Tom right underneath. The favorites stayed favorites for a reason. Tristan Wirfs, Joe Alt, and Penei Sewell sliding over to left tackle are all live to win it. The value just was not up top, so this crew went to the basement to find it. A couple of tickets down there could pay for the whole season. Let it ride.
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— Sports Gambling Podcast ™ (@GamblingPodcast) August 5, 2026
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NFL Protector of the Year Picks
Podcast Chapters
0:00 Download the SGPN App Today!
1:09 CJ Sullivan Joins + Protector of the Year Judges
4:43 Surviving CJ: The $20M Circa Survivor Contest
15:20 POY 101: Joe Thuney’s Win & the Judging Criteria
20:45 Sean’s Longshot: Erik McCoy 200-1
26:51 Ryan’s Longshot: Wyatt Teller 150-1
31:50 Landon Dickerson & the 100-1 Tier
39:04 Charles Cross & Will Campbell at 50-1
44:17 Andrew Thomas Bad Beat & the 40-1 Tier
49:03 Smash Play: Aaron Brewer 30-1
52:10 Zach Tom, Dion Dawkins & the 25-1 Tier
59:33 Lane Johnson vs. Mailata + the Favorites
1:03:58 Official Protector of the Year Picks
1:05:35 Thank You for Participating in the Sports Gambling Podcast
