The 2025 NFL regular season has come to an end, meaning award ballots for Most Valuable Player, Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year are due. Whatever happens in the NFL playoffs will have zero impact on the NFL MVP race, with the numbers and performances from the 18-week season determining everything.
Let’s dive into our final NFL Award predictions for the 2025 season.
Offensive Player of the Year: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks
Before an underwhelming performance in a critical Week 18 game, San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was in the running for Offensive Player of the Year. It now comes down to wide receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Puka Nacua. The Los Angeles Rams top pass-catcher has a compelling case as he led the NFL in receptions (129), finished sixth in touchdowns (10) and second in receiving yards (1,715) despite playing in just 16 games. We still give the nod to the centerpiece of the Seattle Seahawks offense.
In 2025, Smith-Njigba became just the fourth player in NFL history (Calvin Johnson, Tyreek Hill and Jerry Rice) to eclipse 1,800 scrimmage yards on fewer than 130 touches and he became the first player in the modern era to lead the NFL in receiving yards on an offense that ranked 30th or worse in pass play percentage. What Smith-Njigba did this season for Sam Darnold is more impressive than Nacua’s outstanding success in the Rams offense.
Read More: 2026 NFL Power Rankings, see where Seahawks land entering NFL Playoffs
Defensive Player of the Year: Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns
This is the easiest pick to make among the NFL awards this season. Obviously, Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett broke the single-season NFL sack record and that in itself will earn him Defensive Player of the Year. Instead, we’ll highlight the fact that he finished with the second-most tackles for loss (33) in a single season, joining J.J. Watt (2012) as the only players in recorded history to net 30 TFLs in a season. Yes, Garrett’s new sack record came in 17 games but also consider that the Browns defense faced a rushing play at the seventh-highest rate (46.8 percent) this season.
Related: NFL Defense Rankings 2026
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers
New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough made a late-season push for Offensive Rookie of the Year, but the nod goes to Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. He perfectly filled that long-standing void as the No. 1 receiver in the Panthers offense, turning 122 targets into 70 receptions for 1,014 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. McMillan had six games with 70-plus receiving yards during the regular season.
Related: NFL Playoff Predictions for Los Angeles Rams vs Carolina Panthers
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Carson Schwesinger, Browns
Carson Schwesinger twice had to play through injuries this season, impacting his on-field performance, but he still easily takes home Defensive Rookie of the Year. Taken early in the second round by Cleveland, the Browns off-ball linebacker recorded 11 tackles for loss with 3 pass deflections, 2.5 sacks and 2 interceptions in 16 games. He was also credited with 37 run stops, per Pro Football Focus, the fifth-most among linebackers this season. Schwesinger is a future multi-time Pro Bowl selection at his position.
Coach of the Year: Mike Macdonald, Seattle Seahawks
The success of the New England Patriots in 2025 certainly makes Mike Vrabel the favorite to win Coach of the Year. However, the best overall coaching job this season was done by Mike Macdonald. He orchestrated a phenomenal Seattle Seahawks defense, designing and then scheming up a unit that allowed the second-lowest yards-per-play average (4.6) and the second-lowest scoring rate (28.7 percent). He also nailed the hiring of offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who first found ways to win with Sam Darnold and then countered with the rushing attack when Darnold struggled. Macdonald’s coaching also proved instrumental in late-season wins over the Rams and 49ers, earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC for Seattle.
Comeback Player of the Year: Christian McCaffrey, SF 49ers
NFL Comeback Player of the Year should be about returning from a lengthy absence to play at a high level the following year. So no, the likes of Trevor Lawrence and Philip Rivers do not count. The easy choice here for us is 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey. In 2024, McCaffrey played in just four games and San Francisco finished 6-11. He returned to the field this season, starting all 17 games and turning a league-high 413 touches into 2,126 scrimmage yards with 17 touchdowns. McCaffrey was instrumental to the 49ers posting a 12-5 record this season.
Related: NFL Playoff Predictions for San Francisco 49ers vs Philadelphia Eagles
NFL MVP: Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots
We understand the argument for Matthew Stafford as the NFL MVP in 2025. The Los Angeles Rams quarterback ended the regular season leading the league in passing yards (4,707), passing touchdowns (46), passing touchdown rate (7.7%), and first downs (236). He had the third-lowest interception rate (1.3%) among quarterbacks with 500-plus attempts but was the only one of that trio to throw for 4,000-plus yards and complete over 60 percent of his passes.
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is still the choice for us. In his second season, he led the NFL in passer rating (113.5), completion rate (72 percent), yards per attempt (8.9), ESPN QBR (77.2), Success Rate (54.7%), EPA per Play (0.313), and Completion Rate Over Expectation (10.3%). He did all of this, mind you, with Stefon Diggs and Hunter Henry as his top pass-catchers, whereas Stafford had Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. It’s also worth noting that against similar opponents, Maye put up better numbers than Stafford. He did more with less this season, and the stats back him up; that’s your NFL MVP.
Related: NFL Playoff Predictions for Los Angeles Chargers vs New England Patriots
